I believe the term “high-life low-life” fits Joe Gould very well. He was definitely a “low-life” in that he was homeless, lived off of handouts and his diet consisted mainly of ketchup. Many people would probably look down at him as a vagrant at first glance. Despite this, Gould’s life was anything but low. Coming from a well-to-do family in the outskirts of Boston and being Harvard educated, Gould had intelligence and a unique few of the world. His eccentricities and aversion to money and physically possessions makes him more of a “high-life”. He sees the world in a different way than most would. Life for him was not about monetary values, but about experience.

Mitchell portrayed him in this “high-life low-life” way, showing us what Gould valued in his life other than money. Despite being homeless, Gould kept company with some of New York’s most successful and famous people, going to upscale parties quite frequently, adding to his “high-life” qualities. To those attending these parties and seeing him for the first time, he may seem a “low-life” when he begins reciting poems in “seagull” and flapping his arms about. Mitchell wrote that those at the party often came to enjoy Gould’s company by the end of the day. The story of Joe Gould shows us the value and life he had as a human being, not as a homeless man without a dime to his name.