...Political activist, author, and holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”, informs his audience that indifference is a dangerous state and that being a bystander is just as bad as being “the killers” (paragraph 14), if not worse. He supports his claim by first illustrating his personal experiences and the reactions of American soldiers in the horrid concentration camps. In addition, Wiesel lists many instances that were similar to the inhumane treatment of the people in history, some in the distant past, some fairly recent. He also compares the world’s indifference to these situations to certain words with negative implications, such as “sin,” “punishment,” “tempting,” and “inhuman.” Wiesel’s purpose is to define the word “indifference” and bring awareness to the fact that we don’t realize our indifference. He establishes an informative and serious tone for his politically powerful audience of government...
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...Anthony Graziano Mrs. Bader AP Language and Composition September 30, 2011 Perils of Indifference Rhetorical Analysis The Perils of Indifference speech by Elie Wiesel is one that is well crafted and that sends a strong message to the audience. Wiesel, a survivor of the Holocaust, addresses the issues of the 20th century in his speech while at the same time explaining the dangers of indifference. Wiesel’s appeals to his audience, as well as his strong message and arguments are what make this speech so effective. In any powerful speech, the speaker communicates and relates directly to his or her audience. Elie Wiesel does a superb job of doing this in his Perils of Indifference speech, given in April 1999. His use of pathos throughout the speech makes the audience reflect on his words, and create a strong emotional reaction to what is being said. For one, Wiesel is a survivor of the Holocaust, one of the darkest times in the history of humanity. Due to this, sympathy is automatically drawn to the listener’s mind. When he speaks of his time in concentration camps during the Holocaust, he explains the horrible conditions that people had to live in. He then says about the people who were also there, “They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.” By saying this in his speech, Wiesel automatically brings forth the emotions of the audience. Specifically, these details bring out a feeling of...
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...Rhetorical Analysis of The Perils of Indifference by Elie Wiesel As part of the Millennium Lecture Series hosted by the White House, notable author, Noble Peace Prize Winner, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel delivered the speech The Perils of Indifference on April 12, 1999. He delivered this speech in order to inspire the American people to take action in times of human suffering, injustice, and violence, in order to prevent events like the Holocaust from happening again in the future. Through the use of the modes of persuasion, his rhetorical situation, and word choice, Wiesel successfully appeals to his audience of President Clinton and his wife, the members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, his “excellencies” and the rest of the American public. Wiesel’s main point in his speech is that of indifference and what can come about because of it. In order to successfully define indifference to the audience and persuade them to never be indifferent in the future, Wiesel defines its etymology, as “no difference” and uses numerous comparisons on what may cause indifference, as “a strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur” in circumstances like light and dark and good and evil. To prove that indifference is both a sin and a punishment, Wiesel appeals to logos and ethos, stating that he is aware of how tempting it may be to be indifferent and that it can be easier to avoid something rather than take action against it. He believes that indifference benefits the aggressor...
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...___________________________ LIVING HISTORY Hillary Rodham Clinton Simon & Schuster New York • London • Toronto • Sydney • Singapore To my parents, my husband, my daughter and all the good souls around the world whose inspiration, prayers, support and love blessed my heart and sustained me in the years of living history. AUTHOR’S NOTE In 1959, I wrote my autobiography for an assignment in sixth grade. In twenty-nine pages, most half-filled with earnest scrawl, I described my parents, brothers, pets, house, hobbies, school, sports and plans for the future. Forty-two years later, I began writing another memoir, this one about the eight years I spent in the White House living history with Bill Clinton. I quickly realized that I couldn’t explain my life as First Lady without going back to the beginning―how I became the woman I was that first day I walked into the White House on January 20, 1993, to take on a new role and experiences that would test and transform me in unexpected ways. By the time I crossed the threshold of the White House, I had been shaped by my family upbringing, education, religious faith and all that I had learned before―as the daughter of a staunch conservative father and a more liberal mother, a student activist, an advocate for children, a lawyer, Bill’s wife and Chelsea’s mom. For each chapter, there were more ideas I wanted to discuss than space allowed; more people to include than could be named; more places visited than could be described...
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