REHUGO #2

Zachary Cothren

Mr. Soeth

English AP 3

February 2, 2011

REHUGO #2 – Speech

A. A speech given by Elie Wiesel entitled The Perils of Indifference before President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, Ambassador Holbrooke, and other members of congress on April the 19th, 1999 in Washinton D.C.

B. Mr. Wiesel, being a survivor of the holocaust, has a better understanding of cruelty than most. During the speech he conveys this understanding by commenting on actions taken by people, such as Hilary Clinton’s providing of Health Care to impoverished nations. He speaks of her helping because it shows non-indifference, unlike anything he viewed during his time at Auschwitz, a German Death Camp. He goes on to discuss the true meaning of indifference and its impact how today’s society, reminding us continually of Auschwitz as a reference for what he believes the world should not become. He also shared his experiences of the Holocaust in his novel entitled "Night".

C. Wiesel used rhetorical questions almost to the point of becoming excessive. The entirety of paragraph three is nothing but rhetorical questions. In text form this slightly degrades the overall power of the speech, but in spoken form he makes it onto a very influential and moving section of his paper. It causes the listener to question oneself about the meaning of indifference in their lives, not just the life of leaders and politicians. He is attempting to make the average listener to question their own action, instead of the actions of their nation.

D. Wiesel starts his speech with a powerful personal anecdote telling the story of his liberation during WWII. This causes a large amount of empathy towards him, and establishes a strong position of Pathos. He uses these anecdotes several more times to describe the life is Auschwitz, which further establishes his Pathos as the reader or listener sympathize with his plight and the utter cruelly of the situation. Though he also uses these to make points throughout the speech, sich as his explination of the “Muselmanner”.

E. MLA Citation: Wiesel, Elie. “American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel – The Perils of Indifference.” American

Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. Web. 02 February. 2011

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