q ans X & XII (2)

1. What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to?
Why is it
‘vain’?
According to Robert Frost, the people running the roadside stand suffer from
‘childish longing’. They always expect customers and wait for them. Their
windows are always kept open to attract them. When no one turns up, they
become sad. They always wait to listen to the squeal of brakes and the
sound of a car stop, but all their efforts go in vain.
2. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
The rural folks pathetically pleaded for customers to stop and buy their
goods. City folks passed by on this road, and therefore the rural folks set up
the stand on the roadside to grab their attention and sell the goods.
3. Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the
thought of the plight of the rural poor?
Filled with empathy, the poet is unable to bear the plight of the unassuming
and innocent rural people. The lines below show his insufferable pain:
“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”
4. Notice the rhyme scheme. Is it consistent or is there an
occasional variance? Does it indicate thought predominating over
sound pattern?
Answer: The rhyme scheme used by the poet is quite contradictory as the
poem is not in free verse. In this poem, the poet addresses a serious issue.
His emotions waver between remorse and anger. This also seems to have
influenced the poem's rhyme scheme. The specific rhyme scheme also
indicates his main concern when writing this poem was to reflect the
villagers' plight rather than merely embellish his poem. And his thoughts
appear to predominate over the pattern of sound.
5.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.
The poet criticizes the government and other social service agencies' double
standards which promise to improve the living standards of the poor farmers
and show them the rosy side of life. And when the time comes to deliver on
their promise, they either forget them or fulfill them with their own
advantages in mind. They are named by the poet "greedy good-doers" and
"profitable prey beasts" that "swarm over their lives." The poet says these
greedy people make calculated and well-thought-out shrewd actions that are
prey to the naive, ignorant farmers. Those clever people rob these modest
and simple farmers of their peace of mind. The poet said,
“…..enforcing benefits
That is calculated to soothe them out of their wits,
And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.”
6. Notice the stanza divisions. Do you find a shift to a new idea in

successive stanza?
The poet broke the poem down into four sections. Every stanza focuses on
another facet of the poor villager's plight running a stall on the roadside. The
poet introduces the character in the first stanza, the reason behind his
establishment of a roadside stand, and his plight. The second stanza focuses
on how the Government and other social institutions abuse these poor
farmers. The poem explains these farmers' childish waiting and the rich's
attitude in the third stanza. It focuses, in the last stanza, on the actions
needed to improve their lives.
7. And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.”
By ensuring them a better life and hence good sleep, they actually sleep
peacefully themselves and destroy their slumber with anxiety. In the ancient
way, people used work during day and sleep in nights which has been
reversed here where they are not able to sleep at night because they haven't
worked in the day.
GOING PLACES
1. Damn that Geoff, this was a Geoff thing not a Jansie thing.” Why did
Sophie say so?
Sophie had cooked up the story of her meeting with Danny Casey to impress
Geoff who was a great fan of the football prodigy. She knew this news would
be of great interest to her brother. She had also thought her brother would
keep her secret. She did not want Jansie, who was ‘nosey’, to know about
this. So when Geoff told Jansie, Sophie cursed him because she knew Jansie
would spread her story in the entire neighbourhood.
2. Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Jansie told Sophie that Geoff had given her the news of her (Sophie’s)
meeting with Danny Casey. Sophie cursed Geoff for telling Jansie this
because it was meant to be something special between Geoff and her. ‘It
wasn’t the jansie kind of thing at all’. Jansie was ‘nosey’ and now the whole
neighbourhood would come to know her story.
3. How did Sophie’s father react when Geoff told him about her meeting with
Danny Casey?
When Geoff told their father about Sophie’s meeting with Danny Casey he
did not believe it and suspected it was one of Sophie’s wild stories. He was
filled with disdain and did not want to encourage her in any way. So he
warned her to keep herself out of any kind of trouble.
4. What thoughts came to Sophie’s mind as she sat by the canal?
Sophie considers the spot along the canal the best place for a date, as it is
away from the rush of the city. As she sits by the canal she is lost in the
world of her dreams. She imagines Casey coming along the river and her
own excitement thereafter.
5. Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from enter¬taining thoughts

about the sports-star, Danny Casey?
Jansie is a practical girl who lives in the real world. She knows that
Danny Casey, a sports- star is far beyond Sophie’s dreams and
imagination. So she discourages Sophie from entertaining any kind
of wild thoughts about him.
6. Though Sophie and Jansie were good friends, how were they basically
different from each other?
Although Sophie and Jansie were good friends they were completely different
from each other.
Sophie lived in a world of dreams and fantasy, a world which was far
removed from reality. Jansie, on the other hand, was a sensible and realistic
girl who was grounded to her reality.

q ans X & XII (2)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

q ans X & XII (2)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

q ans X & XII (2)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1. What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to?

5.The government and other social service agencies appear to help

That is calculated to soothe them out of their wits,

And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,

Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.”

6. Notice the stanza divisions. Do you find a shift to a new idea in

7. And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,

Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.”

4. What thoughts came to Sophie’s mind as she sat by the canal?

5. Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from enter¬taining thoughts

You might also like