Comparing Poems

Two Scavengers in a Truck,

Two beautiful People in a Mercedes.

In this poem the poet explores social inequality in America. In a photographic moment he contrasts the lives of two pairs of people stuck at a traffic light. In the first half of the poem we are presented with a detailed description of the tableau while in the second half of the poem Ferlinghetti develops his argument that for many people the American dream is not a reality.

We are first introduced to two garbage men coming to the end of their shift. Their “red plastic blazers” indicate that they do a manual job, and it is emphasised that they are “standing” on the back of their garbage truck, not sitting – another indication that they have a manual job. The description of the older garbage man implies that their hard life has had physical consequences. He has “grey iron hair” as though he is less than human, which is also implied through the simile of him looking like “some gargoyle Quasimodo”. These images of iron and stone help to capture the still image of the character, but they also imply that he is closer to an inanimate object than a human.

The scavengers are starkly compared to two people in a Mercedes. While the garbage men wear red plastic jackets, the driver of the Mercedes wears a “hip three-piece linen suit” while his blonde female passenger wears a “short skirt and coloured stockings.” The contrasts in clothes clearly illustrate the differences in wealth. Interestingly the younger garbage man and the driver of the Mercedes have something in common, as they both have long hair and sunglasses. It is not initially clear why these contrasts and comparisons have been made, but in the next section of the poem Ferlinghetti develops his argument. It seems that Ferlinghetti is arguing that although the two young men have something in common, the scavenger will never have the same wealth as the architect.

Although the garbage men are parked next to the Mercedes they are “gazing down /...