Abby Saavedra

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

3 February 2011

REHUGO Analysis – History: Speech

A. “Perils of Indifference”, spoken by Elie Wiesel on April 12, 1999 in Washington D.C.

B. Elie Wiesel’s speech was orated as part of the Millennium Lecture Series, which was hosted by the Clintons with hopes to instill ideals to follow after the turn of the century. The experiences that constitute and influence a heavy deal of the speech’s subject matter comes from Wiesel’s own account of the brutal feelings and sights he lived through as a Jewish Holocaust survivor. His speech was written to cover a retrospect of the ills of the twentieth century and how indifference prolonged them; by delineating the gloominess of such affairs and to avoid making the same mistakes of the past, he aims to persuade the people of the new millennium to counter them by acting as activists instead of spectators.

C. Problems of indifference still present themselves on multiple societal levels, ranging from adults ignoring a child’s grief caused by other kids’ bullying to the ignoring of wide-scale issues like human trafficking. Ignorance and the lack of fight for humans’ natural rights – similarly to the way people of the time period brushed off news of the Holocaust – continues to be more harmful than negative reactions simply because it does not produce any response or attention to the matter; modern empty responses, in turn, are comparable to Wiesel’s experiences in the way they express how such issues were “unimportant.” With consideration that the concept of indifference always holds as the same crime towards humanity, the ideas of Wiesel’s speech remain relevant calls to action for modern societies who are presented with indifference in their lives.

D. Rhetorical Strategies:

a. Definition: Throughout his speech, Wiesel often defines concepts presented in order to guide the listener into logical and clear understanding of his viewpoint; the audiences’ understanding, in turn, allows Wiesel’s point to be more easily accepted and argued. For example, Wiesel defines the concept of indifference in the fourth paragraph – including the etymological definition of “no difference” to set up a system of comparison to follow – to plant the exact boundaries and knowledge that his speech would manipulate in order to persuade his audience.

b. Compare/Contrast: By juxtaposing opposites throughout his article, Wiesel provides a broader scope for his audiences’ understanding while narrowly defining his call to action. He begins explaining the definition of indifference by comparing it to the removal of the thin line between opposites like “light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil” to emphasize the fact that indifference causes there to be “no difference” between opposing forces. Wiesel then compares negative responses to indifference, and people who fight for other humans’ rights to those who just stand by and watch. Using opposites for comparison allows Wiesel to develop a negative connotation to indifference, which in turn supports his call to end such evils.

MLA Citation for essay:

Wiesel, Elie. "The Perils of Indifference." Millennium Lecture Series. White House, Washington, D.C. 12 Apr. 1999. Speech