The Plastic Pink Flamingo: a Natural History

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In the essay, “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History,” Jennifer Price carefully examines how the flamingo went from just animal to a superstar in American culture in the 1950's. Price retells the story of the flamingo's transformation using allusions to connect the animal to the real world, a diction that could be described as sassy, and promoting the irony behind the flamingo. Once America hit the 1950's , the flamingo was a rising star. Price identifies how the flamingo infiltrated the American culture buy referencing the flamingo hotel in Miami Beach and Las Vegas. The allusions showed the fascination with flamingos and how eager they were to make money off of them. Prize also used Elvis Presley, saying that he bought a pink Cadillac to celebrate his first recording contract. Pink was “the hottest color of the decade” and flamingos was the reason behind it. Price chose her words very carefully, using words that would appeal to the common people more. By using words like pizzazz and extravagance, Price transforms the flamingo into an animal to the main attraction of 1950's America. Price's diction made the flamingo sound fun and playful. All of her words read with a positive connotation. Price also points out the irony at the flamingos. Less than 200 years ago, Americans hunted the flamingos. The irony lays in how the 1950's attracted the American people for an entirely different reason. The flamingo was pink and that was bold. In a time where the Depression all they knew, pink and boldness gave the generation hope. Pink is ironic because it is usually associated with a feminine quality, but all bets were off in the fifties. America wanted pink and they liked it that way. Jennifer Price gave insight of how American culture transformed in the 1950's because of the flamingo. Through the use of allusions, sassy diction, and the use of irony, Price took

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