Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference
On April 12, 1999, Elie Wiesel delivered a poignant speech during the Millennium Lectures. (Wiesel 1) In his effective speech, the author emphasizes the word “indifference” in order to establish a closer connection between the past and the present – contrasting what we, as a country, have done and what we should do going forward. “The Perils of Indifference” is a call to action in order to defend human life in the new millennium. Wiesel captures his audience with facts, appeals to the human conscience, and utilizes many strategies to add weight to his words. From the very first line, Wiesel targets his audience effectively. By directly addressing authorities and governors, like “Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador …show more content…
Wiesel starts out with an emotional message that also asserts his credibility on the subject of the speech. A stirring opening statement creates imagery that the audience cannot help but picture. By using the phrase “a young Jewish boy” to describe himself and describing his feelings towards liberation as having “no joy in [his] heart”, Wiesel appeals to the audience’s emotions and sensitivities towards the tragedy of the Holocaust. (Wiesel 1) This allows the audience to visualize a young Wiesel being part of the dark story with suffering, pain, brutal punishment and starvation. Wiesel also shows that he has authority to speak on injustice in the world, as he experienced one of the worst injustices to date. His authority to speak makes his message even more powerful. Having personal experience with the Holocaust, Wiesel is able to effectively and efficiently describe the horrors and injustice that many people …show more content…
After stating his personal story with the Holocaust, Wiesel goes on to list many tragedies of the twentieth century like “the two World Wars, chains of assassinations, and bloodbaths in Cambodia and Nigeria, India and Pakistan”. Relates violent acts to indifference – indifference is a violent act in and of itself. A subtler rhetorical tool is the dichotomous binaries that the author creates throughout the speech. Within the first few paragraphs, the author states that he is filled with “profound and abiding gratitude to the American people”. (Wiesel 1) He goes on to address Hillary Clinton directly, stating that he is grateful for all that she has done for “the victims of injustice, the victims of destiny and society”. (Wiesel
'The Perils Of Indifference' By Elie Wiesel
1129 Words | 5 PagesWiesel 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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Elie Wiesel Rhetorical Speech
556 Words | 3 PagesElie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate, gave a motivational speech on April 12th, 1999, in Washington D.C., as part of the Millennium Lecture series hosted by President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. Wiesel was invited because of how his experience was similar to the very recent events of Serbian genocide of ethnic Muslims in the region. Attending his speech were both government officials, and the American public. With the traditional use of rhetoric devices, such as ethos, pathos and logos, Wiesel attempted to persuade the audience not to be indifferent to events around them. Wiesel, himself a Holocaust survivor, is validated in his interpretation of indifference “no difference.”
Persuasive Speech In Night By Elie Wiesel
1885 Words | 8 PagesThis quote from Wiesel’s speech stresses the importance of taking action against an injustice by referring to his own personal experiences. Elie Wiesel also uses a form of persuasion by comparing and contrasting the good and bad events of a century. For example, he first starts with the bad things, “These failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars, the senseless chain of assassinations—Gandhi, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Sadat, Rabin”. He then goes on to compare the negative events to positive ones, to provide a sense of motivation for success. Elie states a few examples of America’s accomplishments while speaking, “The defeat of Nazism, the collapse of communism, the rebirth of Israel on its ancestral soil, the demise of apartheid….”
Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize Speech Analysis
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Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference
629 Words | 3 PagesAuthor and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, in his powerful speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” suggests that choosing to be indifferent to the suffering of others only make matters worst. He develops his message through the use of pathos which grasps readers with emotions and personal descriptions of the torment he and other prisoners went through during the Holocaust. “Abandoned” and “Forgotten” were how the author and the other prisoners felt (Wiesel). Further, Wiesel uses repetition to emphasize the meaning of “indifference.” Wiesel delivers the meaning of indifference in many ways to help the audience understand the true meaning.
The Perils Of Indifference By Elie Wiesel
1066 Words | 5 PagesElie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has devoted his life to informing others about the violence that is inflicted and then transforms into indifference. In his millennium talk on "The Perils of Indifference" on April 2, 1999, Elie Wiesel outlines the injustices that people experience and implores the audience to become activists and never to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. Such a strong message, a cry for humanity. He correctly recognized this as an idea worthy of this particular stage on this particular day—a call for people to recognize the allure of indifference and rage against apathy.
The Perils Of Indifference By Elie Wiesel
553 Words | 3 PagesIndifference is a lack of interest, concern, or sympathy; to be indifferent is to not care about the struggles of anyone but yourself. Most times, indifference is portrayed as a bad thing that does nothing good to anyone. In the CommonLit article “Elie Wiesel’s ‘The Perils of Indifference’ speech” Elie Wiesel, describes some thoughts that he has on indifference and its effect on history. Elie Wiesel agrees that indifference is a bad thing that should be addressed because it always benefits the aggressor and never the victim, it reduces others to an abstraction, and it’s what makes humans inhuman. First and foremost, the aggressor is like a school bully.
Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference
728 Words | 3 PagesIndifference need to be gain awareness and be stopped. He develops his claim by narrating the dangers of indifference, and how it affected his life then, describes how wrongful it is to be treated in such a way. Finally Wiesel illustrates examples of how indifference affected the world. Wiesel’s purpose is to inform us about the dangers of indifference in order to bring change about it. He establishes a straightforward tone for the president, ambassadors, politicians, and congressmen.
How Does Elie Wiesel Use Ethos In The Perils Of Indifference
445 Words | 2 PagesThe dangers of apathy were stressed by Wiesel in a 1999 address he gave at the White House titled The Perils of Indifference. According to the speech, "to keep quiet when injustices happen is to condone injustice and to undercut human rights everywhere. " This statement shows that not stopping racial discrimination when you see it; means that you support it. With his Holocaust experience and the approaching future, Elie Wiesel expresses the need to stop indifference to provide future generations with renewed desire and promise.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's Speech
552 Words | 3 PagesElie 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.
Critical Evaluation Essay: The Perils Of Indifference
855 Words | 4 PagesIn 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
Rhetorical Devices In Elie Wiesel's Speech
806 Words | 4 PagesWiesel’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
Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech Analysis
609 Words | 3 PagesIn 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.
Summary Of Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference
1055 Words | 5 PagesIn his noteworthy speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” Elie Wiesel claims that indifference, a force which he struggles to characterize, is the root of many of the differences between highly capable and influential societies such as the United States and oppressed groups, often composed of minorities, and prevents the development of truly compassionate feelings amongst these societies. Wiesel employs a paradoxical portrayal of indifference, an abstract diction regarding its effects, and a simple yet evocative syntax when portraying the consequences of indifference in the twentieth century. In doing so, he develops his purpose of motivating Congress and people worldwide to make changes regarding their individual outlook on the surroundings
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