A Fistful of Fig Newtons Chapter Summary & Analysis - The Lost Civilization of Deli Summary

The Lost Civilization of Deli Summary

Stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel, the narrator remembers his editor's dismay and General Motors' displeasure at his article. A cop heads past him toward the obstruction ahead. He remembers a movie about men building the Lincoln Tunnel, and thinks that working men are never the heroes anymore. A bus with a big gin ad on the side, showing a tropical beach, stops beside him, and he thinks of the ad agents toiling over the attractive scene. In "The Lost Civilization of Deli," the narrator imagines a future archaeological dig at a lost city, buried in the sea during the last Ice Age and recently re-emerged, called enigmatically "Big Apple." Many theorists believe it must have been an agricultural society. They don't know what to make of such fragmentary titles as "Fun City" and "Queens Plaza Ind." What's left of art and literature tells the archaeologists nothing of daily life.

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