THE ROADSIDE STAND BY ROBERT FROST, GRADE XII ENGLISH CORE

                 A ROADSIDE STAND BY ROBERT FROST

CBSE GRADE XII ENGLISH CORE

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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 EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

1."The hurt to the scenery wouldn't be my complaint

So such as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid

Here far from the city we make our roadside stand

And ask for some city money to feel in hand

To try if it will not make our being expand,

And give us the life of the moving pictures' promise

That the party in power is said to be keeping from us"

 (a) What was the poet's concern?

Ans: The poet's concern was that the people who made Roadside stand suffered a lot. The city dwellers who passed past by the Roadside stand did not stop in front of it and buy nothing from them.

 (b). What was not concern of the poet?

Ans: The poet didn't think about the landscape which was spoilt by the artless paint of the roadside stand. But the city people concerned it. They cried that the beauty of the landscape was destroyed by the Roadside stand.

 (c) What did the people who ran the Roadside stand expect?

Ans: The people who ran the Roadside stand expected that the polished cars would stop in front of their shop and buy something from them. If so, they could get some city money and their life would be prosperous.

 (d) What did the government do to improve the standard of life of the rural people who constructed the Roadside stand?

Ans: The government did not do anything to improve the life of the rural people. They gave only false hope. They motivated them to sleep even the day time like rich people.

 2. "Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear

The thought of so much childish longing in vain,

The sadness that lurks near the open window there,

That waits all day in almost open prayer

For the squeal of brakes, the sound of stopping car,

O f all the thousand selfish cars that pass,

Just one to inquire what a farmer's prices are"

 (a) What is the poetic device of "selfish cars"?

Ans" Transferred Epithet.

 (b) What was the childish longing?

Ans: It was nothing but the shopkeepers were waiting in their roadside stand expecting rich customers from the city. But it was fruitless as a childish longing.

 (c) Is there anyone stopped near the roadside stand?

Ans: Yes, Someone stopped their cars and asked the actual price of the goods that they bought from the farmer, they wanted to know the farmer's price. Some others asked the directions and addresses where they had to go. A few others asked a gallon of petrol. All the quarries were fruitless.

 (d) "The sadness that lurks near the open window there" Explain

Ans: The shopkeeper is in the roadside stand, is waiting for some city customers through their open window. On her/his face there lingers the expression of sadness because no one stops there. In an in- audible prayer she/he  expects someone will come and buy something.

 3.The little old house was out with a little new shed

In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,

It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,

But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.

 (a)Where was the new shed put up? What was its purpose?

Ans: The new shed was put up extending one side of a small house towards the main road. It was made to attract the pedestrians and passersby to buy things from them. That type of shop was called the Roadside stand, that was nothing but a small petty shop.

 (b). Why did the poet feel sad?

Ans: The poet felt sad because the condition of the roadside stand was a  pitiable sight and the owner of it seemed to be very humble.

 (c).‘too pathetically pled’ Explain

Ans: The shopkeepers of roadside stand pathetically pleading to the rich city people for stopping their polished cars and buy something from them, so that they could earn some city money.

 (d). What is  ‘the flower of cities’ mentioned here?

Ans:  The poet uses the term "the flower of cities" to indicate the rich and contented people who live in the cities luxuriously.

SHORT ANSWERS
1. “soothe them out of them wits”, explain with reference to the poem 'The Roadside Stand’.
Ans: The great powerful men give the country people false promises telling that if they construct a roadside stand they can earn enough city money. and they will be great business men. The poor country men believe them. They may be cheated to take over their village houses or landed properties. The country people believe the false claims and feel soothed and satisfied.

2. Why does Robert Frost sympathize with the rural poor?

Ans: Robert Frost says that the downtrodden countrymen are cheated and despised by the politicians and the party in power. These rich powerful men do not help the poor roadside owners; they are indifferent to their welfare. so the poet sympathizes with the rural poor.

3. What is the theme of the poem "The Roadside Stand"?

Ans: In this poem Robert Frost pictures clearly the lives of the poor rural people with deepest sympathy. He draws a pathetic picture of a roadside stand and the one who runs it. The poor rural people want money for their progress. Unfortunately, no rich man bothers about it. Moreover the party in power remains indifferent.

 4. Why didn’t the ‘polished traffic’ stop at the roadside stand?

Ans: The polished traffic didn't stop their cars in front of the roadside stand because the shops hadn't any goodwill. The rich didn't mind about the money but the goodwill. Moreover they were focusing only to their destination. They felt disgust upon the poor decorations and artless paintings of the roadside stand.