REHUGO

Christian Hayley 

Mr.Soeth 

English 3AP

February 2, 2011

REHUGO: Analysis- History

A.    Elie Wiesel delivers his speech “The Perils of Indifference” on April12, 1999 in Washington D.C.

B.     Elie Wiesel is a Jewish Holocaust survivor that wrote the brutally explicative autobiography titled “Night”, which is about his time during the Holocaust. Wiesel lived through much and learned many things in the process, however this does not make his opinion true but it does give his opinion important and well worth listening to. His speech is addressed to the President, First lady, Congress, and other high end members of society, however the words he speaks do not just appeal to his direct audience, they have a ring of truth to the ears of all who understand what an evil indifference can be. The references Wiesel makes to certain places such as Auschwitz appeal to his audience because there was not one among them who didn’t know the evils that happened at Auschwitz. Wiesel makes these reference points often by using things the audience will understand, for example God and the Bible, to create within his audience the knowledge to understand the rest of his message.

C.     This speech was given a short twelve years ago, give or take a month, and in those twelve years our country has changed quite a bit technologically and economically. Our country’s advances do not hinder the effectiveness on this piece because Elie Wiesel is very well known, because of his autobiography “Night”, and students are even forced to read his works. However these students can connect to Wiesel’s message in this speech because, on a much smaller scale, they have experienced indifference as well, some might have relatives that have lived through the Holocaust and heard first person accounts of what went on in those camps and how hard life was. Indifference affects all people at some point in their life and Wiesel points out a few moments when indifference was shown by prominent people, people the world looked up to such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and how it can be the only thing that saves lives. Wiesel also asks if “society has changed?” this rhetorical question brings minds to things that showed indifference in society today, such as the ban on gay marriages. It also leads the mind to reflect on the past as all the things that happened in our own country, namely racial discrimination against African Americans and Japanese, during World War II, and makes questions arise “Has society really changed? Or can we do things again? Are we doing them now? How can indifference be stopped?” Wiesel’s effectiveness, overall, lies in his tone. The way he pauses and emphasizes certain words give his speech a semi-monotonous tone but the words he is speaking have such a powerful impact that it does not detract from their effectiveness. The fluctuations in his voice also give a great addition to his tone, his voice rises and falls with words as they gain and lose intensity, respectively.

D.    A very key rhetorical strategy that Wiesel used in his speech is epigrams. The use of these short and to the point sentences do not give the audience the opportunity to mull over some intricate sentence and ponder what it means. They are a clear as day and give the audience Wiesel’s views and opinions instantly. Thus reducing any chance of any misunderstanding happening. Another very important rhetorical strategy that Wiesel leans on heavily are rhetorical questions. By giving these questions, Wiesel drives his argument into the audiences mind and it blossoms into thoughts. The questions raise more questions which then need to be answered which will cause one to search for the answer. Answers are needed by the human mind and it will gladly search out answers.

E.     MLA Citation:

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