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Rhetorical Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's Speech

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There is never a lack of people who want to make a difference in the world however there are very few who have the confidence to take action. Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor he suffered because people didn't care to take action; they were indifferent to his plight. Wiesel now stands before the nation that saved him and his message is stop indifference. Being grateful for life is what makes us human, however as Wiesel describes there are times where people choose to be emotionless. Wiesel resents indifference because it isolates one from the world and leaves others helpless. In his speech Wiesel uses his life to demonstrate its effects and to argue against the sentiment of indifference that caused him and many others to suffer. Gratitude …show more content…

Wiesel first presents his definition by iterating a loose description of the word but then he follows this description by asking a series of rhetorical questions each giving more for the audience to think about and potentially causing inner turmoil. Wiesel then details, “...indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair” (2). Wiesel utters these words with a mocking tone intended to mimic the people who come up with these excuses just so they don't have to step out of their comfort zone. Wiesel also highlights the seductiveness of indifference, its innocent, carefree nature that lures soo many to be blind to the problems around them. Wiesel uses the “‘Muselmanner”’ as an example of both the victims and the abusers of indifference. They are isolated, lifeless, and decrepit; some of them choose to be like this, however the majority is left in this state because others fall into the trap of indifference. In Wiesel's words, “And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment” (3-4). Indifference doesn't just put yourself in this catatonic state it also affects those around you therefore whether it's directly or indirectly the people around you face the fallout of your denial to humanity. Wiesel then uses the U.S. as an example he states, “..we are now commemorating that event…but then, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did” (4). This is his first shot towards the U.S.s hypocrisy. Right now they glorify their victory but back when jews were dying in concentration camps they did nothing to help. This point is further

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In the middle of Wiesel's plea to the government Logos began to appear in his words and effectively strengthened his tone and the assertiveness in his voice. “Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.

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American Jewish writer, and political activist Elie Wiesel, in his sympathetic speech “The Perils of Indifference” to send a strong message to the audience. As a survivor of the Holocaust, he supports his claim through his speech explaining the dangers of indifference from first hand experience. Specifically in his speech he refers to himself, “A young Jewish boy [..] woke up in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald”(par 1).. In addition, Wiesel use of rhetorical questions is for the audience to question or to think about indifference. Wiesel’s purpose is to warn people about indifference in order to “save” our future.

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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.

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Indifference is an unforgivable act that causes someone to become inhuman. In 1999, Wiesel was invited to speak at the White House to speak about the past century. Within the speech, Wiesel claims that “to be indifferent to [suffering] is what makes the human being inhuman” (Wiesel, “The Perils of Indifference,” par. 1). 9). The syllable of the syllable. An instance of Wiesel’s indifference towards suffering in the memoir is when his father dies of

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Elie Wiesel maintains a strong desire to spread awareness and create a small pool of guilt for the bystanders. Although the majority of bystanders didn’t wish pain upon the Jews, they chose to do nothing, standing on the sidelines while innocent people died. Elie emphasizes his opinion by repeating a word that has a great impact. “Indifference” is a strong word that expresses a heavy connotation. The word itself means no difference but is used negatively, ironically creating a bigger difference between people.

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This was an effective strategy because it makes the reader think about the consequences of being indifferent. This ties the idea together that being indifferent only benefits the aggressor because the victim loses hope, which gives the aggressor more power. Wiesel (1999) used rhetorical questions like, "Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Does it mean that society has changed? Has the human being become less indifferent and more human?

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He also inform the audience about the indifference that happened during the holocaust .Elie wiesel uses another rhetorical questioning to start off his second main idea and to bring the audience attention to what he is about to point out. In his speech he said, “ what is indifference?” To make the listener ask themselves do they really know what the meaning of indifference is referring to the event. He also use the technique of comparing and contrasting by stating “more dangerous than anger and hatred”.

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Elie Wiesel lived threw one of the most horrific events in human history, due to this he has a certain philosophy on oppression and remaining silent. For example, Wiesel believes all rules are off when it comes to human suffering he says “when human dignity is in jeopardy national borders become irrelevant.” This emphasises that when humans are endangered we must forget our differences and fight. This also means we must forget about other countries and other races because human life is more important. Wiesel adds on to his belief by saying, “Wherever men or

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When the young boy asks, “Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent”, (paragraph 5) again the audience is prompted to emotionally respond. They have to realize that it was all of them, all of us, who remained silent and that this silence must never happen again. Wiesel demonstrates a strong use of pathos throughout his speech to encourage his audience to commit to never sitting silently by while any human beings are being treated

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The general statement made by Elie Wiesel in his speech, The Perils of Indifference, is that indifference is sinful. More specifically, Wiesel argues that awareness needs to be brought that indifference is dangerous. He writes “Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end”. In this speech, Wiesel is suggesting that indifference is dangerous it can bring the end to many lives. In conclusion Wiesel's belief is suggesting that indifference is an end, it needs to be noticed and taken care of.

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Wiesel pinpoints the indifference of humans as the real enemy, causing further suffering and lost to those already in peril. Wiesel commenced the speech with an interesting attention getter: a story about a young Jewish from a small town that was at the end of war liberated from Nazi rule by American soldiers. This young boy was in fact himself. The first-hand experience of cruelty gave him credibility in discussing the dangers of indifference; he was a victim himself.

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In the speech, titled “The Perils of Indifference,” Elie Wiesel showed gratitude to the American people, President Clinton, and Mrs. Hillary Clinton for the help they brought and apprised the audience about the violent consequences and human suffering due to indifference against humanity (Wiesel). This speech was persuasive. It was also effective because it conveyed to the audience the understanding of

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Elie Wiesel emphasizes throughout "The Perils of Indifference" how choosing to ignore the suffering of others only produces more misery, more prejudice, and more grief—and it also imperils the very humanity of those who choose to do so. Wiesel also noted that in the

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Cancer is a disease of out of control cell growth. All cells will be formed, matured, and eventually die, new cells divide from mitosis and move to blood vessels and other parts of your body. Cancerous cells have have an uncontrolled division of cells and keep producing. Chemical messages that cells receive effect the molecules in the cell and determines cell growth. Cell division in the body depends on a precisely regulated set of events that determine whether the cell will or will not divide.

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Wiesel’s speech shows how he worked to keep the memory of those people alive because he knows that people will continue to be guilty, to be accomplices if they forget. Furthermore, Wiesel knows that keeping the memory of those poor, innocent will avoid the repetition of the atrocity done in the future. The stories and experiences of Wiesel allowed for people to see the true horrors of what occurs when people who keep silence become “accomplices” of those who inflict pain towards humans. To conclude, Wiesel chose to use parallelism in his speech to emphasize the fault people had for keeping silence and allowing the torture of innocent

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