Universal Truth REHUGO: Two Quotations Concerning Family

Karsha Smith

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

9 February 2011

Universal Truth REHUGO: Two Quotations Concerning Family

A.    Article: “Family Relationship Article” – author: Maureen Leidy.

Article: “Keep Family Traditions Alive” – author: Kadence Buchanan

B.     In the “Family Relationship Article,” Leidy predicts that the best way to keep your family relationships close, you should maintain family traditions each year. She suggests that keeping many traditions will help each family member to enjoy the time they have together and will help keep family relationships close. In “Keep Family Traditions Alive,” Buchanan predicts that keeping family traditions is the responsibility of each family member. She suggests that families come closer when they share memories of past rituals.

C.     Evidence:

a.       “Family Relationship Article”: “The innovation of email and digital photographs has made it possible for families to stay in touch; however, is this really enough?” This quote discusses how the internet can help people to stay in touch, but, using a rhetorical question, states that the best communication with family is family reunions. The best way to stay in touch is to create traditions so the family needs to get together. For example, holiday traditions are often maintained. This is important because each individual treasures these memories.

b.      “Keep Family Traditions Alive”: “Understanding the importance of spending those precious moments with your parents or with your children, will lead you to cherish the instances you had a chance to speak through your actions.” This quote discusses how when you realize how important family traditions are, you will also realize how special they are to you and your family. You will appreciate the time you are able to spend with them.

D.    Rhetorical Devices:

a.       “Family Relationship Article”: The idea of using the internet to stay in contact with family is repeated often to say how often people resort to this. Leidy uses this repetition because she wants the reader to realize “While modern technology will never replace the warmth of a mother’s hug or the pat on the back from his father, keeping close is possible.” Internet can be used, but physical interaction is the best way to go.

b.      “Keep Family Traditions Alive”: Pathos is used to explain how some family bonds are not made, so when the child/children grow up they think it is best to stay away. “As kids enter college, or even graduate high school, traditions fall apart. Some deny this fact by supporting that exactly because children spend less time with their folks they feel the need to do so and use those family traditions as an excuse to visit the house they grew up in.

MLA Citation for Essay:

Buchanan, Kadence. "Keep Family Traditions Alive." Ezine Articles. Web. 9 Feb.

          2011. <http://ezinearticles.com/?Keep-Family-Traditions-Alive&id=289457>.

Leidy, Maureen. "Family Relationship Article." Essortment Articles: Free Online

          Articles on Health, Science, Education & More.. 2002. Web. 09 Feb. 2011.  

          <http://www.essortment.com/all/familyrelations_rcgb.htm>. 

REHUGO-Reading

Andrew Haugland
P.2
AP English 3

A. "In Search of the Good family" by Jane Howard
B. Howard believes that no one person should be without a family, surrogate or otherwise, and gives qualities of a good family.
C. Howard brings up the importance of having some form of family, she brings up the Cameroonian term "Bangwa" for families which consist of friends from experience to a moving response (logos). She also brings up Kurt Vonnegut Jr's book "Slapstick" to use it's example of "assigned" extended families and how the concept might work (Ethos/logos). If practiced, this idea could actually could work.
D. Exemplification is bountiful in this article, every paragraph has at least one example of what she's talking about. Even if you don't know what she's referencing, you'll typically still know what she's saying, and if you do understand, the relatability is incredible. The end half of the Article is description of what a good family should be and what it should do. Howard does a great job of doing this through ten qualities which are understandable and achievable.

Rehugo- Speech

Bryan Mai

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

February 3, 2011

REHUGO Analysis: History– Speech

A. Speech: “The Perils of Indifference” – By. Elie Wiesel

B. As a survivor of the holocaust, Eli Wiesel uses his own experiences of racial tensions. He knew that at the time, many people hated Jewish people and tried to demolish them. He experienced being beaten and watching others being killed in the camps with his own eyes. Wiesel’s speech was delivered to President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, and others that were attending the World War II’s fifty-fourth anniversary and was rewarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

C. In Wiesel’s speech, “The Perils of Indifference “he addresses the audience with the repetition of the word “indifference “to acknowledge the meaning of not being a human but a monster. He continues his speech by listing about what he is saying, such as good and evil. Wiesel manages to make readers understand that there was no reason to have a racial ending just because one person hated them. While they cried in pain, people walked away ignoring them which showed injustice. Elie brings his argument into today’s present life where racial tensions still occurs and allows readers to think upon the question, “Have we really learned from our past experiences?”

D. Rhetorical Strategies

Definition: Elie Wiesel, throughout his speech states the definition of “indifference”. By stating the definition, readers can understand what his speech is talking about and how he wants the “indifference” to disappear already. Giving multiple of past experiences, Wiesel got the readers to visualize indifference from his own perspective when he was a prisoner in the internment camps.

Rhetorical Question: Wiesel’s rhetorical questions throughout his speech are used to express how he feels about the world and the humans running the world. He uses rhetorical questions such as, “ How we learned from out past experiences”, and “What are its courses and inescapable consequences?” to show what we are doing that is easily comparable to the troubles that were caused fifty four years ago. He answers his questions to keep readers noticeable to their own actions and hoping that they would think before they do something in the future.

MLA citation:
Wiesel, Elie. "The Perils of Indifference." Millenium Lectures. East Room of the White House, Washington D.C. 22 Apr. 1999. Speech.

