AP Language Rhetorical Analysis

AP Language Rhetorical Analysis In Jennifer Price’s critical essay, “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History,” she assesses the irony in the popularity of the iconic plastic flamingo in American culture in the 1950s. Price illustrates her irony and negative attitude towards the way Americans destroy the lives of the flamingo and replaced it with an obnoxious, inanimate, over celebrated Floridian souvenir with adverse diction juxtaposed with positive word choice and through factual history of early symbols of the flamingo to show the superficiality of Americans post WWII[a].
In her essay[b], Price assesses the irony of the “pizzazz” and “boldness” the flamboyant lawn ornaments bring even though the flamingo has been hunted to almost complete extinction by Americans in Florida. The materialistic ways and egos of Americans shone with pride as the fad of the replicas of flamingos rose with the superficiality of the American mind. Saying this with a sardonic attitude, the comical impression she portrays is intertwined within the lines of her factual information of the flamingo’s history. The trend seemingly innocent to the peo[c]ple with these beautiful, shiny, hard creatures sitting in front of their trailer they call home are blind to realize the preeminent meaning of the flamingo to others, as p[d]rice reveals, “Early Christians associated it with the red phoenix. In ancient Egypt, it symbolized the sun god Ra. In Mexico and the Caribbean, it remains as a major motifs in art, dance, and literature.” Price expresses that not only did the flamingo hold religious symbols, it continues to embody the arts for other cultures. She shows Americans fail to see the history and true symbolism of the flamingo behind the egocentrism and “sassy pink hue” the plastic flamingo seems to bring. Price uses contrasting diction to bring out the negatives seen with the American symbolism of the vivacious color the plastic