Sharena Kaur
Mr. Soeth
English 3 AP
February 2, 2011

REHUGO Analysis- Elie Wiesel Speech

A. Elie Wiesel, “The Perils of Indifference” April 12, 1999

B. Wiesel had given the speech at the Millennium Lecture Series because he wanted to approach an audience who would listen and learn from the mistakes that were made in the past and try to improve for the future. He delivered the speech to reflect the past and speak of the future and oncoming events or tragedies that may befall on us. He also gave the speech because he wanted to inform people of the injustice that occurred in the past, and wanted to make sure that his audience would understand enough to not repeat it in the future. Wiesel gave the speech in Washington D.C. because he knew that the audience would have more knowledge and maturity to understand the message he is trying to send through his simple words.

C. The speech given by Elie Wiesel can be related to more situations that occur today. For example, the great tragedy that happened on September 11th can be related to Wiesel’s speech because in both cases innocent lives were lost. Similarly, in both situations, no one can be put at fault and there was no one that could help; there were only silent witnesses who had nothing in control. His speech was effective through the informative and yet bitter tone. It was so because it caught everyone’s attention and the fact that they can relate to it. By bringing up situations such as about a child being stripped of its childhood, Wiesel pauses for a brief second to let the audience recall a bit of their childhood. Throughout his speech, Wiesel left places for the audience to relate the situation to their personal or social life. These memories (pathos) helped the audience have a stronger opinion about the speech and it also urged the audience to listen to the speech.

D. Rhetorical Strategies:

1.In the speech Wiesel uses comparisons such as metaphors to explain problems that occurred in the past. For example, he compares the agony felt by him and others who witnessed the tragedy that had befallen on Auschwitz to the other worldly failures and misfortunes. For example, in the speech Wiesel says “…failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars, the senseless chain of assassinations (Gandhi, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Sadat, Rabin), bloodbaths in Cambodia and Algeria, India and Pakistan, Ireland and Rwanda, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Sarajevo and Kosovo; the inhumanity in the gulag and the tragedy of Hiroshima. And, on a different level, of course, Auschwitz and Treblinka.” By comparing the situations Wiesel displays how there were so many tragedies amongst everyone yet no one had the interest in finding a solution to the problems. When using metaphors to compare the few situations, Wiesel shows how the situations have a different time set and place yet they are so similar. In the speech, Wiesel embeds repetition by stating that there is much indifference in both situations. The repetition compels the audience about how others in the time period were careless and inconsiderate of the events happening around them. Also, the repetition highlights the importance of the fact that there was a lack of concern in the situations. Within his definition of the word indifference, Wiesel uses metaphors to allow his audience to connect the word with emotions and feelings. For example, he says “A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil.” He also uses compares the pas to the more current events. By the usage of allusion, Wiesel tells a story of the past and by rhetorical questions, he asks about action being taken in the more current situations. By comparing the past to the current situations, Wiesel compels the audience to think about taking action to support the right and not just witnessing the wrong.

2.Throughout the speech, Wiesel explicates the definition of indifference. When doing so he compares it and people to dark, anger, hatred, and other harsh words. He questions people’s characters in all the situations. By defining indifference and using it in different situations, Wiesel displays that the word can be interpreted in any way but not a positive way. While explaining the definition of indifference, Wiesel embeds the usage of classification and division. He does so when he states the three types of people in the world, “society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.” By showing the types of people there were at the time, Wiesel makes the audiences think about the person they are and what they would do if put into a similar situation. By making the audience remember a similar situation, Wiesel gains more of the audience’s sympathy and attention.

E. MLA Citation:

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