REHUGO Elie Weisel Speech

Daniel Lee
Mr. Soeth
English III AP
February 3, 2011
REHUGO Analysis: Speech

A. The speech known as The Perils of Indifference was delivered by Elie Wiesel on April 12, 1999 in Washington, D.C. Wiesel was speaking about his personal experiences he had gone through during the Holocaust. Hilary Clinton asked Wiesel to participate in these Millennium Lectures series that she and President Bill Clinton were hosting at the White House; therefore, Wiesel acquiesced to Hilary Clinton’s request, openly discussing his torturous experiences he had undergone.
B. Elie Wiesel is an infamous author known for writing the book Night. Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor that told his stories within his book. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and the Congressional Gold Medal. Wiesel vividly describes the horrors he went through in the book Night. By accurately describing everything from the ghettos to the concentration camps like Auschwitz, Wiesel opens the eyes of the readers to the truth about the Holocaust.
C. This speech is still important in our generation because indifference still occurs everywhere around the world. Wiesel covers an important topic on indifference and elaborates the maliciousness of it. As Wiesel talked about his own experiences, one can only imagine the indifferences he had to struggle with during his life. By sharing those horrific memories, Wiesel emotionally touched the hearts of many people with the speech.
D. During the beginning of the speech, Wiesel alludes to great leaders like Ghandi, the Kennedys, Marting Luther King, Sadat, and Rabin. By referring to these great leaders, there is a sense of homage due to the fact that all of these great leaders were all assassinated. When Weisel brought this line of leaders up, the audience finally understood what indifference Weisel was talking about through the example. Another rhetorical strategy used was classification when Weisel classfies that indifference is a sin. By saying this, Weisel is labeling indifference as a bad act. However what is most effective about this is by saying indifference is a sin; he is appealing towards people’s religion. Sin is usually referred to as a bad act or deed for religions like Christianity and many others. Religions usually does not tolerate nefarious actions, so by appealing to indifference as a sin affects the audience more than just calling it a mean act.


American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel - The Perils of Indifference." American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. Web. 03 Feb. 2011. .