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Shannon Hayden

Professor Ferrara

ENW100

November 7, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Throughout the twentieth century, there has been a rapid growth of individuals taking a

stand against climate change. Whether you believe in it or not you have definitely seen and heard

many things in the newspapers, on social media, or on the television about this topic. Climate

change is a huge issue that affects many things and forms of life. Kristen Marhaver talks about

the effects that climate change has on coral reefs and marine life. Throughout her ted talk,

Kristen uses rhetoric effectively and this allows the listener to understand and sympathize with

the problem she is talking about. She successfully uses rhetoric by using ethos, pathos, and logos

correctly. Kristen is a marine biologist and professional scuba diver who has been studying

different coral reefs around the world ever since she got her degree in 2008.

Kristen wanted to talk about this topic to try to persuade, educate, and encourage people

to take a stand and to help ensure that coral reefs do not become extinct. Listeners know this

because she says, “…we can still be ambitious about what we fight for and what we expect from our

governments, from our planet” (Marhaver, 00:06:32-34). She is trying to encourage individuals to

reach out to their local governments and educate them on the mass extinction of coral reefs. The

motivating factor for Kristen to upload this ted talk was a situation that happened to her during

one of her dives. The situation she talks about was when she went to dive in one of her favorite

places, the island of Curaçao, and found that what was once a beautifully vibrant coral reef is

now a gray and colorless reef.

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The larger conversation throughout this ted talk is that there is still hope for the coral reefs.

Kristen is being very optimistic throughout her talk and is trying to educate listeners and tell them that it

is not too late to change the world. Kristen has been studying coral reefs since 2008 and has been

vocalizing her studies ever since, however, due to climate change becoming a hot topic in today’s

society she has started to share her stories and studies on all different platforms. The main message

that is intertwined throughout this ted talk is that there is still hope for the coral reefs in the ocean

to survive and to come back alive. She states, “An individual coral can go through tremendous

trauma and fully recover if it's given a chance and it's given protection. Corals have always been

playing the long game, and now so are we” (Marhaver, 00:06:45). Kristen wants to make sure that

she gets her point, about how important coral reefs are to our ecological system, across and how

we have to start changing our environment now but, also wants to tell people that it is not too

late. Kristen says that we first have to “stabilize the climate of planet Earth” (Marhaver,

00:04:47-49) in order to help the coral reefs. Additionally, Kristen uses all three of the rhetorical

appeals throughout her ted talk.

First of all, she uses ethos when she describes herself as a character and person. Kristen informs

the listeners that she has been studying marine biology and coral reefs for a very long time. This allows

the listener to gain a sense of trust between themselves and Kristen because they understand that she is

speaking through a lifetime of her studies. Kristen allows the audience to feel comfortable around her

and is not pretentious when she speaks. By doing this, Kristen is letting a conversation happen between

her and the audience and not just a lecture.

Secondly, Kristen uses pathos when she described her firsthand experience of seeing the death

of her favorite coral reef. Since she is a professional diver, she told the audience about the first time she

ever cried underwater. She explained, “When I saw this damage for the first time, stretching all the way
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down the reef, I sunk onto the sand in my scuba gear and I cried” (Marhaver, 00:00:20-23). This allows

the audience to have an emotional response to Kristen’s argument and feel as though they have a

connection to her. Kristen also uses comedy throughout her ted talk to invoke happiness and laughter

among the listeners. An example of this is when she says, “Corals have been living on planet Earth for

hundreds of millions of years. They survived the extinction of the dinosaurs. They're badasses”

(Marhaver, 00:06:37-40). This allows the audience, and Kristen, to take a break from the sad facts

about coral reefs dying and show that there is still hope and that not everything she is saying is gloomy.

Thirdly, Kristen uses logos when describing the effects that hurricanes and climate change have

on coral reefs. She shows a representation of a graph in her ted talk that shows the three fates that

Caribbean reefs meet since the invention scuba. The graph depicts the percentage of coral coverage

throughout our oceans over periods of time. Kristen also shows a specific example, “The Northern

Great Barrier Reef lost two-thirds of its corals last year over a distance of hundreds of miles, then

bleached again this year, and the bleaching stretched further south” (Marhaver, 00:01:45-49). This fact

helps support Kristen’s statement about how the coral reefs are actually dying at a significant rate. It

was very important for Kristen to include logos throughout her ted talk so that her audience could hear

and see the facts about Kristen’s argument.

I would characterize Kristen’s style as a mix of both formal and informal. Kristen uses

formality when she first is talking to the audience so that they know that she is educated and

trustworthy and also to ensure the audience that her problem is a serious problem. However,

throughout the ted talk, she sparks informality in her talk so that the audience will not become

bored and still be interested in the topic. Kristen does not talk to her audience in a condescending

way and makes sure that they feel welcomed throughout the talk by using comedic relief. An

example of Kristen doing this is when she is talking about how scuba divers often find
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themselves crying into the scuba gear and says, “Crying about corals is having a moment, guys”

(Marhaver, 00:01:10-12). This allows Kristen to have a moment with the audience to joke about

how odd this sounds and ultimately allows the audience to laugh and feel welcomed. The tone of

Kristen’s ted talk is very optimistic because she is continuously telling her audience that it is not

too late to save the coral reefs. The target audience would find this style appealing and

welcoming because Kristen ensures them throughout the ted talk that they can help the coral

reefs overcome this battle and save their lives.

In conclusion, Kristen used rhetoric effectively by using ethos, pathos, and logos. Kristen

used ethos when she described the type of person she is and what she does so that the listeners

can gain a sense of trust between her and them. In addition to using ethos she also used pathos

when she describes the emotional experience she had when going back to dive by her favorite

coral reef. Lastly, she uses logos when she shows the audience a graphic representation of the

declining rate of coral reefs. However, Kristen is optimistic about the situation because she

believes that the coral reefs still have a chance at surviving bleaching. She gives the audience the

encouragement they need to go into the public, and to their local governments, and speak about

this problem which shows that this was a successful use of rhetoric.
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Work Cited:

Marhaver, Kristen. “Why I still have hope for coral reefs.”, TED2017,

https://www.ted.com/talks/kristen_marhaver_why_i_still_have_hope_for_coral_reefs.