Michelle Roessel

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

February 13, 2011

REHUGO #2 Analysis: Speech

1. Elie Wiesel’s speech , The Perils of Indifference. This speech was presented on April 12, 1999 to President Clinton and his wife, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies and friends.
2. The Perils of Indifference speech was part of the Millennium Lecture series that was hosted by President Clinton and his wife. These lectures were given by scholars, creators, and visionaries, who had made a prominent impact on society. The purpose of the speeches was to honor the past and learn from it, so as to create a brighter future. The speeches featured the nations achievements and also our greatest failings. During this time in 1999 NATO was intervening in to war in Kosovo and Serbia, where innocent civilians were being murdered. First Lady Hillary Clinton asked Elie Wiesel to participate in the Millennium Lectures a year before the atrocities in Kosovo were known to the world.
3. Wiesel’s speech is very effective because he grasps the audiences attention with examples of the past. He touches the heart of his audience when he gives specific examples of his past, and what he went through. His constant reference to the indifference committed by the world is a constant reminder to the injustice done by the Nazis and the nations late reaction to it. The references to indifference is important today because it reminds our generation that there is still indifference happening.
4. Throughout the speech there is constant usage of the word “indifference”. In paragraph 6 he defines it as “A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blure between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil”. Then later he says indifference can be tempting and seductive, that it is easier to avoid the horrors in the world. Even further he states that an unjust God is better than an indifferent one. Still on he says indifference is not a response, an end, a punishment and sin. The repetition of the word “indifference” constantly reminds the audience of the horrors of the Holocaust, and furthermore, the response of the nations.

Wiesel’s pain and confusion and pain that was caused by indifference is

expressed with his use of rhetorical questions. Questions like “Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable?” and “Why didn’t he allow these refugees to disembark” show his confusion of why there’s indifference and why nobody helped. Then later on in the speech Wiesel gets a little hopeful when he asked questions like, “Does it mean society has changed”? He has a whole paragraph of rhetorical questions that ask if society has learned from the past and if the future can be changed. The effect of such question stop the reader and allow them to look back on the past and think about the future.

Citation:

"Great Speeches Collection: Elie Wiesel Speech The Perils of Indifference." The History Place. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. .