The girl who silenced the world in 5 minutes.

In this Paper 1 practice commentary, the text that will be analysed is a speech by Severn Cullis-Suzuki at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992. This influential speech is also referred to as "the girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes." Within this text, she stands up for her views on reality, and believes that all blame is on the adults of the world, who priorities wealth, personal success and personal well-being, over the condition of the world that their children ought to grow up in and eventually have to try and fix themselves. She emphasises on the idea of the worlds population being 5 billion strong, all working together as family, and calls upon all to show their actions speaking louder than their words.

The intended audience of the speech is, primarily, the entire world. However, through a few lines in the speech itself, she directly hints at the specific audience who she knows can make the most difference. "We raised all the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your ways." It's the adults, those who run the world, that Suzuki hopes to reach out to. But, later in the speech, she refers to them as members of ordinary families, stating: "...really you are mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles – and all of you are somebody’s child." Although the intention of the author is perhaps not to hint at the intended audience, what this does effectively do is include every possible living person as a receiver of the message.

The purpose is clear. Suzuki, through the speech, is educating the adults of current realities, by mentioning environmental issues, species going extinct, and children starving on the streets of Rio. She warns them of possible circumstances, that will be left as burdens to be carried on the shoulders of their own children. She then, through this, persuades the intended audience to change their ways and allow their actions to reflect their words.

In the speech, Suzuki begins by emphasising that she and her team traveled many miles, motivated solely by a care for her future. And that future is being destroyed, as she mentions further. She states all the main issues in the world: the holes in the ozone layer, extinction, and poverty, among others. After all have been educated, she then argues that she, an innocent child, does not have any solutions, and neither do any of the adults. Suzuki continues, adding that all people across the world are family, yet the rich are too greedy to share with those in need, and, by using an example of a child's mindset, she puts the greedy into a more shameful position. She then closes the speech by mentioning all that children are taught in the early stages of life; simple qualities of behaviour that not even adults themselves can show. Suzuki then calls out, on behalf of all whom she represents. "I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words."

On a literary level, a lot can be seen as effective techniques to engage the audience and persuade. There are various examples of pathos being used in this excerpt, where Suzuki often refers to personal experiences, but also makes it relatable for the audience and gives them something to think about. "...but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see." This sparks an emotional response, as the intended audience will feel that their actions will affect the children of an innocent child. Surely, guilt will come into play if the potential struggle of generations to come is the fault of those who listen. "Did you have to worry about these little things when you were my age?" The use of this rhetorical question further silences the audience to reflect on the future that they are creating for generations to come. This is a very effective, and thus a very typical literary device used in persuasive texts. "If a child on the street who has nothing, is willing to share, why are we who have everything still so greedy?" This could be another example of a line that withdraws emotional responses. It ends again with a rhetorical question that questions reality and allows for a self reflection by those of the intended audience. The last effective use of pathos is in the closing lines. This is a very important place within a text to spark an emotional response. The audience will walk off with this emotion, and it will motivate inner change. Suzuki effectively does so here. "Well, what you do makes me cry at night." This is the point where she asks the audience to act out their promises. A mental image of a child crying, as a result of ones flaw, can certainly change ones actions, which is exactly the intention of Suzuki through this emotional line. Logos is also present, through the logical structure of the speech. First stating the problems, blaming the audience, and then asking for a change. It is effective and to the point, which can count towards the level of persuasiveness.

There are several other literary devices used in the speech. Anaphora is one device to consider, as the first 5 words have been repeated multiple times.
"I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do you!
• You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.
• You don’t know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream.
• You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct."
Suzuki purposefully emphasises the lack of knowledge and solutions that adults possess for current problematic situations around the world. She wants them to see that, and repetition guarantees the audience to notice. She also uses a certain form of personification. At a point in the speech, she addresses the audience as "you adult..." which is, somewhat, a way of confronting them and effectively persuade them, as she attempts in the following lines.

Overall, it is clear that through various literary devices and a fair amount of spark emotional response, Suzuki, through her speech, was inventing to change the mindset of her audience and make them reflect on what they have done and, ultimately, what those actions will result in. This was her purpose: to motivate her intended audience to take action, and save the future of generations to come.