Table of Contents
This is an opening statement.
“The Perils to Indifference: A rhetorical analysis
Ethos
Symbols
Emotional appeal
Rhetorical questions
Repeating
In summary
Inaugural remarks
Semites were considered as a major threat to Germany during the Holocaust. They were also considered as potential collaborators. Elie Wiesel – a Holocaust survivor & Nobel Peace Prize winner – worked tirelessly over fifty years to make the world aware of the violence that leads to indifference. From his quiet childhood learning the Torah, to his brutal teenage years in the face of the horrors and rise of concentration camps, his life has shaped our protection of humanity. Wiesel’s millennium address, “The Perils of Indifference”, was delivered on April 2, 1999. It describes the injustices that individuals face and encourages the audience to take action to help others. It is a combination of historical truths and a social- and political call to action, as well as the inspiring personal story of its speaker. Wiesel’s speech is an indictment of those who choose not to suffer. He uses ethos, logos and charged language, rhetorical queries and parallelism to invoke compassion. “The Perils of Indifference”, an analysis of rhetoricEthos. His speech is intensely personal, bringing out his Jewish values along with the moral and ethics that society seems to be failing to follow. The audience is given a brief narrative of his childhood that reveals the traumas he suffered. This story seems credible to many government officials. The piece, which was written by one the most respected experts on moral-related and Holocaust issues, deserves extensive firsthand experience. His closing speech, “And, once again,” shows not only his knowledge of the issue but also his credibility as an expert speaker (Wiesel, 1999). The use of “us” or “we” throughout his speech strengthened the commonality of the audience and encouraged a sense a cohesion and community, blurring the line between author and audience. Wiesel’s speech is grounded in his own personal experience. This speaks to the need for humanity to awaken to the reality of the world. His direct acknowledgment of his audience – “Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton. Members and Ambassador Holbrooke. Excellencies. Friend. This, in turn, not only sets the stage for their role in helping Wiesel escape, but also establishes a means to build rapport.LogosUtilizing an effective structure with logos, Wiesel brings together his personal recollections and facts about the atrocities of the 20th century to allow the audience to empathize with the victims of a century of horror. He uses a variety of references to historical events that have no human value. These include civil wars and world wars as well as border disputes, genocide and other forms of violence. This is how his theme about indifference becomes a constant feeling of guilt, shame and guilt. Wiesel spoke of the indignity that the United States had shown by refusing to allow the St. Louis refugees to return to Europe. It included a shipment with 1,000 Jews. This is evident as Wiesel captures philosophical ideas and linguistic features to aid in his arguments. He provides a detailed definition of indifference and highlights the U.S.’s actions. Then he discusses the consequences of these situations in order to convince the audience to act. The speaker discusses the injustices that are faced by people from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities to make the audience embarrassed. Wiesel intentionally weaves positive actions that humanity has taken into his logical questions and statements. His goal was evidently to highlight the selflessness of others in order to show that society can and has been intuitively altruistic. The speech includes many logos and appeals to government officials who often rely on facts. PathosWiesel’s emotional subject creates an engaging speech that is full of emotion. The speaker opens with a sketch depicting a young boy representing Wiesel who was just released from concentration camp. The speaker uses the speech’s opening lines as a way to explain his experiences in light of all the tragedy and hardship of the 1900s. Wiesel (1999) stated that the speaker uses anecdotes in order to convey the grim images of children starving, prisoners and refugees feeling lost. Indifference can make other people less human. It also dehumanizes those who lack empathy for humanity. He contrasts positive and negative emotions to show the stark contrast between joy and despair, the rage and gratitude of soldiers and the lack of joy. He successfully invokes sympathy after he lost his family and dedicated his life to exposing the horrors of Holocaust. Rhetorical QuestionsThe idea of violence triggers an emotional response. The speaker can then go on to elaborate about sensitive concepts such as despair, starvation and pain. His motivation to pass the torch stems largely from his appeal to emotions. This conveys that infidence kills and can be overcome by compassion and action. Wiesel uses several key methods to craft a persuasive speech. Wiesel asks 26 questions during “The Perils of Indifference”. He does not expect to receive an answer, but rather to capture their attention and help them reflect on the global implications of this issue. Wiesel’s compelling style of explaining his ideas is very engaging as he compares the present situation to that of the holocaust to inspire action. Asking questions like “Does it mean we have learned from history?” Does this mean society has changed? Does it mean that society has changed? It conveys an emotional conviction and righteous anger that is spurred by Wiesel’s main assertion: Indifference can be dangerous. Parallelism and discrimination are combined to make the speaker’s goal clear: to shed light upon abuse and discrimination and to unite against oppression. “And for all that you do for children all over the world, homeless, victims of injustice, victims in society,” he says. This harmonious effect emphasizes indifference’s inevitable consequences. Repetition In Wiesel’s speech repetition emphasizes the importance of these topics in light of modern society’s carelessness. To make his main point, the speaker uses contrast words such as “good” and “bad”, and criticizes indifference and neutrality. It is imperative that this topic be repeated because of its seriousness. This will help to communicate the disunity within society. Elie Wiesel (1999) argued that “God” is a concept that humans must hold in reverence, and that “gratitude” is essential, while “indifference” is unacceptable. 2-6) illustrates the indelible repetition of words and phrases. This is an example of indifference, which is failing to take action and making injustice acceptable in society. These phrases are incantatory in that the repeated repetitions of them can lead to thought-provoking ideas. Wiesel (1999), near the middle, declares, “You combat it.” You denounce it. It must be disarmed” (para 10). Each sentence begins with “You”, to provide an opportunity for the audience’s self-reflection and to make a brief call to action. Wiesel’s style of writing demonstrates his ability for indifference to be expanded upon by using repeated sounds to aid the audience in visualizing the purpose of raising awareness. In order to make effective repetitive sentences, Wiesel interlinks various combinations of words and phrases. This speech has many flaws and weaknesses, even though it focuses on elegant language and righteous fury. Although the speech mentioned Jews in many different ways, it failed to mention any other demographics or non-Jewish people who were affected by the devastations. This would have strengthened indifference’s universality and targeted anyone from any culture, background, or belief. This speech was incomplete without logos. Specifically, the use of statistics or facts was an important component. Wiesel weaved strong points into the theme. Although it is opinion-based, Wiesel also uses logos to present the horror with concrete, hardcore facts. Wiesel captures the negative effects of indifference and creates messages that target evils that thrive. The speaker could then discuss the negative consequences of indifference, however unjustifiable or inhumane, and present a counterargument, emphasizing the importance of evil actions. Wiesel’s adult years were dominated by stories about his activism against genocide. Wiesel’s speech, which is filled with many rhetorical strategies and provokes an audience response, contains many effective devices. The speaker called on the audience to take action by stating that the future of the world is in their hands.
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