REHUGO Analysis - Historical Speech

Emilia Perez

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

February 2, 2011

REHUGO Analysis – Historical Speech

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

B. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and author of Night, delivered his speech as a guest of honor at the Millennium Lecture Series. President Bill Clinton and his wife hosted the event in an endeavor to remember the past as the millennium ended and a new one approached. At the same time, the United Sates and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) got involved in the genocide happening in Kosovo.

C. Wiesel’s speech is considered great and profound. He talks of the dangers and inhumanity of indifference and of the indifference that allowed the Holocaust to happen. He compares that indifference to the actions of the United States and NATO to stop the suffering of the victims of Kosovo and uses that to justify the hope that he has for humanity in the new millennium.

D. Rhetorical Strategies:

a. Compare and Contrast: Wiesel uses comparison and contrast to showcase the progress humanity has made. He talks about the St. Louis incident where the ship, filled with almost 1,000 Jewish people, was turned away by the United States and sent back to Nazi Germany despite already being in American waters and points out that the Wehrmacht would not have been able to invade France without oil produced from American sources. Then Wiesel proceeds to point out all of the good things that had happened since then like Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt, the collapse of communism, and the United States involvement in Kosovo to help the refugees.

b. Narration: Narration was used throughout the speech in an attempt to make the audience better understand Wiesel’s view that the past millennium was filled with violence and suffering. In the very beginning of the speech, he talks about the rage and compassion he saw in the eyes of the American soldiers who freed him and how he will always be grateful to them. Wiesel also talks about the Muselmanner, who might as well as have been dead already, and explains that some Jews found comfort in the thought that they were being punished by God because it meant that God was not ignoring them or had abandoned them like they feared.

MLA Citation:

Wiesel, Elie. "American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel - The Perils of Indifference." American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. Web. 02 Feb. 2011.