“...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. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees-- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.” On April 12, 1999, a Jewish Holocaust survivor named Elie Wiesel portrayed the true danger of human indifference while speaking to a large audience in addition to the President and First Lady (Bill and Hillary Clinton respectively), Congress members, and various leaders of other nations. Wiesel describes the tragedies that occurred over the past century, all of the bloodshed that stained human hands. He wove his lexicon beautifully as he spoke of his own pain and misery in the concentration camps and how his liberation by the American troops gave him renewed hope, tearing the hearts of all those listening in; surely Elie …show more content…
To develop this idea, Elie manipulated several varieties of rhetorical trope.
The most common use of rhetoric was conduplicatio, or the repetition of a key concept; obviously the point to be taken was that indifference endangers our humanity. Another device he employed consistently to drive this concept home was hypophora: Mr. Wiesel asks multiple questions about the meaning of indifference, the consequences of indifference, and whether or not indifference is actually necessary before he speculates upon the answers or uses them rhetorically to offer spectators the opportunity to come to their own conclusion, which is typically in agreement with Mr.
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.
Elie Wiesel’s View on Indifference On April 12th, 1999 Elie Wiesel gave a speech before President Clinton and members of Congress. His speech was about his personal feelings regarding what should have been done to help the Jews in the concentration camps. While he did criticize the United States government about what they did not do, he expressed his gratitude to America for what they did to liberate the people in the concentration camps. Mr. Wiesel gave a speech on April 12th, 1999 before Congress, First Lady Clinton, and President Clinton.
Elie Wiesel stipulated a certain, demanding tone in his speech given on the topic of indifference. The use of rhetoric language he uses is compelling to his audience, it draws them into his claim of indifference as he demands for a change. “What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? How will it be remembered in the new millennium?” Elie exclaimed to the President.
Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor who strongly believes that people need to share their stories about the Holocaust with others. Elie Wiesel was in concentration camps for about half of his teen years along with his father. After being the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust he resolved to make what really happened more well-known. Elie Wiesel wrote dozens of books and submitted an essay titled “A God Who Remembers” to the book This I Believe. The essay focused on Elie Wiesel’s belief that those who have survived the Holocaust should not suppress their experiences but must share them so history will not repeat itself.
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.
Wiesel brings out syntax for the ending of his speech but also incorporates pathos wrapping it all back together with the sadness and pity on all of us for the harmful silence done to the jews in the holocaust. Syntax was the most obvious rhetorical device used because you can physically see how it is being presented differently than the rest but also sending a message and not being so formal about it. Pathos was a very huge part to Wiesel’s whole entire speech as he was constantly trying to turn everyones thoughts and perspectives to what he was exactly seeing in his own eyes. Elie Wiesel wanted to show the world the horrible act of indifference and how it has personally affected him as a child and for his whole life growing up. Wiesel manages to create many viewpoints and to throw us in his shoes for us to understand the inhumanity of the ones had no sympathy towards the jews during the holocaust.
Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night tells the personal tale of his account of the inhumanity and brutality the Nazis showed during the Holocaust. Night depicts the story of a young Jew from the small town of Sighet named Eliezer. Wiesel and his family are deported to the concentration camp known as Auschwitz. He must learn to survive with his father’s help until he finds liberation from the horror of the camp. This memoir, however, hides a greater lesson that can only be revealed through careful analyzation.
The Perils of Indifference Critical Evaluation Essay In the past, indifference has led to the murder of millions of people. Indifference is when we, the humans race, do not care about those who suffer from the injustice, violence, or oppression on behalf of others (Clare). On 12 April 1992, Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor gave a speech regarding human indifference in front of President William J. Clinton and the first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the White House. What was he trying to accomplish during his speech?
It becomes clear that Elie Wiesel`s commentary on human nature is that, during extreme circumstances, people are selfish and would achieve anything for their own survival. Furthermore, In Wiesel’s novel people strived to survive this injustice. For example, the Holocaust caused countless amount of
Elie Wiesel voiced his emotions and thoughts of the horrors done to Jewish people during World War II whilst developing his claim. Wiesel “remember[s] his bewilderment,” “his astonishment,” and “his anguish” when he saw they were dropped into the ghetto to become slaves and to be slaughtered. He repeats the words “I remember” because he and the world, especially those who suffered in the ghettos and camps, would never be able to forget how innocent suffered. Consequently, he emphasized that “no one” has the right to advocate for the dead. Like many other people in the world, he lost his family during the war.
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.
In his influential 1999 speech, “Perils of Indifference,” Elie Weisel brought attention to the problem of indifference in society, and in the government. After his experiences as a child survivor of the Holocaust, he believed people were indifferent toward the dilemmas of others and chose to not care to help them, for their own sake. In his speech, he recalls historical events to prove how much the world has been affected by the dangers of indifference and forces his audience to self-reflect on this issue by asking rhetorical questions, introducing them to different points of view, and showing its effects. With this, he makes a call to action and with hope, inspires his audience to make a change. As history keeps changing, it is important
Rhetorical appeals reveal the hidden message the character is trying to convey. The rhetoric also highlights the character’s emotions, feelings and the significance of the text. It allows readers to gain a better understanding of the characters. Arthur Miler, the author of The Crucible, highlights the importance of mass hysteria through rhetorical appeals. John Proctor, the tragic hero is a loyal, honest, and kind-hearted individual.
In which millions of Jews were innocently killed and persecuted because of their religion. As a student who is familiar with the years of the holocaust that will forever live in infamy, Wiesel’s memoir has undoubtedly changed my perspective. Throughout the text, I have been emotionally touched by the topics of dehumanization, the young life of Elie Wiesel, and gained a better understanding of the Holocaust. With how dehumanization was portrayed through words, pondering my mind the most.
Finally, the author expresses the dangers in ignorance and forgetfulness, “Because if we forget who the guilty are, we are accomplices” (Wiesel). He also conveys how if we forget the guilty, we do not care about what crimes they put forth. We cannot be ignorant to the oppressors, for the effect is the same as to side with them. In conclusion, Elie Wiesel persuades the audience and expresses his bias on neutrality during World War II by using his authority and personal