1. Complete the table to bring out
the contrast in the culture of the two sets of people.
|
|
Two scavengers in a truck |
two beautiful people in a Mercedes |
|
vehicle |
garbage truck |
Mercedes |
|
dress |
red plastic blazers |
man: hip, three-piece linen suit
and sunglasses woman: short skirt and coloured
stockings |
|
hairstyle |
old man: grey iron hair young man: long hair |
man: shoulder-length blond hair woman: blond hair |
|
routines |
they wake up 4am and return home
at 9am |
they go to their architect’s
office at 9am |
2.Answer the following questions.
a. What is the setting of the
poem?
The
poem is set at a traffic light in downtown San Francisco.
b. The word ‘elegant’ has been
used twice to describe the rich couple (lines 8 and 9). What do you think it
suggests?
The
word ‘elegant’ suggests luxury, wealth, class, and status.
c. How is the first garbage man
described? What is the feeling that he evokes?
The
older of the two has grey iron hair and a hunched back. He looks like a
gargoyle Quasimodo. We feel pity and sympathy.
d. In a paragraph, discuss the
importance of colour in this poem.
Colours
make the poem more visual. The poet used phrases like red traffic light, bright
yellow garbage truck, red plastic blazers, blond hair, coloured stockings, and
grey iron hair. The colours highlight the difference between the two classes of
people.
e. Comment on the phrase ‘small
gulf’ in the last stanza.
The
phrase ‘small gulf’ shows the difference in the social status of the two sets of
people. Even though they are near to each other, their worlds never meet.
f. The garbage men are ‘looking
down’ into the Mercedes. At face value, this is clearly because the garbage
truck is higher than the car, but there is an ironic message as well. Bring out
the irony in the phrase.
The
men ‘look down’ at the people in Mercedes because they feel that they work
harder than them and lead more difficult lives. The ironic message is that the
people who are looking down are the people in the lower position in society.
The irony is that despite their higher physical position, socially the garbage
men are in a lower position.
g. Is the poet successful in
bringing out the class divide in the society? Do you think it is possible to
bridge the gap? Give reasons.
Yes.
The poet is successful in bringing out the class divide in society. Yes. It is
possible to bridge the gap. We have to give opportunities and resources to the
less privileged people. Rich people should help poor people. Then the gap may
be bridged.
h. The older garbage man has a
hunched back and looks ‘like some gargoyle Quasimodo’. Explain the comparison.
A
gargoyle is a large and ugly figure of a person. It is kept on the roofs of
buildings to scare off evil spirits and to drain rainwater from the roofs.
Quasimodo is a character in Victor Hugo’s novel ‘The Hunchback of Norte Dame’.
He is ugly but he is loving and caring. The comparison shows that the older
scavenger is kind and caring in spite of his ugly looks.
|
Literary Device |
Example |
Meaning |
|
a. simile |
like some gargoyle Quasimodo |
looking ugly but kind |
|
b. metaphor |
scavengers |
scavengers are people who search
through waste material for valuable or useful things; here they are looking
at the rich couple |
|
c. personification |
red light which stopped and held
all the four people together |
the red light is like a mother
holding all of her children without any partiality |
|
d. alliteration |
causally coifed |
her hairstyle looks simple but
has been done with great care |
|
e. repetition |
an elegant open Mercedes with an
elegant couple in it |
the word ‘elegant’ highlights
wealth, luxury, and privilege |
