Rhetorical Analysis Essay

I chose to watch the Ted Talk “Noy Thrupkaew: Human trafficking is all around you. This

is how it works”. NoyThrupkaew is a journalist that has been researching and writing about

human trafficking for the past 8 years (at the time of the ted talk.) The main idea in the video is

to vocalize about how common and inhuman human trafficking is, as well as the how, the why,

the what, and the where about the topic. One of the reasons I chose this Ted Talk is because I

think that human trafficking is very evil and should be stopped. It is more common than some

may think. “Human trafficking is far more prevalent, complex and close to home than most of

us realize.” (Thrupkaew 3:53 – 4:00)

Starting the speech with a personal anecdote, Noy had a primary caregiver that was a

distant relative from Thailand, which she called Auntie. She remembers her auntie being beaten

and slapped by another member of her family. Noy felt guilt and shame because while she was

her caregiver, she endured a lot of pain and trauma, since she was trafficked from Thailand. “I

remember screaming hysterically wanting it to stop, as I did every single time it happened, for

things as minor as wanting to go out with her friends or being a little late. I became so

hysterical over her treatment that eventually she was just beaten behind closed doors.”

(Thrupkaew 2:00 – 2:19) I respect that Noy said this in her speech because it could be traumatic

for her and hard to talk about, but she wanted to share what happened to an audience of

people.
 Noy also goes into the statistics of what kind of human trafficking can happen - “Forced

prostitution accounts for 22% of human trafficking, 10% is in state imposed force labor, but a

whopping 68% is for the purpose of creating the goods and delivering the services that most of

us rely on every day, in sectors like agricultural work, domestic work and construction.”

(Threupkaew 5:26 – 5:48) This Is good to note, as people might not realize how common human

trafficking is, and In what sectors it happens in.

Human trafficking is also such a big industry and problem because of how profitable it is. Noy

gives an example of this. “Once everyone arrived in New Jersey, the young girls were taken

away and put to work for 14 hour days, 7 days a week for 5 years. They made their traffickers

nearly four million dollars.” (Thrupkaew 7:46 – 8:00) One of the main problems is the huge

profit incentive human trafficking has since it is one of the motivators for why this happens.

In addition to that, Noy points out who’s usually the target when it comes to human

trafficking, since it is worth knowing the demographic. “Keep in mind, most victims of human

trafficking are poor and marginalized. They’re migrants, people of color.” (Thrupkaew 8:10 –

8:15 )

I agree with Noy and her ted talk. Human trafficking is a terrible thing that happens

every day, in many different environments and sectors in society. It is also very profitable.

Luckily, I don’t have any personal experiences with human trafficking, although I watch the

news and have seen rescues and police raids involving human trafficking before.

Noy does a good job at proving her point and convincing the listener of her message

because not only does she provide objective fact / statistic, but she also provides a personal
anecdote which further adds to her credibility as a speaker on the topic. Noy has a formal tone,

so she obviously cares about this topic and is putting effort into the speech.

Works Cited
Noy Thrupkaew: Human trafficking is all around you. This is how it works. “Noy Thrupkaew:

Human Trafficking Is All around You. This Is How It Works.” YouTube, 13 July 2015,

youtu.be/oIGBBPspTKM.