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Christina Lindquist

Carol Sieverts

English 2010

27 February 2021

“She Symbolizes the Agony”

At just 16 and the face of climate change activism, Greta Thunberg has become one of

the most influential people in the world. Time Magazine, an American news magazine that was

founded in 1923, tells the story and life of Greta Thunberg, voting her the Person of the Year.

Charlotte Alter and a few other authors from Time Magazine describe Greta Thunberg as having

long light brown hair that is usually in two long braids. She is diagnosed with Asperger’s

syndrome, which adheres to her dislike of big groups and small talk (Alter). She is not often

impressed with one’s fame or wealth and speaks in blunt and direct sentences.

Charlotte Alter and her associates paint Greta Thunberg as looking younger than she is.

When looking at her, she stands about 4’ 11’’ with her traditional hoodie and sweatpants. At 8

years old Thunberg became aware of climate change and as she grew older was shocked by the

inaction to fight against climate change.

Alone, sitting at the steps of the Swedish Parliament, she holds a sign much too big for

her petite figure, that states in bold black letters

“Skolstrejk för klimatet” meaning “School strike

for climate.” Greta started her protest back in

2018. Starting out alone with her little sign has

changed into 4 million followers and supporters of

Greta and her plea for action (Alter).

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“I want you to panic.” says Greta Thunberg while speaking at an annual convention with

world leaders. “I want you to feel the fear I feel everyday and then act.” Many people are angry

with Thunberg and her movement. Not only insulting her, but her hundreds and thousands of

followers beside her as well,

Greta Thunberg tweets, “Here we go again… As you may have noticed, the haters are as

active as ever - going after me, my looks, my clothes, my behaviour and my differences.”

She does not shy away from these insults. According to Sanya Jain from NDTV, an

Indian news media credited to being the legacy brand that lead the way for independent news

broadcasting in India, when Greta Thunberg is asked about how she deals with haters, she shuts

the question down by this simple statement, “I would like to say something that I think people

need to know more than how I deal with haters.” She is met with a round of applause as she

moves forward with her speech and plea for action against climate change (Jain).

Since Greta’s action and school strike against climate change, she has been able to meet

with several worldly known leaders including the Pope, President Trump, President Obama, and

several heads of state at the U.N. (Alter). She is frank when it comes to talking with these

leaders.

“You are failing us,” Greta Thunberg remarks, “But the young people are starting to

understand your betrayal.” She does not come to be nice and to ask politely for us to change.

With her words of fire she wants people to worry and take action, to understand the pain, sadness

and destruction we have caused and are continuing to cause with our action and inaction to

change.

She is not the only young person around the world taking action for a changed future. All

across the world, teenagers and minors are striking for what they believe. The teens of the United
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States fighting for Gun Control, students from South America to Europe standing up against

remaking the global economy and the youth of Hong Kong fighting for democratic

demonstration (Alter). But by far, reports Alter, Greta Thunberg and her movement are the most

internationally supported and known for youth movements.

Al Gore, former vice president and owner of a Nobel Peace Prize for his years of

dedicated work and devotion to climate advocacy, states,

“This moment feels different, throughout history, many great morally based movements

have gained traction at the very moment when young people decided to make that movement

their cause.”

Greta Thunberg has forced awareness by her strike. Starting out her protest by boycotting

school to get the attention of her country officials. Making signs to post around her school saying

“Since you adults don’t give a damn about my future, I won’t either.”(Alter).

Reported by Time Magazine, 26 year

old Varshini Prakash says, “She symbolizes

the agony, the frustration, the desperation,

the anger—at some level, the hope—of

many young people who won’t even be of

age to vote by the time their futures are

doomed.” Thunberg repeatedly brings up the

provided science and solutions. Climate change is a problem and we have the answer, Greta

Thungberg believes we just need to wake up.

In remorse for the world we have created Greta Thunberg states, “I want you to act as if

our house is on fire. Because it is.”

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Works Cited

Alter, Charlotte, et al. “Greta Thunberg: TIME's Person of the Year 2019.” Time, Time, 2019,

time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/.

Jain, Sanya. Greta Thunberg Was Asked About "HATERS". Her RESPONSE Won Applause. 21

Jan. 2020,

www.ndtv.com/offbeat/greta-thunberg-was-asked-about-haters-her-response-won-applaus

e-2167556.

Thunberg, Greta, director. The Disarming Case to Act Right Now on Climate Change.

www.ted.com/talks/greta_thunberg_the_disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climate_c

hange#t-133522. Accessed 8 Mar. 2021.

Thunberg, Greta. Greta Thunberg. 2019, www.ted.com/speakers/greta_thunberg.