...in the World Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel in his speech “The Perils of Indifference”, argues that indifference is a punishment to the victims and dangerous to the world because the “lines blur” between “good and evil.” He supports his claim by first stating what indifference is which is when the “lines blur” between right and wrong, then Wiesel questions indifference and how someone could possibly see it as a “virtue.” Finally, he explains how indifference could seem easier to some even though it's bad, but at the same time “seductive.” Wiesel’s purpose is to inform the audience that indifference is an aggressor to the world in order to prove that the world would be better if people weren't indifferent. He creates a serious yet hopeful tone for “Mr.President, Mrs.Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, friends.” Ultimately, Wiesel strongly disagrees with indifference and believes it's an “end”, “not a response”, a “sin” and “punishment.” He thinks without indifference the world would be better. This is important because the innocent people wouldn't be in pain for no reason. The general argument made by author Elie Wiesel in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”, is that indifference is a “sin.” More specifically,...
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...Mackenzi Nichols American History Long #1 Andrew Jackson: American Ceasar? Andrew Jackson left a permanent imprint upon American politics and the presidency. Within eight years, he combined the form-less coalition of personal followers who had elected him into the country's most durable and successful political party, whose organization and discipline would serve as a model for all others. At the same time, his controversial conduct in office shocked opponents to organize the Whig party. Jackson's drive for party organization was spurred by his own difficulties with Congress. Unlike other famously strong Presidents, Jackson defined himself not by enacting a legislative program but by creating one. In eight years, Congress passed only one major law, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, at his command. During this time Jackson vetoed twelve bills, one of these was the first "pocket veto" in American history. The Maysville Road and Bank vetoes stood as enduring statements of his political philosophy. Jackson strengthened himself against Congress by direct links with the voters. His official messages, though delivered to Congress, spoke in plain and powerful language to the people. Reversing to legislative supremacy, Jackson boldly proclaimed himself as the people's leader, their sole defender against special interests and their preferences in Congress. In other ways, too, Jackson expanded the scope of presidential authority. I think Jackson may have given himself too much...
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...“The Perils of Indifference” is a speech that was delivered by Elie Wiesel in Washington D.C. It reflects about his time as a holocaust survivor. World War II took the lives of around 11 million people from 1939 until the last surrender in 1945. This was also the time of the Holocaust that was led by Adolf Hitler of Germany. If Hitler wanted something done it instantly became a plan for the German army. The Nazis forced families out of their homes, and took them to live brutal concentration camps to become slaves, or dead. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, spoke at the White House to share his story. Wiesel’s used literary devices to reach his main point that was not to forget what happened in the past, but to not allow it to happen again. Wiesel’s tried to reach the emotions of the audience saying that “he was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart” as he started out his speech. Buchenwald was the camp Wiesel had been forced to live in during the war. He tells about the day he was set free from his concentration camp by the American soldiers, as he talked about remembering the look in the eyes of the American soldiers. He knew that soldiers saw what the people in the camp had suffered, and saw hope. Wiesel starts multiple phrases with the word “gratitude” to show his thanks to the...
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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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...Holocaust. The concentration camps altered the behaviors and beliefs of those in them. Elie Wiesel explains these consequences of the environment through his personal story in the book Night and his speech The Perils of Indifference. Another great example of these changes that people undergo in specific situations is in the movie Life is Beautiful. These examples justify the idea that the environment in which a person is placed helps to shape their personality,...
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...The Perils of Indifference or Night Elie Wiesel, he made a speech, Perils of Indifference and a book called, Night. Both of these had made huge impacts on the world around us. They informed us of what had happened during Wiesel’s time in the concentration camps and how indifference had affected us all when we could have acted to try and stop the Nazis sooner. America's largest corporations had even still given them the fuel and resources they had needed to continue. If we weren’t indifferent couldn’t we have stopped this from happened in the first place? But, which of these, his speech or the book, holds the most influencing power? Which could make people reflect on what had happened or make them want to learn more? The book has so many layers and layers of knowledge and meanings that even though it's small in pages its power is as strong as if he was sitting with you and saying it personally. Or the speech, which gave a clear and meaningful meaning on indifference and so much more? I feel that the book gave me a much deeper understanding than the speech did, though they both had their greatest points and had...
