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The Perils Of Indifference Rhetorical Devices

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On December 5, 1999, Elie Wiesel delivered a speech at the White House that left everyone there considering what he had just said. Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, was abducted by German Nazis when he was 12 years old along with his parents, three sisters, and mother. In his address "The Perils of Indifference," in which he discusses the injustices that individuals must bear and challenges the audience to become activists so as never to overlook the pain of others, Elie was asked to the White House to discuss the Nazis. His use of rhetorical techniques including parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions fills his speech with empathy. Elie Wiesel uses rhetorical strategies including rhetorical questions, pathos, and parallelism to make his speech "The Perlis of Indifference," in which he explains the injustices …show more content…

According to Elie Wiesel, our sorrow and suffering are little in compared to the apathy with which we have not responded. The fact that we choose to ignore other people's pain shows that the problem of indifference will never be overcome. As a child, Wiesel observed horrific injustices that inspired him to not only teach people about indifference, but also to show them the risks of indifference's anguish and despair. “Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger or hatred.(Wiesel)”This comment also helps him comprehend apathy since he utilizes words like "hate" to make his audience feel wounded in some way because no one appreciates being a target. Wiesel used rhetorical questions and references to make his point relatable to every individual in his audience, making his address clear, dependable, and, most importantly, pleasant by putting the audience in his shoes and the shoes of those who have suffered as a result of apathy. Tragic events ruined Elie Wiesel's life. Because he is speaking from personal experience, he gains credibility knowing that the audience has a thorough understanding of the topic. Many people won't

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Elie Weisel created this speech in order to inform others about the dangers of indifference, and how it can begin to affect almost every single community. In this speech, Wiesel explains to his audience that the main reason the holocaust occurred was because of indifference, and explains to his audience that it’s “...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” (Wiesel) This creates the challenge of acts of anger, discrimination and hatred onto the Jewish community, and how it impacted the holocaust’s experience for the Jewish prisoners, and how indifference is still happening today to many minorities.

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Cydnee Lopez Ms.Trelease English 1010 23 October 2015 Rhetorical Analysis-Perils of Indifference Well known writer, world activist, and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, in his speech, Perils of Indifference, elaborates on on the topic of indifference, within our country/society and consequences and achievements because of it. The speech was delivered on the 12th of April 1999, in Washington, D.C., as part of the Millennium Lecture Series hosted by the White House. Directed towards the audience of the White House, Government officials, and Americans. Wiesel's purpose is to show reference to how indifference has allowed many good and and bad things to happen throughout america's history.

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Elie Wiesel’s “The Perils of Indifference” uses pathos, loaded words, and rhetorical questions to persuade his audience that one must act when they see injustice, suffering, or unfair treatment. The use of pathos in “The Perils of Indifference” persuades the audience that one must act when they see injustice. “He was finally free, but there

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By using rhetorical questions Wiesel subtly convinces the audience to care more about how their indifference will affect the upcoming generations. Elie Wiesel also uses repetition right through his speech. He repeats the word “indifference” meaning the lack of interest, concern, or sympathy. He tells his audience that he knows indifference is the easiest option but that indifference leads to suffering in all forms. Through repetition, he persuades his audience that indifference is the reason for many tragedies from the Holocaust to assassinations.

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Wiesel explains, it is “easier” to avoid “victims” as it can be “troublesome” to be “involved” in one’s “pain” and “despair” (para. 8.) Wiesel asks us, “Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one’s sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals?” Wiesel's warning, if taken by heart, can save many individuals who face unnecessary pain everyday. As his speech concludes it acquires a more buoyant tone in the future as individuals. As a nation we have the decision to resist and evolve as a nation for the better of

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Elie Wiesel uses Rhetorical Questions to show the dangers of indifference. In “Perils of Indifference” lines 23-25 ,”What will the legacy of the vanishing century be? How

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It can be very revealing about the person or organization as a whole, even through one instance. The imagery and trauma that the author expresses draws in the reader and lets them know the depth of his sufferings. In the speech, the painful details is not revealed. He talks very broadly, trying to be respectful to those around him, which ends up censoring some content that could have been important to his cause. Wiesel could have gone more into depth about the United States’ ignorance in the Holocaust and the distress it caused victims, but he didn’t because he was speaking to the president.

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The entire world was so ignorant to such a massacre of horrific events that were right under their noses, so Elie Wiesel persuades and expresses his viewpoint of neutrality to an audience. Wiesel uses the ignorance of the countries during World War II to express the effects of their involvement on the civilians, “And then I explain to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent when and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation” (Weisel). To persuade the audience, Elie uses facts to make the people become sentimental toward the victims of the Holocaust. Also, when Weisel shares his opinion with the audience, he gains people onto his side because of his authority and good reputation.

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In his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel strives to inform his audience of the unbelievable atrocities of the Holocaust in order to prevent them from ever again responding to inhumanity and injustice with silence and neutrality. The structure or organization of Wiesel’s speech, his skillful use of the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos, combined with powerful rhetorical devices leads his audience to understand that they must never choose silence when they witness injustice. To do so supports the oppressors. Wiesel’s speech is tightly organized and moves the ideas forward effectively. Wiesel begins with humility, stating that he does not have the right to speak for the dead, introducing the framework of his words.

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American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel speaks with passion and truth in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference” (April 12, 1999), argues that indifference is the worst trait a person can conceive due to its intolerable traits as well as telling America of its mistakes during World War II. He supports his claim by first thanking his audience for rescuing him in the concentration camps and allowing him into this country, then teaches his audience the true meaning of indifference, then confronts the U.S. government in a calm manner for their mistakes during the war, and finally finishes his speech with refreshing the idea of indifference and why it is so important. Wiesel’s purpose is to identify

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Night, “The Perils of Indifference” and “Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech”, written by Elie Wiesel, are made to persuade and inform people of the horrible things that are happening. Not just what is happening but how it is being overlooked even though some people know it is happening. In all the pieces he has written above he gives information on many events that happen where people know what's happening but do nothing to stop it. So Elie Wiesel's reason to persuade and inform the people is to stop people from overlooking tragic and inhuman acts and stop them. Wiesel is speaking and writing about this to persuade the people who hear him speak or read his novel to stand up to the things that did and are happening, so events like the Holocaust never happen again.

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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 Rhetorical Speech Analysis Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor and winner of a Nobel peace prize, stood up on April 12, 1999 at the White House to give his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”. In Wiesel’s speech he was addressing to the nation, the audience only consisted of President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, congress, and other officials. The speech he gave was an eye-opener to the world in his perspective. Wiesel uses a variety of rhetorical strategies and devices to bring lots of emotion and to educate the indifference people have towards the holocaust. “You fight it.

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