The Boii
Alice Thomas
Flamingo Essay
4B
Since the 1930s, Americans have been collecting and displaying plastic pink flamingos in their lawns, homes, and backyards. In her essay entitled "The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History," Jennifer Price identifies two major characteristics of these lawn decorations as reasons why the pink plastic flamingo was such a phenomenon in America, each having their own respective claim to boldness. Instead of directly stating her opinion, Price weaves it into the usual facts through her careful choice of examples and words, allowing the reader to form a parallel association between eminence of the pink plastic flamingo and the nature of the American society.
Price begins the essay by directly telling the readers that two major characteristics of the pink flamingo made it so impressive. The simple, direct sentence of "First, It was a flamingo" in lines two and three seems so obvious that it catches the reader's attention quite effectively. Giving some information on what flamingo meant in America, Price thoughtfully uses the word 'flock,' intentionally drawing an immediate parallel between Americans and the bird itself. Her use of 'wealth and pizzazz' and the example of hotels in combination with the already established image of "flocking" vacationers creates a somewhat comic image of a group of eager consumers ready to flock to institutions of grandiosity, and so prepares the readers with a basic idea of what the pink flamingo may symbolize.The example of Las Vegas, the ultimate symbol of extravagence and entertainment in America, makes the idea quite concrete.Then she adds that this commercial popularity of plastic flamingos came after the indiscreet hunting of real flamingos, suggesting that it is "a little ironic." This irony correlates with the many hypocrisies ever-present in American culture. Now the readers would think that whatever the Americans love about pink plastic flamingos has nothing to do with the real flamingo,
Flamingo Essay
4B
Since the 1930s, Americans have been collecting and displaying plastic pink flamingos in their lawns, homes, and backyards. In her essay entitled "The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History," Jennifer Price identifies two major characteristics of these lawn decorations as reasons why the pink plastic flamingo was such a phenomenon in America, each having their own respective claim to boldness. Instead of directly stating her opinion, Price weaves it into the usual facts through her careful choice of examples and words, allowing the reader to form a parallel association between eminence of the pink plastic flamingo and the nature of the American society.
Price begins the essay by directly telling the readers that two major characteristics of the pink flamingo made it so impressive. The simple, direct sentence of "First, It was a flamingo" in lines two and three seems so obvious that it catches the reader's attention quite effectively. Giving some information on what flamingo meant in America, Price thoughtfully uses the word 'flock,' intentionally drawing an immediate parallel between Americans and the bird itself. Her use of 'wealth and pizzazz' and the example of hotels in combination with the already established image of "flocking" vacationers creates a somewhat comic image of a group of eager consumers ready to flock to institutions of grandiosity, and so prepares the readers with a basic idea of what the pink flamingo may symbolize.The example of Las Vegas, the ultimate symbol of extravagence and entertainment in America, makes the idea quite concrete.Then she adds that this commercial popularity of plastic flamingos came after the indiscreet hunting of real flamingos, suggesting that it is "a little ironic." This irony correlates with the many hypocrisies ever-present in American culture. Now the readers would think that whatever the Americans love about pink plastic flamingos has nothing to do with the real flamingo,