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...6 million deaths. 6 million people. 6 million stories. The Holocaust claimed the lives of so many innocent people, the amount of loss suffered by the people, seemingly immeasurable. Families were broken, friends were lost, communities destroyed. It would be understandable if a survivor were to be bitter and distant after the incredibly horrifying things they lived through. Elie Wiesel, he refused to be silent. He spoke his thoughts directly to the president in his speech The Perils of Indifference. Wiesel’s words were moving and powerful as he spoke of his own terrors of the Holocaust, and his opinions on America’s actions to end the crisis. He spoke of America’s actions when the St. Louis pulled into the bay. Rightfully so, he was confused...
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...12, 1999, in Washington, D.C., Wiesel presents his speech, “The Perils of Indifference” to President Clinton, his First Lady, White House Officials, and the American people. Referring to the tragic events of the twentieth century, Wiesel lectures on the threat that “indifference” poses, and discusses his hopes for a better future. Leading the speech, the author begins with an anecdote of his childhood, the liberation of Buchenwald. He mentioned the memories of the american soldier’s compassion and rage towards the victim’s situation during the...
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...Indifference is defined as lacking empathy or concern. It’s not having strong feelings about something one way or another. Lack of concern on a large scale comes at a terrible cost. If, for example, one doesn’t care about giving up freedoms, they will one day wake up and wonder why they are so constricted. If one is indifferent to the plight of the poor and homeless, who will be there to help them? Awareness is key in combating indifference. To spread awareness, or to point out one’s lack thereof, is an important step in solving the problem that is lack of caring. Two seemingly different speeches, one by Elie Wiesel who had survived the Holocaust and one by Susan B. Anthony who pioneered Women’s Suffrage, illuminate a recurring theme that a...
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...While I would agree with Wiesel that indifference to the problems of the world, I would also argue that he calls a lack of direct action indifference, which I strongly disagree with. The oxford dictionary defines indifference as “Lack of interest, concern, or sympathy” (oxford dictionary). He says “ I don't understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims?” (Wiesel 421),. Anyone with indifference will almost never take action. Wiesel cites president Franklin D. Roosevelt as forever tainted in jewish history for his turning away of the St. Louis. The St. Louis was a ship coming into New York during WW2 and it had on it roughly 500 escaped jews. FDR made the somewhat notorious decision to turn away the passengers and send them back. Now when you look at this for its face value one could argue that FDR was being indifferent to the problems of the jews and that he simply didn't want the hassle. However upon further investigation we would find that FDR made this decision because of reports of nazi spies amongst the jewish group. Now in hindsight was FDRs decision the right one? Some may say yes others no and both have logical reasons to say so, however i think both sides can recognize and understand that it wasn't mere indifference that FDR had for the jews it was simply that...
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...“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference” -Elie Wiesel. During the same time period of World War II the Holocaust was happening also. However, by the time the Allies fully attacked the concentration camps the Nazi had already killed off most of the Jews. They had even closed down multiple concentration camps, because there just weren’t enough Jews left to have so many camps. Nobody really knows why the world took so long to respond. Was it a matter of importance, priority, or just plain selfishness? Elie Wiesel presented a speech entitled, “The Perils of Indifference,” and his whole speech was centered around the question, “what is indifference?” He addresses two main questions, what motivates indifference and what are its consequences?...
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...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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...Everyday a child dies from hunger. Everyday refugees wander the streets, unable to find a place willing to take them in. Everyday someone suffers at the hand of government plots. Everyday inexplicable, (sad) events take place. And yet, these events continue to take place because we turn a blind eye, or because we refuse to offer help to those who need it. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel speaks for these people in his speech “The Perils of Indifference”. With his somber, controlled tone, Elie addresses government officials and friends and everyone in between, claiming that indifference to the plights of others is an inhuman act. Through the use of sarcasm, Elie displays the true affects of indifference. He states, “ Of course, indifference can...
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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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...What is indifference? Indifference is defined as a lack of interest, concern, or sympathy. Indifference or lack of interest could come at a terrible cost. For example, if one shows no concern for the hungry child on the street, who will be there to protect this child, to feed this child. Spreading awareness is a significant step in fighting indifference. Sandra Buford, director of diversity for the Massachusetts Port Authority, speaking about battling indifference stated “Education is critical to challenge indifference. Some of the solutions that we’ve been thinking about really emphasize education and awareness regarding history” (Four Ways to Battle Indifference). In two speeches on entirely different topics, one by Elie Wiesel who had survived the Holocaust and one by Susan B. Anthony, who "dedicated her life to women's suffrage", show us how harmful indifference can be to our society....
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