Rhetorical Analysis: An Inconvenient Truth

In 1906, Upton Sinclair published his book, “The Jungle,” which discussed the harsh treatment and exploitation experienced by immigrants in the United States. In his book, Sinclair was quoted in saying: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” While this held true in 1906, Sinclair’s wise words still apply to many aspects of today’s society. Although, in theory, mankind knows better than to act in a particular fashion, we fail to develop healthier habits, even though it could cost us the annihilation of life on our planet. In the documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore offers a rallying cry to his audience in an attempt to gather support to help fight the Earth’s climate crisis. In order to do this, he presents his audience with a variety of facts on the issue of global warming and provides stories on his background experiences as an environmentalist. He details his experiences studying global warming, his involvement with environmental Senate hearings that led nowhere, and he lays out solid facts about the Earth’s atmospheric issues to ascertain his credibility as an environmentalist. For example, he references the failure of the Kyoto Treaty to appeal to Congress and how it may have helped significantly reduce carbon emissions …show more content…
In fact, the government can be compared to oil companies and auto manufacturers in this instance. For example, it would be extremely feasible for car companies to create vehicles that emit much less exhaust into the atmosphere. But, since these corporations and conglomerates make such a large profit off of fossil fuels and the fast-approaching destruction of our home, there has been hardly any deviation from our present