Segregation is the main subject in `Nothing Changed` we can notice that by the quote `wipe your fingers on your jeans` this suggest that, black people can’t afford to be able to use a tissue, to wipe them self. It’s like comparing black people to dirt, giving them no respect. The skin color should not matter, because it just a color, whereas human is a human. It’s nobody’s fault that they were born that color, nobody is able to make a choice about picking they own skin color. Black people were getting poorer education, that why they wasn’t able to aim higher, or become richer, as well as respected. On the other hand `wipe` could mean that black people cannot became better than white, as well as they are not allowed to use better things than white people. We can also see that there is racism going on, not only segregation.
Yes, there is segregation in `Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes` but it not being told straight away, you have to try work it out with facts, that Lawrence Ferlighetti is giving us. `On the way to his architect office’ form that we can tell that the rich person is an architect, and must have worked hard to rich this job status. We can also tell that there is no racism because there is nothing that could proof us that the man is white, and the scavengers black, or the other way. This shows that everything can be achieved by hard work. The negative about being a scavenger, is that you have to wake up early, work in a smelly place, also have to work in cold weather and earn small amount of money. Whereas the architecture wakes up late, work in a warm room for few hours, and became rich very fast. There is no violent language, we get the information where the man or the lady work, he can also be her driver, so this could mean that he is at the status as the scavengers which mean low class.
The segregation that is going on in `Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes` is between two different types of groups of people, some of them are rich and others are poor. `And the scavengers up since four a.m` this suggest that the scavengers has to wake up so early and have to work extremely hard, to be able to have money for their families. Whereas the people in the Mercedes just woke up, to get to their workplace, they start their work very late and earn loads of money, which the scavengers could only dream about. The language also shows that the scavengers might be jealous about the people in Mercedes, because they have more power, money, popularity. As well as this, they could be jealous because of the car. The scavengers and the people in the Mercedes are both human and both are the same, but with different money outcome. The poor can’t be able to become richer because their spending does not let them; they have to earn to be able to buy food, clothes, pay the rent and bills. Everything proof that segregation is the focus.
The theme contains privilege in ` Nothing Changed ` for example people can’t speak for themselves, the government give them rules, and to not get punished they stick to the rules, that they had been given. They don’t get chance to do what they want to do or have. In `Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes` there is more democracy than privilege, this is suggested by ` in the high seas of this democracy` this shows that people are able to pick for themselves, and they should know what good for everybody, but it seem that they don’t know what good or bad for them. The theme of `Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes` is not as bad as the theme in `Nothing Changed` because people get more options whereas in ` Nothing Changed` they can’t even decide who friends they want to be.
The layout of `Nothing Changed` is normal you can see that the santaz are being short and neat, like a normal poem format. This poem has punctuations, it rhyming in some places, everything makes sense. It also explains the life that is there. Whereas the layout of `Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes` is totally different, it’s very messy. The santaz are skipping lines.
In `Nothing Changed` there is more anger than any privilege, segregation or any other subject. There is not much of privilege or democracy. `Anger in my eyes` this suggests what the author is feeling. We can also see that Tatamkhulu Afika is just feeling pain and anger, because of all of those things that are going on between people. In `Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes` there is more jealous, the scavengers wish to be as good as the people in the Mercedes. That could never happened because form they payment, there are not able to save up loads of money. Scavengers could be dreaming of being able to be as good or more educated, to be able to start new life. They are very jealous of the two people sitting in the Mercedes, because they can tell, that they earn loads of money, and don’t care about the poor people.
In my opinion, I think that there is segregation because people are being separated from each other. They make two different groups, it’s like gangs on the street, you fight just because you don’t like that person from the look, and you don’t even get a chance to know them. Everyone is just feeling anger and start to hate each other, because the other group had done something bad to their people, so they decided to pay back. On the other hand there could be no segregation, the people are trying to make they own life difficult and trying to get attention. The government can’t be blamed for the bad choices people make, because they haven’t been forced to this situation. All of the people are allowed to choose what they want to do. If the whole world would have rules we could never be able to have freedom, and have to sleep with our eyes open, to protect ourselves from the bad things.
Angelika Zadranowicz