Pathos In Elie Wiesel's Speech

Throughout the history of the world, people have displayed hatred towards each other by fighting many wars. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, gave a speech at Buchenwald to the President, Chancellor, and people of Germany. Throughout the speech, he establishes that people should learn from past experiences that war, hatred, and racism are meaningless. He accomplishes this belief by using pathos to connect to people’s feelings and emotions. By using pathos, Wiesel develops the central idea of the speech that everyone should change for the better future by accepting wars, hatred, and racism as “not an option.” Wiesel conveys to the reader that wars and hatred are not acceptable. He states that, “... will be able and compelled to change this world into a better place,

First, he tells of brief story of him and his dad at Buchenwald and then later experiencing the death of his beloved father. He states, “The day he died was the darkest in my life. He became sick, weak, and I was there. I was there when he suffered. I was there when he asked for help, for water. I was there to receive his last words. … And then he died. I was there, but I was not there.” This suggests the heartwarming scene of Wiesel’s father dying. By using pathos here, it helps to develop the central idea as it suggests the aftermath of war and discrimination. Repetition is also used here, which reinforces the central idea. Lastly, Wiesel states that, “The first globalization essay, experiment, were made in Buchenwald. And all that was meant to diminish the humanity of human beings. You spoke of humanity, Mr. President--though unto us, in those times it was human to be inhuman.” This pertains to the reader’s feelings as it suggests how inhuman the Holocaust was. Moreover, inhumanity developed as a result of wars and hatred. Therefore, by using pathos, Wiesel is able to develop the central idea that wars and hatred are not