Analysis Of The Plastic Pink Flamingo By Jennifer Price

Richard Louv uses Logos in several different ways throughout this selection. He collects research from many different studies, interviews parents, and finds sources from history. In his second chapter especially, he uses numerous examples of scientific experiments to back his point that people really do not have an adequate realization of the difference between humans and animals. In his third chapter, he conducted an interview with a parent who had moved to a certain neighborhood because of the abundance of outdoor areas. Louv uses this interview to illustrate his point that even if nature is available, it really is not supposed to be used for unstructured recreation. In his second chapter, he draws on U.S. Census Bureau reports to illustrate the decline of the family farm. He uses historical events and ideas to show his idea of the romanticizing of the American frontier. Through these concrete examples, he is able to persuade the reader that his ideas and theories are valid.

Price juxtaposes the American view of the flamingo with other culture’s views of the majestic birds. She says Americans exploited the flamingo, “reproducing it, brightening it, and sending it.” She compares these actions with the reverence other cultures have for the flamingo and determines that Americans tend to pervert and exploit beauty for profit, rather than preserve the original

The author uses tone and images throughout to compare and contrast the concepts of “black wealth” and a “hard life”. The author combines the use of images with blunt word combinations to make her point; for example, “you always remember things like living in Woodlawn with no inside toilet”. This image evokes the warmth of remembering a special community with the negative, have to use outdoor facilities. Another example of this combination of tone and imagery is “how good the water felt when you got your bath from one of those big tubs that folk in Chicago barbecue in”. Again the author’s positive memory is of feeling fresh after her bath combined with a negative, the fact that it was a barbecue drum.

What would he think of our noisy Chinese relative who lacked proper American manners? What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food (74). But as Tan grows older she begins to realize that giving up her Chinese heritage for more American customs is not what she truly wants in life. Similarly, “Museum” by Naomi Shihab Nye conceals irony in the authors thoughts. Nye thinks that mistaking the strangers home for the McNay was a big mistake in her young life. But as it turns out this “mistake” unintentionally taught a valuable lesson to the residents of the home. This is reveled to the reader by Nye through a quote from one of the residents “That was my home. I was a teenager sitting with my family talking in the living room. Before you came over, I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in. I never felt lucky before” (80). Including these traces of irony helps add character and comedy to the already entertaining articles.

Price's use of similes/metaphors reveal her views on American culture. For instance, at the end of her essay, Price compares the plastic flamingo to a real flamingo. However, instead of describing the real flamingo as wading across a sea of water, she describes it as “wading across an inland sea of grass.” (line 61) This shows Americans clouding up the image of a real flamingo in order to suit their own interests. Instead of having flamingos in water like they are meant to be, they make fake flamingos to display on lawns in order to exhibit “leisure and extravagance.” (line 19) Another example would be when Price describes many flamingo based buildings such as motels, restaurants, and lounges that sprang up all across the country in the 1950s. (line 26) She compares these flamingo based buildings to “semiotic sprouts” (line 28) that just shout out “flamingo” in order to take advantage of the flamingo trend. These buildings using the “namesake Flamingo” (line 27) adopted this new trend and threw out the old in order to “stand out” (line 25) and draw in “riches.” (line 22) Thus, this shows the adaption of the new trend, no matter how much it had deviated from the norm, in order

The novel itself is not simply a story offering insight into American society, but is also a tapestry of symbols and motifs, each representing an element of human society as a whole, or in some cases, a symbol that foreshadows the end fate of the Pequod and its "heathen crew."

I wholeheartedly endorse what Cottom calls “The Logic of Stupid Poor People”, that poor people buy status symbols to survive in this world. She demonstrates that, as a middle class black girl, her family had a way of turning the tables in their favor in multiple aspects in order to supply their needs and wants. Poor people buy expensive items, sometimes depriving themselves of their other needs, just for the respect of others. These items are 21st-century status symbols, they can single-handedly determine the fate of your everyday encounters. The author uses personal experiences to support her argument, persuasively changing your entire perspective and broadening your mind to another individual’s lifestyle.

