Greta, and the Power of Emotion. Greta Thunberg is an autistic environmental activist from Sweden. She became known for her environmental activism after protesting for stronger action on climate change in 2018 at 15. In 2019, she was chosen to give a speech at the United Nations Climate Summit, and this was an excellent choice. Thunberg’s protests and work in activism have garnered her much acclaim and recognition in both the environmental world, and with the general public, thus bringing more attention to the summit and climate change alike. During the summit, she spoke to world leaders and important figures in the environmental sphere. However, what was said was necessary for all to hear, given that the subject is as global as the imminent threat of climate change. Greta Thunberg’s admonishing speech to world leaders in 2019 at the United Nations Climate Summit …show more content…
One of the rhetorical devices used in the speech was rhetorical questioning. Rhetorical questioning entails asking questions in which the answer is already known, and the questions are asked not in earnest but for effect. Thunberg utilizes this in her key statement throughout the speech, “How dare you?”, which is very powerful in shaming the audience of the speech for their ineffectiveness. She also embellishes this question in the speech to go more in-depth about the specific problems she has with them, like in “How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just business as usual and some technical solutions?”, which adds to the original statement while still being a rhetorical question. Besides shaming the audience, the rhetorical question also prompts a deeper thought about the question “How dare you?”, and this helps with the purpose of the speech, which is to provoke discussion and action that address solutions to climate change. Metaphor is another rhetorical device utilized throughout the speech. This device compares two things that are not alike by stating