At the stoplight waiting for the light                             nine a.m. downtown San Francisco   a bright yellow garbage truck                  with two garbagemen 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 man          in a hip three-piece linen suit               with shoulder-length blond hair & sunglasses The young blond woman so casually coifed                          with a short skirt and colored stockings     on the way to his architect's office

And the two scavengers up since four a.m.                                             grungy from their route                   on the way homeThe older of the two with grey iron hair                                                and hunched back             looking down like some                                          gargoyle QuasimodoAnd the younger of the two                       also with sunglasses & long hair      about the same age as the Mercedes driver

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

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 in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a

Mercedes.

By: Lawrence Ferlinghetti

At the stoplight waiting for the light                             nine a.m. downtown San Francisco

‘Two Scavengers’ describes a

frozen moment in time where

two sets of people from

different backgrounds are held together at a red traffic light in San Francisco.

Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes.

The contrast between the two sets of people is

shown in the title.

Scavengers is a

derogatory term

for the garbage

men because is

suggests that

they live off the

rubbish of others.

Beautiful people is a

compliment. Ferlinghetti

is creating stereotypes.

a bright yellow garbage truck                  with two garbagemen in red plastic blazers     standing on the back stoop                             one on each side hanging on     and looking down into                                 an elegant open Mercedes

The scavengers are looking down into the Mercedes. This is

because the truck is literally higher up. However, this could be a role reversal – people may ‘look down’ on the scavengers because they are portrayed as being poor and dirty; they are considered to be lower class.

Ferlinghetti subverts this stereotype as the scavengers

are ‘looking down’ on the people in the Mercedes.

with an elegant couple in itThe man          in a hip three-piece linen suit               with shoulder-length blond hair & sunglasses The young blond woman so casually coifed                          with a short skirt and colored stockings     on the way to his architect's office

Describing the man’s

suit as “hip” implies

the beautiful people

are fashionable and

their lifestyle is

desirable. This is a

contrast to the “red

plastic blazers” worn

by the scavengers.

And the two scavengers up since four a.m.                                             grungy from their route                   on the way homeThe older of the two with grey iron hair                                                and hunched back             looking down like some                                          gargoyle Quasimodo

Quasimodo is the hunchback of Notre Dame.

What do you think Ferlinghetti is

saying about the scavengers here?

And the younger of the two                       also with sunglasses & long hair      about the same age as the Mercedes driver

Ferlinghetti tries to show that all people are equal by presenting similarities between the young man in the Mercedes and the

young scavenger.

Both men are wearing “sunglasses” and have

“long hair”. Ferlinghetti emphasises this by

saying that the young scavenger and the

Mercedes driver are a similar age.

This closes the gap between rich and poor by showing that under the surface, people are the

same.

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

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

“as from a great distance” – What is the distance between these two sets

of people?

“as if anything at all were possible” – What do you think this means?

Why wouldn’t these people normally be held together?