Rhetorical Situation
Genre
What is an essay?
Diction in paragraph 1 that purposely supports the flamingo theme
What is flocking and/or splashing?
Example of anaphora/parallelism and triadic structure (of sorts) in paragraph 4
What is "In ancient Egypt....In Mexico and the Caribbean...?"
“whose pursuit of private power and profit exceeds their sense of public responsibility”
What is an example of Alliteration?
“Why do so many Americans say they want their children to watch less TV, yet continue the opportunities for them to watch it?”
HINT: Assume this is left unanswered.
What is Rhetorical Question and/or Irony.
The speaker/writer and what we know about him/her
Who is Jennifer Price, and published writer, academic?
The tone in the first paragraph.
What is informational, objective?
Rather than explicitly telling readers what the pink flamingo represents, the author allows its history and cultural associations to suggest a larger meaning. This strategy relies heavily on ______.
What is symbolism?
Colloquial, jargon, critical, punitive and dramatic are all words to describe this.
What is Diction?
What is the term for the specific reason why something was written?
What is Exigence?
What we know about the audience
Who are Americans familiar with 1950's culture?
(Answers may vary: Baby Boomers, etc.)
The tone indicated by the short sentence in paragraph 2: "But no matter."
What is dismissive?
What allusion supports the author's second main claim about the flamingo frenzy, and why is this appropriate to her argument?
Who is Elvis Presely because he was known for his flashiness and gaudiness?
“We saw birds on the wires and combines in the fields. We were fascinated with roadkill, and we counted cows and horses and coyotes and shaving-cream signs. We stared with a kind of reverence at the horizon…”
HINT: Two answers
What are Polysyndeton and Anaphora/parallelism?
“There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway.”
HINT: Two answers
What are Polysyndeton and Alliteration?
Two contexts to consider
What are 1950's culture and late 20th century culture?
If an author describes something in an exaggerated or playful way to make readers laugh while also making critical commentary, the resulting attitude can be described with this tonal adjective.
What is a satirical tone?
Combination of simile and alliteration that reinforces the growth, ubiquity, and symbolism of the flamingo
What is "like a line of semiotic sprouts?"
“Whosoever loses his life shall find it.”
What is a Paradox?
“To err is human; to forgive divine.”
HINT: Two answers
What are Parallelism/Anaphora and Antithesis?
Price's purpose
What is that Like the pink flamingo, US culture can be bold but tacky; what is meant to be meaningful and unique often becomes a source of ignorant conformity and absurdity?
(Answers may vary)
The author’s diction may simultaneously describe the flamingo as ridiculous while showing an appreciation for its cultural significance. This creates a tone that can be described as this.
What is an ambivalent tone?
Structure of the argument that allows Price to develop her claim about US culture
What is that Price traces the pink flamingo from its origins to its popularity as a lawn ornament and describes its two main claims to fame: the animal itself and the color pink? (Answers may vary)
“...gained from the backseat: the empty farmhouse at the edge of the subdivision; the variety of architecture, here and there; the woods, fields, water...”
HINT: Consider the entire quote, not just one part.
What is Asyndeton?
"A country that had no bread for him, whose fields procured him no harvest, who met with nothing but the frowns of the rich, the severity of the laws, with jails and punishments; who owned not a single foot of the extensive surface of this planet? No!"
HINT: Three Answers
What are Hypophora, Asyndeton, and Personification?