Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's Speech: The Pathos Behind Indifference

Uriah Witt

Professor Michael Jernigan

English 102

20 FEB 2018

The Pathos Behind Indifference

An elderly man makes his way to a podium of the White House, in attendance is President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham-Clinton. He had prepared a speech that will tug at the heart strings of every person in attendance, along with everyone watching from home. The date is significant to Elie Wiesel’s speech, 12 April 1999, 45 years to the day he had been liberated by American Soldiers from Buchenwald concentration camp in Nazi Germany. With sadness in his eyes and heart he delivered his speech The Perils of Indifference. Elie Wiesel spoke to the audience’s heart using pathos, using proper tone and with appropriate pauses allowing for the

Wiesel almost immediately draws the audience in with the compelling beginning of a horrible nightmare, he uses joy and gratitude it is difficult to understand why until you see the emotional side. As the speech goes on he breaks down the word indifference to make sure the audience understands what he is speaking about, also incase there was any misconceptions of this word he says, “What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil” (Wiesel). He understood that for the audience to get emotionally attached to your speech, emotions must flow like a river. Wiesel continually brought up gratitude, joy, compassion and the children. The use of Pathos in this speech was evident throughout, the audience was in his shoes and felt his

He wanted to the pauses to be placed during the parts of great impact and meaningfulness to himself. When he first says “indifference” (Wiesel) he speaks loudly and pauses for a short time after he says, “no difference” (Wiesel). This pause allows everyone in attendance to ponder and reflect on Wiesel’s definition of indifference. By doing this Wiesel prepared listeners for the entirety of his speech. Wiesel repeats gratitude, letting the audience know the importance of this word to himself, after the third time he will take another small pause to encourage the audience to create their own definition of gratitude. Dramatic pauses can be powerful Wiesel uses these pauses again while emphasizing “indifference” (Wiesel)and, “inhumane” (Wiesel). He spoke the words “In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman.” (Wiesel) He allows the attendees to make an overall connection between indifference and inhuman. These pauses allowed him to convey his overall