Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference

Holocaust survivor and author of the novel, Night, Elie Wiesel in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” claims that indifference is not only a sin, but is an act of dehumanization. He begins to develop his claim by defining the word indifference, then enlightens the audience about his personal experiences living through the war, and finally asks the audience how they will change as they enter a new millennium. Wiesel’s purpose throughout his speech is to convince his audience not to be indifferent to those who were and are being treated cruelly and unjustly. He creates tones of guardedness , disappointment, abandonment, and hopefulness in order for his audience to see his perspective during the horrific times of the war.
Wiesel defines

While he talks about his experiences, the tone shifts to abandonment with the statement, “They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once”(4). Wiesel puts emphasis on the word,”just” to show if the United States just put one bomb the railroad tracks, what a tremendous difference it would have made of the war, but the United States did not do one thing they just let it the indifference go on. The audience’s emotions feel sympathetic. However, Wiesel is not telling the audiences of feel sad for the Jews because it is in the past and just to remember to have a different approach in the future. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president during the Second World War, and had great accomplishments during the war he got soldiers: “to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler” (5). In this quote Wiesel emphasizes what Roosevelt fought against. However, “his image in Jewish history is flawed,” because of one incident that happened sixty years ago, “ its human cargo –nearly 1,000 Jews—was turned back…I don't understand” (5). Wiesel changes his tone during these quotes he is calm, but disappointed. Many people in the audience haven't heard of that side of the story before, only what is in the U.S. History text

He wants a new millennium full of change and wants to rid the world of indifference. Despite what happened last century, Wiesel has accepted the indifference, and is ready for this century. The tone shifts to hopefulness. After he talks about the positive events that have happened in the past century he says, “ But this time, the world was not silent. This time, we do respond. This time, we intervene” (6) There is the repetition of the words, “ this time” which creates an emphasis on these words to capture the audience's attention. Wiesel questions the audience about change: “Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Does it mean that society has changed? Is it a human being become less indifferent and more human,”(6). Wiesel asks the audience these questions to really see if we are willing to change because he doesn't know the answer to those questions himself. For the sake of the future generations, the audience have to become less indifferent. While the tone shifts to dissatisfaction, Wiesel brings up the children. He informs us that “Some of them—so many of them—could be saved” (7)He wants the audience to feel bad for the children because they deserve the