One of the ways in which the poets present people is by using language. Both poets use comparison language effectively to contrast between the lives of the people. In ‘Nothing’s Changed’, Afrika compares the lives of white and black people by using the description of the ‘whites only’ restaurant and the ‘cafe’. He refers to the adjective ‘linen’ to describe the cloth being used in the expensive and elegant restaurant, compared to the cafe, with its ‘plastic table’s top’ and cheap surroundings. Similarly, contrast is also used in ‘Two Scavengers’, but here it is the contrast of two pairs of people from different social classes. The poet refers to the two garbage men in the truck as ‘scavengers’, which is a derogatory term because it suggests that they live off the rubbish of others, in contrast to the ‘beautiful people’. Both poets use contrasting images effectively to highlight the differences between the people and to create a division between two different races and social classes.
The structure in ‘Nothing’s Changed is not a free verse poem because it is set out in six stanzas each with eight lines and ending with a full stop. The use of regularity in the layout produces a sense of control and shows that the poet clearly knows how he feels about the area. On the other hand, ‘Two Scavengers’ is a free verse poem with no regular pattern of syllables and no punctuation. This implies that the poem represents an instant moment in America in which two different types of people are described in great detail. Some lines are also short and others start in the middle of the page. This helps to emphasise the idea of the garbage men ‘looking down into an elegant open Mercedes’. This is because the garbage truck is higher than the car, but there is also irony used in this line because socially it would be the ‘elegant couple’ who are looking down on the garbage men.
Furthermore, both poets use the feelings of the people in the poem and their own attitude to express the meaning of the poem. The person in ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is the poet himself. When he returns to ‘District Six’ he says ‘and my hands, /and the skin about my bones, /and the soft…/and the…’ which conveys that he is angry and frustrated. The structure also helps to add to the developing anger that he is feeling. In addition, Afrika says ‘…we know where we belong’ which illustrates that he is inferior and he knows that he is not wanted. Apartheid is supposed to be gone under Nelson Mandela’s government but he feels that ‘nothing’s changed’ about the area and inequalities still exist. In the same way, the Ferlinghetti is also outraged at the inequality present in ‘Two Scavengers’. He is astonished and concerned about the growing gap between the rich and the poor, 'as if anything at all were possible/between them…' This is clearly irony because the poet is saying that anything can happen, but the use of ‘as if’ suggests that it is actually not possible, which also makes us feel sympathy for the garbage men.
In both of these poems, the poets use the same techniques efficiently to present people, but in different ways. Although these poems are set in two different situations, there is still inequality existing in the society, and we can feel that both poets do not have a positive attitude towards these poems. They both highlight the divisions between two different races and social classes. Hopefully, in the future, the people would not judge each other for their appearance, racial and social class and culture because then, it would make the society more equal.
