Rayna Chew

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

February 2, 2011

REHUGO Analysis: History - Speech

A. Speech by Ellie Wiesel on April 12, 1999: “The Perils of Indifference”

B. In his speech, Ellie Wiesel addresses the president Bill Clinton and the first lady Hilary Clinton on the fifty fourth anniversary of the end of World War II. Wiesel begins his speech, “The Perils of Indifference” by alluding to the Holocaust when he and his family were finally freed from the concentration camp Buchenwald.

C. Wiesel creates an effective argument that being indifferent is like being “inhuman” because he provides his audience the definition and examples of the word indifference. He described the feeling of indifference as “a strange and unnatural state” where “lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil.” He also states that it is “more dangerous than anger and hatred” because the witnesses that do nothing are betraying their own and denying their humanity.

D. Rhetorical Strategies:

a. Rhetorical Question: Towards the middle of his speech, Wiesel begins uses numerous rhetorical questions such as “has the human being become less indifferent and more human?” and “have we really learned from our experiences?” The use of those questions evoke emotion in his readers due to his subject being indifference and the fact that so many lives were lost because of it. Another effect of this rhetorical strategy is a stronger argument.

b. Allusion: Wiesel refers to many events in history such as the two World Wars, many civil wars, the Holocaust, the assassination of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. By alluding to these events and his own experience in Buchenwald gives more credibility to his argument.

MLA Citation:

Wiesel, Elie. "American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel - The Perils of Indifference." American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. 12 Apr. 1999. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. .