summary of A roadside stand by Robert Frost?
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Summary of Roadside Stand
The poet has composed this poem to bring to the fore the financial plight of the people living in the rural areas. The poet noticed an old house on a highway with a makeshift roadside stand that offered a few things for sale. The condition of the house and the stand was pathetic.
The poor owner of the stand wanted to earn money from the passers by selling a few of the indigenous berries and vegetables. He expected the rich city people travelling in cars to stop at their stand and buy those things from them. However the people in car were too occupied to notice the stand.
The few passers by who happened to see the roadside stand, complained about it as an ugly spot in a beautiful scenery of that place. They even found fault with the North and South sign on the signboard hung outside the stand.
The roadside stand offered wild berries in wooden quarts, crooked-neck golden squash and beautiful sceneries painted on pieces of wood.
The poet here expresses his sadness over the indifference of the rich people passing by in their cars without halting at the stand. The poet says he will not complain that the house and the stand are a bad spot in the beautiful landscape around.
The poet says he feels the sorrow of the owner of the stand. He can even read their thoughts. His thoughts are all about earning money from the affluent passers-by, who do not stop at his stand.
The owner wants to achieve financial freedom and have all the luxuries shown in the movies. The owner feels the party in power is also indifferent to their poverty.
The party in power has declared in the news that poor people living in the countryside who do not have regular source of income, will be given houses and employment opportunities in a village near a theatre and store.
The party in power has declared in the news that poor people living in the countryside who do not have regular source of income, will be given houses and employment opportunities in a village near a theatre and store.
Their financial condition will improve considerably. The poet says such promises are made to them in plenty before the elections. However, after the elections no one bothers to see whether these promises were fulfilled or not. These political leaders are dangerous like wolves among the sheep.
The poet feels the pain and the suffering of the poor owner of the roadside stand. However, he can not do anything for them except expressing his anguish through the poem.
The poet feels that the owner sits inside the stand expecting some cars to stop and buy something. But his expectation remains unfulfilled. The selfish cars keep passing by.
The poet says he saw a few cars stop at the stand. But even these cars stopped for their own selfish motives. A car stopped just to enquire a farmer’s wages. Another stopped just to use their yard to back and turn the car around. Another car stopped to know the way.
One more car stopped to know if the owner could provide a gallon of gas. The poet wonders at the car owner’s ignorance. Did the condition of the house and the stand not make him think how he could get a gallon of gas from there.
The poet complains that in spite of the growth in the national economy, there is little improvement in the financial aspect of the rural people. The rich are getting richer while the poor remain poorer.
The poet says he can hardly bear the pain and misery of these people. At times he thinks of putting them out of pain by going and killing them all. And next day, when he will come to senses, he expects that someone should come to him and put him out of pain similarly.
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