The poem is built around the character Flick Webb, who was a highschool basketball star, but is now confined to the monotony of pumping gas the small town where he was born and raised. Updike does not take an obvious "good or bad" stance on Flick's situation, but rather uses imagery to portray a dark, dingy world of the present and contrast it with the bright, shining glory of Flick's past.

The imagery is evident in the first two lines of the poem, where Pearl Avenue "bends with the trolley tracks and stops, cut off." (2) Already we see that Flick's future has been cut short, like the very road that leads to Berth's Garage, where he pumps gas. In fact, the train even passes by the very high school Flick attended. Like Flick, though the train

However, Flick and his fans are a community isolated from reality. And reality is what matters. Flick is not necessarily skilled with the lug wrench, but "it makes no difference to the lug wrench." (24) Again, the warmth of memories and "a gag" (21) are contrasted with the harsh reality that Flick's path is a permanent one, and in the end, it doesn't matter how many points he scored or who remembers what. All that matters is the fact that Flick pumps gas. To the townspeople, he is a hero. To the rest of the world, he is nothing, if even that.

However, the cold reality does not seem to affect Flick too deeply. The last image one gets is that of Flick staring past a person in to "applauding tiers" (29) of candy. The use of the word "tiers" plays as almost a pun, suggesting that Flick may be unhappy with is lot in life, but he portrays himself as almost undaunted by what has happened to him and content to live his life through the glory of his past. Is he happy? The poem suggests that he realizes his circumstances are less than ideal, but Flick seems content to exist in the present but live in the past. For better or worse, Flick will never be a "gas station attendant," no matter how long that is his actual position. For better or worse, Flick will always be an ex-basketball player.

In the poem's next stanza, it becomes obvious that Flick is out of place amongst the "idiot pumps" (7) with their "rubber elbows hanging loose and low." (9) The imagery suggests that these inanimate objects are as close as Flick c

Some common words found in the essay are:
It's Flick, JuJu Beads, Berth's Garage, Flick Webb, , Pearl Avenue, Ex-Basketball Player, John Updike's, train passes, train passes school, matters flick, pumps 7, passes school, flick necessarily, pumps gas, highschool basketball, applauding tiers, flick's past, flick's situation,
Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)