A Rhetorical Analysis Of George Wiesel's Credibility

The beginning to me was to gain credibility by going back into the past using a personal experience of the day that he was liberated. He used this to show the audience that he is a credible source to talk about this subject.

“Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw.” “What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means ‘no difference.’” B. Wiesel uses not only these quotes presented above, but also

Also, states his purpose of the whole speech.

Proofs: Credibility- “In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.” Through this quote Wiesel is able to gain credibility from his audience by knowing what actually went on in those times. Only those who lived there would understand that.

Structure: Wiesel uses background information to not call out the late Teddy Roosevelt, but to question his actions that he had done one day. “The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- nearly 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. I don't understand. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart. He understood those who needed help. Why didn't he allow these refugees to disembark?” With this background information Wiesel is confused on what Roosevelt was thinking when he sent the ship back. His purpose of this was to show his audience the indifference in Roosevelt he sent that ship back to the Nazis to the same people who had beaten those refugees. Turned the ship around for no known reason. More background

Anaphora is present when he affirms his opinion on indifference. “Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end.” Anaphora is the repetition of beginning clauses to create parallelism and rhythm. With very short and to the point sentences he is very passionate when he validates his thoughts in this word. More Anaphora is present later in the speech, “...valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler.” With this sentence Wiesel is admiring Roosevelt's courage and sending troops to fight different purposes. Also, Aposiopesis is present. “And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed.” Wiesel pauses for a second because he knows what he is saying next is huge in helping prove his purpose. It helps grab attention from the audience since they know something big is about to be said. This sentence helps prove that Roosevelt was indifferent at one point and Wiesel does not know why. A tone shift is present when Wiesel starts to call out the U.S. government and asks questions on why they did that. “And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed.” “A thousand people -- in America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in