Paolo Dinglasan
Mr. Soeth
AP English III
February 3, 2011

REHUGO Analysis- History- “The Perils of Indifference”

A. Elie Wiesel speech “The Perils of Indifference” on April 12, 1999 in Washington, D.C.

B. Elie Wiesel was a Jewish victim and survivor of the Holocaust, from a camp in Buchenwald where him and his family were separated. He is also the author of a novel about his hardships during the Holocaust, Night. President Bill Clinton had hosted an event to commemorate the past allowing Wiesel to speak as a guest of honor. While delivering his speech, he is addressing the President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies and friends.

C. The effectiveness of Wiesel's speech and relevance today is that he attempts to remind society of why the events occurring during and after the Holocaust are important. It revealed how an ethnicity was devastated, but nations had come to aid those in need. Elie Wiesel wants to provide his thanks and gratitude towards those who had relieved them of their suffrage. While society continues to read his novel they obtain background information to where they can have a better understanding of Elie Wiesel's speech. Wiesel uses strong phrases containing pieces of God, "We felt that to be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. For us to be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of His anger. Man can live far from God -- not outside God. God is wherever we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering." This quote is a strong use of pathos because those who do believe in God have some what of an insight to how those involved in the Holocaust felt.

D. Elie Wiesel uses a few rhetorical strategies in order to create a successful speech. He uses rhetorical questions in order to allow his audience to really listen and focus on certain key points. "What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? How will it be remembered in the new millennium?" He does this throughout his speech, usually in the beginning of new paragraphs or topics and he discusses each answer so that his audience can fully understand each key aspect. Another rhetorical device Wiesel uses is repetition, constantly and effectively using the word "indifference". Throughout his speech, he speaks about "indifference" and its meaning being both helpful and destructive.

MLA Citation:

Wiesel, Elie. “The Perils of Indifference.” Millennium Lecture Series. Washington D.C. April 12, 1999