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 light

nine am downtown San Francisco

a bright yellow garbage truck

with two garbage men in red plastic blazers

standing on the back stoop

one 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 am

grungy from their route

on the way home

The older of the two with grey iron hair

and hunched back

looking down like some

gargoyle Quasimodo

And the younger of the two

also with sunglasses & long hair

about 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 instant

holding all four close together

as if anything at all were possible

between them

across that small gulf

in 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)

InformalAmerican terms (red)

What are the effects of the repetitions (green) ?

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

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

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 down

as from a great distance

at the cool couple

as if they were watching some odorless TV ad

in 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 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

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 instant

holding all four close together

as if anything at all were possible

between them

across that small gulf

in the high seas

of this democracy

The red light is emphasised. It’s what brings the 4 together in this snapshot

The red light is emphasised. It’s what brings the 4 together in this snapshot

What is possible between them ?

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”

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 scene

Lines 10 – 15 describe the beautiful people

Lines 16 – 25 describe the scavengers

Lines 26 – 30 suggest a comparison

Lines 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”.