Elie Wiesel Trying To Be Weak

“The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel, explains the true and utter horror of indifference. There is a clear emphasis on the morality exhibited in the act as well as the disappointment in the US government’s ability to respond to such a horrible act. It is obvious that Wiesel establishes tones of morality, condescendingness, and caution through diction, imagery, as well as syntax used in the speech. Although Wiesel describes how indifference has a massive effect on the victims even though by the very nature, bystanders do nothing. Indifference itself shows lack of regard for those in need and that can be perceived as morally lacking, which Wiesel condemns in the highest degree.

“Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end.” (American Rhetoric). This is a sentiment that Elie Wiesel pushes throughout his speech, The Perils of Indifference. Elie Wiesel was a Romanian born, Jewish writer, and was a survivor of the holocaust (Berger). In his speech, The Perils of Indifference, he discusses how indifference has hurt him, and everyone throughout the world. In this speech Wiesel uses appeals to pathos to make his argument effective. Examples are scattered across the speech to make it more appealing, and provide real world context for what he is arguing about. The last of the rhetorical choices the speaker makes is definition, in this speech Wiesel defines indifference, and uses this definition to prove why indifference hurts people. In Elie Wiesel’s speech, The Perils of Indifference, he argues that indifference hurts people, and his argument is effective by using various rhetorical choices.

In the world during the time of the Holocaust, there was indifference towards the suffering of millions of Jews. When individuals reflect about the Holocaust, the majority of the time the responsibility of the terrible events is placed upon the perpetrators. However, bystanders and witnesses indirectly affected the victims of the Holocaust as well. The silence of these people played one of the largest roles in the Holocaust, they influenced it by avoiding any type of involvement and by becoming blinded towards the suffering of others. In his Academy Award acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel says, “the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”. This exert from his speech reveals the importance of the role that bystanders played in the

I honestly agree to what Elie Wiesel has to say, “when human lives are endangered when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Where ever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that pace must at the moment become the center of the universe.”

Many thoughts went through my mind while reading about Wiesel’s final experiences as a German prisoner. I felt pity and sadness for him. His last few days as a German prisoner were his most difficult. He lost his father, he went days without food and passed days out in the freezing cold. I was also impressed on how he fought through these events. Despite his exhaustion or hunger, he never surrendered his life. He found strength that he never knew he had and showed the readers how strong humans can be when their lives depend on it. If I could meet Elie Wiesel and discuss with him about his time during the war, I would want to tell him many things. I would tell him that the time he spent at the concentration camps made him the man he is today

On April 12th 1999, in Washington D.C., Elie Wiesel gave a speech during the Millennium Lecture Series that took place in the East Room of the White House. The speech was given in front of Mr. Bill and Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and other officials. Elie Wiesel is an author most noted for his novel Night, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and political activist. In the speech he spoke on his view of indifference and explained how it was negatively affecting humanity and the nation as a whole. The Perils of Indifference was a speech that successfully used ethos, pathos, and logos to inform, persuade and inspire its audience on its views.

Indifference is a peril. Indifference is a “blurred line” between good and evil. Indifference is “unnatural.” But most of all, indifference is an end. Famous author and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel in his speech, “Perils of Indifference,” argues that since indifference is the inability to tell the difference between good and evil, indifference is dangerous. He supports his claim by first expressing his thanks to America for saving him from a horrid fate during the Holocaust. From this point, Wiesel goes on to explain how indifference is the key to conflict and how ¨dangerous¨ and ¨seductive¨ indifference can be. Wiesel also asks his audience, which are a variety of politicians, law makers, ambassadors, and members of congress, why hadn't

Wiesel had several examples in his piece “The Perils of Indifference” showing that he also found indifference to be nothing but a danger to the world. Wiesil says,“lives are meaningless,” as in when someone is indifferent throughout their life they are not concerned for their neighbor or anyone else because they do not affect them. If their life is not going to be made better or worse then they show no concern in making a difference or to try to make a change. If there is no change in the world then the matters of that life becomes almost pointless because nothing will be different over the years. There will still be the same problems as the day before and no one will world to have them resolved.

Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” stresses that becoming indifferent is the most dangerous thing that can happen to a person and their surroundings. He supports his claim by first defining and describing indifference, he then talks about how it can be described in many different ways, but ultimately indifference is the end. Wiesel’s purpose is to warn his audience against the dangers of insouciance and its effects on the world. He establishes and apprehensive tone for his audience due to the traumatizing events of his past.

The Perils of Indifference speech by Elie Wiesel is a moving speech that makes the reader question how they react to suffering and indifference. It will make the reader think about whether he or she is indifferent to something. When the speaker said it is, “Easier to look away from victims… much easier to avoid”, this is true to today’s society (“Perils of Indifference,” 1999). In today’s society, people are only looking out for themselves and if something happened to another person, they would rather look away and ignore it then do something about it. This is not the way that it should be. People should be helping out others and speaking up for the people that do not have a voice.

In his speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” Elie Wiesel explains that “Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger or hatred,” (Paragraph 11). I agree with this sentiment because while anger can make people do things like change something for the sake of humanity, nothing good can come out of indifference. When a person is indifferent, they don’t feel the need to change anything for the better. Wiesel defines indifference as “a strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and darn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassions, good and evil,” (Paragraph 6). Indifference is a state of being in which a person is unconcerned about the things and people around them.

The victims of the indifference of others are

In the world during the time of the Holocaust, there was indifference towards the suffering of millions of Jews. When individuals reflect about the Holocaust, the majority of the time the responsibility of the terrible events is placed upon the perpetrators. However, bystanders and witnesses indirectly affected the victims of the Holocaust as well. The silence of these people played one of the largest roles in the Holocaust, they influenced it by avoiding any type of involvement and by becoming blinded towards the suffering of others. In his Academy Award acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel says, “the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”. This exert from his speech reveals the importance

Indifference has many different consequences, but the pain that it inflicts on its victims is a major cause for concern. This pain is a result of people with indifference turning their backs on these victims. Franklin D. Roosevelt denying 1,000 Jews U.S entry and sending them back to Nazi Germany shows just how horrible indifference is. It’s near impossible to understand what those Jews must have felt when they were forced to go back to the same country that was enslaving and murdering their race. We as a society can prevent such things from happening by offering victims of indifference support systems. People would have to put aside their fear of what would happen if they chose a side, and remember that those victims are humans just like

Indifference is not a valid response to the suffering of people. “The Night of Broken Glass,“ also referred to as Kristallnacht occurred on the streets of Germany. Where hundreds of Jewish shops had been destroyed, synagogues were burned and thousands of people were put into concentration camps. The Jews possessions were also taken and many were beaten and murdered. The Germans revenge for trying to eliminate the Jews was strictly influenced by ignorance. If the German people had prevented the Jews from suffering than the events of the Holocaust would have been different. As Wiesel States, “Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies”(30). Demonstrates the terrifying reality of what emotions can represent. Once someone has