Yet, Shaw concludes, “wild animals increasingly find suburban life in the United States to be attractive.” (Shaw) She explains the suburbs are ideal places for wildlife, citing there are 32 known breeding pairs of bald eagles in Virginia, a species once thought to be on the brink of extinction. She shows the deer population is at an all-time high, with a possible 25 million deer in the United States. She accredits two phenomena to the rise in wild animal populations; including natural reforestation and suburbanization, both of which create a haven for “edge” type wildlife (Shaw).

In the poem “America,” by Tony Hoagland, the idea of Americans being consumed with their money is shown using symbolism and metaphors. The speaker in this poem is a teacher whose name is never mentioned. One thing revealed in the poem is that the speaker has a father who is presumably very wealthy and successful. One of the teacher’s students compares America to a maximum security prison. A recurring theme throughout “America” is Hoagland showing examples of America’s greedy society using a teacher, student, and a father’s experiences. Using metaphors of money and symbols of rivers filled with merchandise, Tony Hoagland captures how the teacher begins to think after he hears his student compare America to a maximum security prison.

In the essay “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History” by Jennifer price; the author shows implicitly her idea and point of view on the topic on the United States culture. The idea is that the U.S.A‘s culture is very overbearing, this is shown by her view on how Americans are so worried with their image that is seen by society. Price uses many writing techniques to express her view on United States culture, by the usage of diction, tone, and symbolism Price is able to convey her analysis on the greed and the corruption occurring in the American culture.

Jennifer Price’s essay “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History” introduces the origins of the famous lawn ornaments. Price’s purpose is to educate about the hypocrisy of American culture and how many live a life of extravagance and fortune without raising a finger. She adopts an informative tone in the first paragraph that shifts to a sarcastic tone in order to exemplify the state of insincerity of the American ways to the citizens of America.

Richard Louv, an American nonfiction author and journalist, in his essay, "Last Child in the Woods", uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to pass on his message. Louv establishes specific examples, literary devices, and an appeal to ethos in order to infrom us of the seperation of people and nature. The author proves his claim with specific examples, as a rhetorcial startegy, which makes it beleiveable to his audience. During his essay he gives an example that Researchers at the State University of New York are trying to change the colors that appear on butterfly wings.

Established magazine writer Jennifer Price’s essay, “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History”, argues that America’s culture is excessively concerned with material items, and much less concerned with individuality. Price addresses her opinion of American culture through syntax, diction, and tone. Price conveys her opinion of American culture through her use of syntax. In the second paragraph, Price discusses America’s past according to flamingos, crafting her sentence using exceptional syntax to reveal her true feelings towards the United States.

On a trip to the Upper East Side, Maria Ganz, a Jewish girl who had been growing up in a Jewish tenement community, saw the stark differences between the two sides of Manhattan; “the contrast she saw- between uptown wealth and … the tenement districts- led her to see things in new ways” (Ewen 21). The social environment of America was drastically different than what these immigrant women were used to; in America there were distinct social classes that were completely defined by how much money one had, or didn’t have; while in Europe they “had of course dealt in money, but also dealt in barter or kind” (Ewen 23) while in America “everything was measure in money terms” (Ewen 23). This is not to say that middle class immigrant women did not have their own form of luxury; while their day to day lives were still reminiscent of nineteenth century life, many women indulged in meals at tasteful restaurants, shopping at department stores, and finding more affordable variations of Fifth Avenue inspired fashion looks. While immigrant women and families may have been discouraged to find that a life of extravagance and ease, as the “American dream” had promised, may not be a viable option; it was certainly not impossible for these women to adapt to the American culture and find their of versions of luxury.

Price’s carefully calculated diction and word choice effectively explains America’s attachment towards bold statements of wealth and status and thus, their attraction towards the flamingo. Through usage of such phrases including “...synonymous with wealth and pizzaz.” (Price 7-8), “...cachet of leisure and extravagance.” (Price 19), “...extra fillip of boldness…” (Price 20), and “...broiling magenta, livid pink, incarnadine…” (Price 34-35), Price is able to effectively explain the connotations of wealth, status, and boldness that the plastic flamingo had to Americans through describing the flamingo as how most Americans would perceive it. Price’s powerful diction creates vivid imagery of the flamingo and the underlying meanings behind it. Using such wording, Price is not only able to explain what the flamingo symbolizes, but is also able to demonstrate why Americans would be drawn to the simple lawn