The Occupy Wall Street movement, which began in 2011 in New York City and spread to other cities around the world, was a grassroots protest movement that sought to address income inequality and corporate influence in politics. This movement used various rhetorical devices to effectively communicate its message and advocate for change. Such literary devices are catchphrases, rhetorical questions, and repetition which they used to hammer down their points about income inequality.
The Occupy Wall Street movement was a movement based on the idea that most of the world’s money is held by the 1% at the top, which causes a major imbalance of income for the lower 99%.
One rhetorical device that was commonly used by Occupy Wall Street protesters was the use of slogans and catchphrases. One of the most well-known slogans of the movement was “We are the 99%,” which referred to the idea that the majority of people in society were being left behind by the wealthy elite, who were referred to as the “1%.” This idea that the 99% were left behind was used by the speaker because they knew the audience would feel outraged about the Jurassic imbalance of power and money, between them and that 1%. By using this slogan, protesters were able to effectively convey their message and inspire a sense of unity and solidarity among supporters.
Another rhetorical device that was commonly used by Occupy Wall Street protesters was the use of rhetorical questions. These questions were used to challenge the status quo and encourage people to think critically about the issues being raised by the movement. For example, protesters might ask, “Why should the 1% have so much power and influence, while the rest of us struggle to get by?” By using rhetorical questions, protesters were able to engage their audience and inspire them to think more deeply about the issues at hand. These questions made the audience outraged at the fact that they work for these giants that own a disproportionate amount of the world’s wealth, and that they are inadvertently helping them get richer.
In addition to slogans and rhetorical questions, Occupy Wall Street protesters also used the rhetorical device of repetition to emphasize the importance of their message. For example, they might repeat the phrase “Occupy Wall Street” over and over again, in order to make it clear that they were not going to back down in their fight for change. Another cause of repetition was the slogan “We are the 99%” which was coined as the most successful slogan since “Hell, no we won’t go” from the Vietnam war protests. This repetition helped to emphasize the importance of the movement and inspire a sense of determination among supporters.
Overall, the Occupy Wall Street movement was successful in using rhetorical devices such as slogans, rhetorical questions, and repetition to effectively communicate its message and advocate for change. Through the use of these techniques, protesters were able to mobilize a large and diverse group of supporters and bring attention to important issues of income inequality and corporate influence in politics.
