1. Two Scavengers in a Truck....
Lawrence Ferlinghetti

2. Learning Intentions Key Teaching Points: Key Terms: To read the poem
To examine the way the poem presents contrasts
To make some comparisons with ‘Island Man’
Key Terms:
Contrast
Participle
Static
Ironic

3. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Born in New York in 1919, he has lived most of his life in San Francisco, a city both racially and culturally mixed. It has been a centre for artists and musicians and from the 1960’s was the centre of the ‘hippy’/ ‘flower power’ movement.
He said “When I was named first poet laureate of this left-coast city in 1998 I expressed my outrage at how San Francisco was fast becoming a playground for the rich and witless – a Disneyfied Mall for the S.U.V. (sports utility vehicle) drivers and cellphone addicts.”
And in his Whole Earth speech in 1999, as poet laureate he also said, “all that made this city so unique in the first place seems to be going down the tube at an alarming rate. The gap between the rich and the poor in San Francisco increased more than 40% in just two years recently. Now it’s becoming almost impossible for a lot of people who have made this a world-class city – people who have been the heart and soul of the city for decades – from the fishers and pasta-makers and blue-collar workers to the jazz musicians to the beat poets to the punks and so many others – to exist here any more. And when you’ve lost that part of the city, you’ve lost San Francisco.”

4. Ferlinghetti’s concerns
He is concerned with the contrasts between different ways of life and the way they affect each other.
We will later be comparing this to ‘Island Man’.

5. Now read the poem
In pairs list the descriptive words and phrases used for the “two garbagemen” and the “elegant couple”.
When you have finished with your partner I want you to look at the effect of these phrases.

6. The Two Garbagemen Descriptive phrases Effect
Bright yellow garbage truck
Red plastic blazers
Grungy
Grey iron hair
Gargoyle Quasimodo
Also with sun glasses and long hair

7. The Elegant Couple Descriptive phrases Effect Elegant
Shoulder-length blonde hair
Linen suit
Short skirt
Coloured stockings

8. Structure and Language
The poem is written in a series of ‘freeze frames’. Time is stopped for an instant by the red traffic light.
Now, working in pairs, try to decide where one ‘freeze frame’ ends and the next begins. You have five minutes!
What do you notice about the way the poem uses verbs?
There are no main verbs here – only present participles. Why is this?
To emphasisie the static nature of the descriptions?
What can you see about the way the lines are arranged?
They interrupt the flow of the description and slow the pace of the poem. This also contributes to the static effect.

9. The Writer’s Attitude Now re-read lines 26 – 30
What criticism of the elegant couple is made by comparing them to a ‘T.V. ad’?
They seem unreal, they are created images.
Now re-read lines 31 – 36
What do you make of the words “as if”?
The writer is being IRONIC
It is not possible for there to be any relationship between these two groups of characters. The words “as if” show that this is an illusion. The use of the word “democracy” is ironic. The phrase “high seas” carries connotations of lawlessness – another criticism of American democracy.

10. Comparing ‘Island Man’ and ‘Two Scavengers’
You now have to write a few paragraphs comparing the two poems.
Title: Compare the ways in which ‘Island Man’ and ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck. . . ‘ both explore contrasts between two different ways of life.
Compare:
People (appearance/ thoughts/ feelings)
The most important features of how the poems are written
The endings of the poems and the main impressions the reader is left with
The writer’s tone and attitude to the people or situation described.

11. Examples of Comparison
Grace Nichols writes about a man who On the other hand, Ferlinghetti’s characters
Grace Nichols uses contrasting images of for example Ferlinghetti’s methods of creating contrasts are different. He
The ending of ‘Island Man’ emphasises Whereas the ending of ‘Two Scavengers’ suggests
The two writers have different attitudes to the people they describe
The two writers have different ideas they want to convey to us. For example