ipl-logo

The Plastic Pink Flamingo A Natural History Analysis

511 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of materialism in our society

In "The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History," Jennifer Price offers a critical examination of United States culture through the lens of the iconic plastic pink flamingo, which gained immense popularity in the 1950s. Price's skilled craftsmanship in the text reveals her view of American culture as one that is deeply influenced by consumerism, materialism, and the pursuit of superficial trends. Through her use of vivid language, historical references, and satirical tone, Price effectively conveys her critique of the cultural values and priorities prevalent in the United States during the time period.
Price's use of vivid language in describing the plastic pink flamingo serves to emphasize the excess and flamboyance of
American culture. She …show more content…

Additionally, Price employs hyperbole when she states that the flamingo "isn't real," further emphasizing the superficiality and artificiality of the cultural values associated with the plastic pink flamingo.
Additionally, Price's use of a satirical tone throughout the essay reveals her critical view of American culture. She employs irony and sarcasm to mock the excessive and superficial values associated with the plastic pink flamingo. For example, she satirizes the idea of the flamingo as a must have item and states “anyone in Las Vegas knows that a flamingo stands out in a dessert even more strikingly than on a lawn.” This sarcastic tone serves to highlight the absurdity of the cultural obsession with a cheap and artificial lawn ornament, revealing Price's critique of the misplaced priorities and values of American culture during the 1950s.
Furthermore, Price employs a satirical tone to critique the environmental impact of the plastic pink flamingo. She discusses how the production and consumption of the plastic bird contributes to pollution and environmental degradation. She states, “ There

Show More
Related
651 Words | 3 Pages

After discussing the triumphs as a result of the recently newfound sustainability movement, a tone switch occurs, in which Budnik transitions into a more stern perspective to set up the first part of his argument. The tone switch occurs when Budnik wrote, “The truth is sustainability is a privilege not many can afford, and shunning the average consumer for not making sustainable decisions is not the answer to our environmental crises.” This tone switch makes Budnik’s application of pathos more powerful. Budnik applies examples of pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotions as a way to convince his audience that sustainable substitutes are too costly for the lower class. As an example of repetition, Budnik conveys, “How can you expect someone to worry about the greenhouse gas emissions that have been produced by the food that they’re

Read More
829 Words | 4 Pages

Dialogue, incongruity, and parody are all displayed throughout the characters. A satirical rendition of the ongoing issues in our country is the underlying theme of this story and is shown through a parody. All in all, these elements help build and make this short story satirical but impactful. The first element of satire displayed in the story is through dialogue, when the street cleaners are introduced we can see how they use dialogue when referring to the birds in a way that portrays them as an indigenous

Read More
172 Words | 1 Pages

Michael Pollan in The Omnivore’s Dilemma demonstrates ethos states, “I finally had to conclude that Rosie the organic free-range chicken doesn’t really grok the whole free-range conceit” (172). Here, Michael Pollan uses a passive method to convey his ideas to the audience and allow them to think about and form their own opinions on his given ideas. He incorporates his own thoughts that he feels that the chickens cannot completely seem to grasp their environment and just live as they are told and raised to do. His personal experience of taking care of Rosie leaves him to realize that many corporations and companies only care for the rewards they receive for their work.

Read More
369 Words | 2 Pages

An excerpt taken from Jennifer Price's essay, “The Plastic Flamingo: A Natural History,” evaluates the plastic pink flamingo that became a quirky fixation in the 1950s. Price illustrates the ironic mania of ornamental flamingoes “since Americans had hunted flamingoes to extinction in Florida in the late 1800s” (14), including the rise of “Flamingo motels, restaurants, and lounges” (27) that sprouted across the country, and the sudden popularity boost of the color pink. Price emphasizes on these details in order to inform the reader how Americans can take something such as the flamingo that has been used as a revered symbol of celestial beings, such as “the sun god Ra” (55), inspiration for the Mexican fine arts, and turned into hunting game

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

Now, hundreds of years later, flamingos would "inscribe one's lawn emphatically" as a sign of leisure and extravagance. By this, Price points out that the flamingo has become a representative of wealth and mocks important aspects of American culture that it reveals. Prominently, individuals decorated their lawns with plastic flamingos to associate themselves with the prosperous individuals of society, despite the bird being taken for granted and slaughtered in the past. This realization helps the audience understand the correlation of the flamingo with extravagance and luxury in the country with the ignorant desire of Americans to express their status in society. Ultimately, the flamingo became a symbol of Americans' desire to flaunt their affluence and the ignorance of American culture.

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

In the essay, “The Plastic Flamingo: A Natural History” by Jennifer Price, she examines the massive popularity of the pink plastic flamingo that happened in the 1950’s. The purpose in writing this essay is to show that she believes that America is materialistic/self-centered and sometimes contradictory. She does this by using tone, allusions, and historical evidence throughout her essay. She begins by stating “the pink flamingo…staked two major claims to boldness. First, it was a flamingo” (1-3).

