Joe states, "We're just going to assess the current hardware and software. That's something that we can even just send out a mem
o to the current employees and ask, you know, what's working and what isn't working." Simon responds, "You're going to get an opinion from every employee? Are you kidding?" What form of question is Simon using?
A rhetorical question is a question someone asks not to receive an answer but to emphasize a point. Rhetorical questions are often used for literary effect or as a tool of persuasion. The question might not have an answer at all (e.g. <em>Why me? Why bother? What's the meaning of life?</em>) or it might have an obvious answer (e.g. <em>Is rain wet? Do pigs fly?</em>). Rhetorical questions can also raise doubt (e.g. <em>Or was it?</em>).
As the word <em>rhetorical</em> implies, these questions are used as a figure of speech.
