An Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's We Choose Honor

840 Words4 Pages

The writing “We Choose Honor” has a very moving subject that includes a variety of syntax, diction, imagery, and tone to achieve its claim. The subject itself is 9/11, the catastrophic disaster that moved the United States in a way it hadn’t in decades. With such a large topic at hand, Elie Wiesel takes the disaster and shapes it into a writing that emotionally captures millions of readers. The all-around purpose of this writing is to empower and inform the people reading; Unfortunately, such an instance will be forever engraved in the skull’s of those affected by this tragedy, and Wiesel was one of them. Nonetheless, the tragic loss of thousands of individuals on that day will be eternally remembered through history. To empower and recreate …show more content…

“Man-made nightmare” is an oxymoron, simply because a nightmare is figuratively created in the mind, and man-made is physical and real in the sense that it is outside in the real world. A “Human Earthquake” is a metaphor, because an earthquake is a physical trauma created when the Earth splits, and not something a human is capable of achieving. “Draw us apart” and “Draw us together” is antithesis, being two direct opposites contrasting each other in the same sentence to achieve a point. There are many others, but judging on just these examples, one can infer that the language being carefully chosen by Wiesel is powerful and effective with his claims. This also goes for the syntax: The choppy, shprt sentences create a rushed and almost anxious tone, as it should be through such a traumatic event. The tone itself is very vivid and traumatic, and the sentences such as “I remember what I was thinking: “That’s madness, madness.” Two words, like an accursed mantra. Sheer madness.” The anxiety of these sentences make the reader feel uneasy and worried, considering the madness through such choppy