A Roadside Stand Textual Questions Answers | Class 12 | A Roadside Stand Question Answer AHSEC

  A Roadside Stand Poem Summery :-

    In this poem, the poet introduces the lives of poor, despoiled peopled with merciless clarity/visuality and with the deepest symp- athy and humanity.

      A roadside stand was stood in front at the edge of the road and the traffic moved ahead very fast on the road without any break. It seemed to be begging for customers. It would be improper to say that the people who ran the shop begged for bread. But they surely expected that the people would come there and buy something and they would get some cash in their hands. The decent and rich people sped across the roadside stand without stopping there. If someone stopped there he was irritated by clumsy paint that spoiled the beauty of landscape. He also felt bad when he found the letters 'N' and 'S' turned wrong.

     The stand had nothing extraordinary things to sell. Wild berries were sold there in wooden containers and some vegetables like golden squash. The place also offered a peaceful stay in the lap of nature if one had money. The urban people had the money, but they were selfish and did not want to spend the money. The masters of the shop want some city money in their hand and want to progress with the money. They also wanted the help that had been promised to them by the political parties in their proclamation.

   There is a news that these unfortunate people and their property are to be bought out. They will be settled in villages where they won't have to think for themselves anymore. The greedy people will absorb them. These people demand to be noble, but actually they are like wild flesh eating animals. They are very cruel and want to grap and swallow the poor people. They will continue their lives earning huge profits for themselves, their only task is to be fool the innocent villagers and make money.

  The poet can't bear and feels very sad about the poor people who are running the roadside stand. They are expecting to earn some money from their expected customers. They hope for hearing the noise of brakes and the sound of stopping car. Thousands of rich people move ahead driving their car fast. No one thinks about the farmers or no one asks the price of the goods they are standing to sell. Some one stops only to use the yard to back and turned around and another to ask the way to where it was bound and also some other people stop to ask whether they sell a gallon of gas, which they haven't.

   The life of the villager is quite miserable for need of money. Due to need of money the souls of the villagers always remain desperate. So, the village people seem to complain of this draw back, the poet would feel a great relief if all the pains of the villagers are removed at one stroke. Death is better than their miserable life.

A Roadside Stand Textual Question Answer :

Question: The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand or to the people who ran it. If at all they did, it was to complain. Which lines bring this out? What was their complaint about?

Ans: The following lines bring this out :

a) At having the landscape marred with the artless paint.
b) Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong.
   Their complaint was that the people who
set up the roadside stand had spoiled the whole landscape with artless paint. They also complained about the signs 'N' and 'S' turned wrong.

Question : What was the plea of the folks who had put up the roadside stand?

Ans : The rural folks pleaded pathetically for some customers to stop by and buy some of their goods. Urban folks used to pass by on this road and hence the rural folk set up the roadside stand to attract their attention and sell their goods.

Question: The government and other social service agencies appear to help the poor rural people, but actually do them no good. Pick out the words and phrases that the poet uses to show their double standards.

Ans: The government and other social service agencies did not do any good to them. The words and phrases which show their double standard are mentioned below:

"While greedy good-deers, beneficent beast
  of prey
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits That are calculated to soothe them out of
  their wits".

Question : What is the 'childish longing' that the poet refers to ? Why is it vain ?

Ans: The childish longing that the poet refers to is the strong desire of the rural folks to be recognized and they wait for customers to stop by at their stand to buy their goods. When they get no perspective customers, they become sad and all their efforts remain futile.

Question : Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the thought of the plight of the rural poor?

Ans: The lines that express the feelings of the peet are :
"I can't help owning the great relief it would be
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain."
  The poet feels the need to remove all the pains, which the poor rural people suffer from.

A Roadside Stand Extra Question Answer :

Question : Where and how was the road side stand built and why ?

Ans: The roadside stand was built by the rural folk on one side of the road. It was a little new shed, an extension of an old house. On the busy road, the fast moving traffic would pass in front of it. The stand had been set up to attract the city folk as customers. The idea was to bring in some cash after selling the farm products.

Question : Describe the value of 'money' and 'cash' for 'the flower of cities'.

Ans : The flow of money and cash supports the development in the big city. It supports the economy and helps in the progress. It also prevents things from getting destroyed. It was hoped that the roadside stand would get some of the money or the cash to be utilized for progress of rural folks.

Question : Why didn't the 'city folk' traffic stop at the roadside stand ? What annoyed the people who wanted to stop ?

Ans: The polished city folk did not stop at the roadside stand because they were in a rush to reach their destinations. If at all they did want to stop, they would get annoyed at the clumsy paint of the building. They also felt irritated at the signs 'N' and 'S' turned wrong.

Question : 'The hurt to the scenery wouldn't be my complaint', says Robert Frost. What was his real complaint ?

Ans: The real complaint of the poet was the sorrows and sufferings of the rural folks. The distastefully done paint the shed, the wrongly turned signs did not bother him. He was more worried about the pitiable condition of the poor people and that moved his heart.

Question : Why do the people who are running the roadside stand ask for some city money to feel in hand ?

Ans: The people of the roadside stand are poor and underprivileged. They do not have enough cash. They only wish that the city people should patronize them and buy some goods from them so that they too can earn cash. They hope to bring about changes in their lifestyle and make their life prosperous.

Question : What is the news being spread
around ?

Ans: It is in the news that the pitiful kin are to be bought out and gathered in mercifully. They would be settled in villages next to the theatre and the store. Their places will be taken over by the rich and the cunning people. The villagers won't have to think for themselves anymore. The greedy and cruel exploiters will dominate them.

Question : Who will soothe the rural poor 'out of their wits' and how?

Ans: The greedy people will be the good-doers. They will dominate the lives of the poor rural folk. They will cunningly try to exploit them. These people are crueler than the beasts of prey. They only want to earn huge profits for themselves by exploiting the poor and innocent people. They will sleep comfortably in their beds all day but prevent the poor from sleeping peacefully.

Question : What will be a great relief to the poet? How can the problems of the rural poor be solved ?

Ans: The poet seems to be worried at the plight of the poor people. It will be a great relief to him if the people are relieved of their pain and suffering at one stroke. Their miserable living is no better than death. The pret wants an immediate end to their suffering.