The Perils of Indifference

The Perils of Indifference

Elie Weisel

The speech itself...

Logic/Logical Fallacies...

• Definition of indifference
• Uses rhetorical questions to get his point across
• "Indifference is not a beginning, it is and end-indifference is not only a sin, it is a punishment"

Tone

Structure...

• Begins by speaking about the tragedies that have happened over the last century
• Moves to talk about the definition of indifference and the dangers of it
• Finishes by leaving the audience with a resolution

Solemn – He speaks of the tragedy that was the holocaust and the indifference governments and peoples had towards it as it was occurring.

Persuading- He persuades people to think about the questions he asks. He persuades the audience to realize the indifference that was experienced during and after the holocaust.

Rhetorical Devices

Syntax: Uses a lot of rhetoric questions because nobody knew the answers to the questions he was asking, it inspired a great deal of thought about the message of his speech.

Imagery: He describes the disheveled looks and despair of the prisoners. “Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were, strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.”

Antithesis: “to be indifferent is what makes the human being inhuman”

Asyndeton: “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.”

Ethos: The pleas of the young Jewish boy

Pathos: uses the horrors of the holocaust to trigger the sympathy of the audience.

“To be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by him”

Logos: The government and people do nothing unless provoked, therefore we must act on our own.

“Indifference can be tempting”

Anaphora: “Gratitude is a word that I cherish. Gratitude is what defines the humanity of the human being. And I am grateful to you…”

Hyperbole: When talking about the most tragic holocaust prisoners, “staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were, strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.”

To present...

Since then Elie has worked to use his personal experience to be a global activist, an orator, and a Nobel Prize-winning advocate for PEACE.

Audience...

Historical Context of the Speech...

“Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, Friends” (line 1).

Directly: He is addressing the White House and its constituents.

Indirectly: Those affected by the [indifference towards the] Holocaust and all violence.

-The nation, the world!

About ELie Wiesel

Purpose...

"The Perils of Indifference" Speech:

• Given April 12, 1999 in the White house

• Part of the Millennium Lecture series hosted by President Clinton and the first lady

o Tagline “Honor the Past – Imagine the Future.”

To speak out against indifference, using the Holocaust as his own personal example to drive on this point. He wished it to become very personal for everyone and to leave an impression on their hearts with the dawn of the new millennium.

Overview...

Effectiveness...

A bit about the speaker's past...

A: He’s a wonderful speaker... Why?

- His pathos, his passion, his purpose.

- Just listen to his language, and you will find him relatable.

B: He went through the Holocaust himself and can allude back to that at any point in his speech and it will hold some ground.

-He speaks to the present generation for the past, a message that is relevant today!

• Elie was born into a Jewish family

• In 1944 Wiesel’s town was taken over by the Germans and he was moved to Auschwitz extermination camp

• He suffered in the camps until April 11, 1945 when the American soldiers liberated his camp

Thesis:

"Indifference is not a response... it is a sin."

With his Holocaust experience and the impending future, Elie Wiesel expresses the necessity of stopping indifference to give future generations renewed hope and promise.