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

In the excerpt from Silent Spring, Rachel Carson accusingly delivers a powerful argument against aerial pesticides, especially parathion. Carson emphasizes that farmers who eradicate “distasteful” birds with parathion are heartless. She deploys a variety of language to support her central argument: exemplification, rhetorical questions, diction, and emotional appeal. Carson believes poisoning birds--with parathion--is cruel and inhumane.

Read More
281 Words | 2 Pages

In the short fiction story,“Paul’s Case,” by Willa Cather, vivid symbolism is extensively employed in order to convey the theme that the high life is not one that is easily obtained, or maintained. Cather introduces the main character, Paul, through a physical description that is in great contrast to the lifestyle of his surrounding peers. Living in a traditional, over-fabricated suburb of the industrial, “steel city,” Pittsburgh, he dreams of the shiny, flashy city of New York, and his wardrobe matches, topped with a, “flippantly red carnation flower.” He severely exceeded the “normal” expectations surrounding him, and this troubled the minds of his father, educators, and religious advisors. In the artwork titled, “Defined by Red,” Paul’s

Read More
433 Words | 2 Pages

Since early ages, mothers have always criticized the ways their daughters acted. In the 1920s criticisms were taken a step further by the flappers, who completely revolutionized the view on females. Flappers in the 1920s had an impact on women for the future. Who they were, what they wore, and what their morals were was how their impacts changed the future for all the females. “The term "flapper" originated in the 1920s and refers to the fashion trend for unfastened rubber galoshes that "flapped" when walking, an attribution reinforced by the image of the free-wheeling flapper in popular culture.”

Read More
366 Words | 2 Pages

In Edward O. Wilson’s book The Future of Life, he satirizes the unproductive nature that hold opposing attitudes about environmentalism. Wilson shows this by using examples in his writing. He shows the reader in that he is using satire by making the statement “Environmentalists or conservationists is what they usually call themselves.” Wilson shows the reader in that paragraph that he does not hold respect for the title the environmentalists give themselves. Wilson also shows the same thing to the reader in his second passage “Critics of the environmental movement ?

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

It stands out from the rest as it contrasts due to structure but also the imagery changed from dirty gross, poor, old, rough, to “clean, pretty” “delicate rose” and “ flawless rose” which exposes the ladies greed to give their money, but also symbolizes their overall superiority in worth, time, appearance, and character, that they hesitate to sacrifice to these dirty, unworthy poor people that will they fear will contaminate -literally- their money, but ultimetely

Read More
996 Words | 4 Pages

Just Buy It.” The phrasing of these signs blatantly illustrates how consumerism relies on the consumer wholeheartedly believing that not only happiness is something that can be purchased, but that it’s absolutely necessary to achieving happiness. Later, at the end of the film, the rat is shown dead in a rat trap, baited with a dollar bill. This rat trap symbolizes how following consumerist ideology is a trap.

Read More
1755 Words | 8 Pages

Pat Bateman and his friends are all very wealthy businessmen and trying to show off their wealth and achievements is all part of their daily lives. Initially Bateman is very proud of his new business card, he explains how the colouring is “bone” and the lettering is “Silian Rail”. His friends seem impressed but then they upstage him with their business cards. Even though the object is only something as simple as a business card, Bateman is so driven by superficiality that he is absolutely infuriated by the fact his friends have better cards than him. He is so obsessed that he even gets dizzy and starts breathing heavy as they are comparing cards, “Suddenly the restaurant seems far away, hushed, the noise distant, a meaningless hum, compared to this card”.

Read More
1855 Words | 8 Pages

I simply wrapped up The Oyster Princess, a beautiful Lubitsch film that by one means or another blends the two altogether different ingredients of anarchy and sophistication with lovely results. What truly got my attention was the scene of the film, where it is asserted that the film is a metaphor for American consumerism. As per my seeing; there are various understandings of the film through investigation, utilizing the four cinematic methods: Mise-en-scène, altering, cinematography, and sound. By utilizing the elements of Mise-en-scène particularly, one can exhibit how The Oyster Princess represents American consumerism. Lubitsch demonstrates this with intemperate utilization, and redundant utilization of lines.

Read More
1283 Words | 6 Pages

Likewise, the bird metaphor and Native Canadians symbolize nature whereas the buildings and concrete stand in the way of nature which suggests the destruction of the Native way of life due to the western society and its industrialized world. To further develop the bird metaphor, Thomas King uses “How can you tell? By the feathers, says Bill. We got a book.” (King 63) to make the demise of the Native Canadians deemed as entertainment to the colonizing community.

Read More

More about The Plastic Pink Flamingo A Natural History Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document