Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a
Mercedes
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Different Cultures – Cluster 1
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
• Born 1919• Lives in California• One of the “Beat
Poets” who came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s
Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in a
Mercedes• The poem describes a moment when time
is suspended, like a snapshot .• Two pairs of people are thrown into
contrast. They meet as one couple ends its work and the other is about to begin.
• The snapshot raises questions about the society which the four people are part of.
At the stoplight waiting for the lightnine am downtown San Francisco
a bright yellow garbage truckwith two garbage men in red plastic blazers
standing on the back stoopone on each side hanging on
and looking down into an elegant open Mercedes
with an elegant couple in it
The manin a hip three-piece linen suitwith shoulder-length blond
hair and sunglassesThe young blond woman so casually coifed
with a short skirt and colored stockingson the way to his architect’s office
And the two scavengers up since four amgrungy from their routeon the way home
The older of the two with grey iron hairand hunched back
looking down like somegargoyle Quasimodo
And the younger of the two also with sunglasses & long hairabout the same age as the Mercedes driver
And both scavengers gazing downas from a great distance
at the cool coupleas if they were watching some odorless TV adin which everything is always possible
And the very red light for an instantholding all four close together
as if anything at all were possiblebetween them
across that small gulfin the high seas of this democracy
Two Scavengers ... Lines 1-9
At the stoplight waiting for the lightnine am downtown San Francisco
a bright yellow garbage truckwith two garbage men in red plastic blazers
standing on the back stoopone on each side hanging on
and looking down into an elegant open Mercedes
with an elegant couple in it
InformalAmerican terms (red)
What are the effects of the repetitions (green) ?
Each line adds a new piece of information
Open, free style (very Californian ?). Each line is
a short phrase, a unit of sense or meaning
Two Scavengers ... Lines 10-15
The manin a hip three-piece
linen suitwith shoulder-length
blond hair and sunglasses
The young blond woman so casually
coifedwith a short skirt and colored
stockingson the way to his architect’s office
Professional, clean, blond, stylish
Cumulative effect –each line adds more,
building the scene
Two Scavengers ... Lines 16-25
And the two scavengers up since four
amgrungy from their routeon the way home
The older of the two with grey iron hair
and hunched backlooking down like some
gargoyle QuasimodoAnd the younger of the two also with sunglasses & long hairabout the same age as the
Mercedes driver
Tired, dirty; one older with grey hair, ugly /deformed; one younger, similar in some ways to Merc driver
We are invited to make a
comparison
Two Scavengers ... Lines 26-30
And both scavengers gazing downas from a great distance
at the cool coupleas if they were watching some
odorless TV adin which everything is always
possible
A visual connection: the “scavengers” watch the “beautiful people” as distantly as if they were on a TV ad, part of a fantasy. The beautiful people are “odorless”, unlike the “grungy” garbage men.
A reversal: the garbage men look down on the beautiful people
Each of the first 4 sections adds to & builds the description of the
scene
Two Scavengers ... Lines 31-37
And the very red light for an instantholding all four close together
as if anything at all were possiblebetween them
across that small gulfin the high seas of this democracy
The red light is emphasised. It’s what brings the 4 together in this snapshot
What is possible between them ?
In “this democracy” (USA), how big is the gulf between rich and poor ? A “small gulf” but in “high seas”
The fifth section is a pause for reflection and conclusion
Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in a
MercedesThe poem has 5 sections:Lines 1 – 9 set the sceneLines 10 – 15 describe the beautiful peopleLines 16 – 25 describe the scavengersLines 26 – 30 suggest a comparisonLines 31 – 37 sum up the scene and raise
a question for readers
Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in a
Mercedes• Lines 1 – 9 establish the time and place very exactly. 9am, downtown San Francisco, traffic lights.
• Two garbage collectors (“scavengers”), wearing red jackets, are symmetrically positioned on a bright yellow truck, looking down into an open car, at a couple who are very different from them.
Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in a
Mercedes• Lines 10 – 15 describe the beautiful people in
the Mercedes: professional, clean, blond, fashionable, stylish. They are on the way to work in “his architect’s office”.
• Lines 16 – 25 describe the garbage collectors: tired, dirty, one ugly and deformed, the other similar to the Mercedes driver in age and in some points of appearance. They are on the way home from work, “up since 4 am”.
Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in a
Mercedes• Lines 26 – 30 establish a visual connection: the
“scavengers” watch the “beautiful people” as distantly as if they were on a TV ad, like part of a fantasy. The beautiful people are “odorless”, unlike the “grungy” garbage men.
• Lines 31 – 37 return to the coincidence of their being in the same place at the same time. The red light, which has caused the coincidence, is emphasised as “very red”. The illusion of a connection is repeated (“as if anything at all were possible between them”).
The poem ends by asking whether the gulf between them is great or small (it’s a “small gulf”, but it’s on the “high seas”) and whether the democracy they are all part of is capable of bridging the gap.
How “Two Scavengers” is written.
1. Shape and Sense• Written in 37 short lines.• An open, free style.• 2 – 9 words in a line.• 2 – 13 syllables per line.• Each line is a short phrase, a unit of sense or meaning.• Within each of the 5 sections, each line adds a new point
of information to the previous lines, developing the description of the scene in a cumulative way.
• The sequence of the first 4 sections has a similar cumulative effect, building the description of the scene. The last section is a pause for reflection on what is being observed.
• The cumulative effect of building the scene is emphasised by the use of “And...and...and” to begin lines and sections.
How “Two Scavengers” is written. 2. Visual Description
• Description is straightforward and precise and focuses specifically on visual information.
• Colour is important: red, yellow, blond, grey, very red.
• It is easy to visualise the scene. We are invited to observe a snapshot and draw conclusions about the connections between the people involved.
• There is an emphasis on visual connections when the garbage men observe the cool couple like watching a TV ad.
How “Two Scavengers” is written. 3. Use of Language
• Language is plain and simple.• There is frequent use of informal, everyday American terms:
downtown (commercial centre of the city), stoop (step), hip, grungy, cool.
• Frequent use of alliteration (not shown above in the text) gives pattern and texture to the language. Examples:
standing/stoop casually/coifed grungy/grey/gargoylegazing down/great distance cool/couple
• The accumulation of detail, emphasised by the use of “And...and...and” gives the poem energy and immediacy, appropriate to the idea of its being a live scene stopped for us to observe.
• Repetitions also help to build the energy: elegant/elegant, blond/blond, possible/possible
• Description of the “beautiful people” is ironic/mocking: beautiful, blond, elegant, cool
Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in a
Mercedes
“Two Scavengers” Three tasks.
• Compare the ways in which the two couples are described (Lines 10 – 15 and 16 – 25). Comment on the fact that the younger garbage man is similar in some ways to the Mercedes driver. How similar is he (or will he become) to the older garbage man ?
• Compare the working lives of the two couples.• What do you think is the poet’s view of the
democracy that he and the two couples are part of ?
“Two Scavengers”Comparison with another poem
• You can compare the social division suggested in “Two Scavengers” with that described in “Nothing’s Changed”.