Samira Haikal - REHUGO: Speech

Samira Haikal
Mr. Soeth
AP English Lang/Comp
03 February 2011

REHUGO Analysis - Speech: Community

A. Elie Wiesel, an inspirational Holocaust Survivor and famous author, delivered “The Perils of Indifference” on April 12, 1999 in Washington D.C. as a part of the Millennium Lecture Series.

B. Background Information - The occasion for this speech was that Mrs. Hilary Clinton, the First Lady at the time asked Wiesel if he could give a speech as part of the Millennium Lecture Series. The series’ purpose was to offer outstanding individuals an opportunity to speak in front of the world. Because the United States of America was considered a world superpower at the time, President Clinton was considered the most powerful man in the world. Wiesel chose to speak about this topic because he knew his audience and what their potential was. He wanted Clinton to avoid the “perils of indifference” and to take action against the current atrocities around the world to avoid the affliction that was felt by Holocaust victims. This specific date, April 12, was chosen because it was exactly 54 years after President Franklin Roosevelt’s death. This is significant because Roosevelt was the president at the time of the Holocaust who, according to Wiesel, held a dangerous indifference to the horrors under Nazi rule in Central and Eastern Europe during World War II.

C. Relevance - It is appropriate to say that Wiesel’s speech effected America’s policies and outlook on foreign intervention. Before, America lent a helpful hand to other countries such as enforcing the Truman Doctrine to fight communism in other countries. One motive for this was to prevent the Soviet Union from becoming more powerful. However, after 1999, the year the speech was delivered, the U.S. involved itself in Afghanistan to support freedom from Al-Qaeda rule and helped a countless number of countries like Haiti, Pakistan, and Liberia to keep peace. It is evident that after the speech, the United States felt it was their duty to not become a victim of indifference and to help victims around the world. The reason for this is because of the effectiveness of Wiesel’s speech and his use of thought-provoking use of rhetorical questions, his use of personal experience, and brilliant use of claim of policy, to name a few.

D. Rhetorical Strategies
1. Diction - Wiesel uses diction that portrays a certain mood and tone, such as “...indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive” (paragraph 7). By choosing the word seductive, Wiesel demonstrates his views on indifference by relying on the audience’s ability to make the connection between seductive and it’s negative connotations. When thinking about the word seductive, we envision a temptress, a snake, or an evil person who fools others. Wiesel purposefully personified “indifference” to convey a mood of sin and danger, which enhances his point about indifference being dangerous.
2. Emotional Appeal - Pathos is utilized by Wiesel to create a sensation in the listeners to want to take action. One of the strongest uses of pathos is “They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it” (paragraph 7). The audience could only imagine how the adults and children at Auschwitz felt. These shorter sentences provide a variety in syntax, but also create a more emotional atmosphere and allow the audience to think deeply about the subject at hand. Pathos is the strongest persuasion Wiesel uses because he knew it was the most appropriate when speaking about what underwent in the Nazi concentration camps.

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

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. .

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

Jeserey Sanchez

Mr. Soeth

Eng 3 AP

Feb. 2, 2011


History REHUGO: Analysis of Elie Wiesel’s Speech “The Perils of Indifference”

A. Speech: “The Perils of Indifference” – By, Elie Wiesel

B. Elie Wiesel is one of the many Jews who had luckily survived through the Holocaust, and he gives his points of view of what took place then. The horrors, fears, anxieties it took upon them all. He describes and tells the feelings that were hidden inside the concentration camps, yet connecting the to other situations not quite as horrifying, but classifies them as “So much violence, so much indifference.” Which he later on elaborates on. Wiesel delivers his speech in front of President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, and other guests who had attended Millennium Lecture Series.

C. Wiesel’s speech is relevant to todays society because up until now we still face struggles on indifference. We still are close- minded to the millions of families in America who are homeless and hungry. We pass by people asking for spare change, and we can’t even give them that. But, we are willing to give are all to people and other countries that need our help, yet we can’t even help ourselves first. Is it really us helping them out of the kindest of our hearts, or just the matter of saying, we were the ones to help you in your time of need, almost as if its favor that in the near future should be returned.

D. Rhetorical Strategies:

Definition: The word indifference is used throughout Wiesel’s essay. It is defined in multiple aspects. But, he first defines it as, “What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means ‘no difference.’” In a way for his audience to fully understand what he later on discusses in his speech, they have to grasp the full concept of what he means by ‘indifference’. Wiesel conveys indifference with a negative connotation through diction, such as “indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive.” He gives the definition of indifference, but throughout his speech he changes it up and gives his meaning of what indifference is, drilling it into our minds and changing our perception of the word, to help get his point across.

b.Rhetorical Questions: Wiesel uses rhetorical questioning throughout his speech. Leaving Americans with the guilt of not lending a helping hand to the Jews when they needed it the most. They saw America as a land of opportunity, a place that they knew that wouldn’t turn them away. “A thousand people -- in America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in modern history. What happened? I don't understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims?” He doesn’t only favor that the Holocaust was the one and only hardship, and states multiple situations. “Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one's sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals?” Throws out different questions such as these. How can we just turn people away, how can we just relax, while half the world is struggling to live for survival.

MLA Citation:
MLA Citation for Speech:
Wiesel, Elie. "The Perils of Indifference." White House, Washington, D.C. 12 Apr.
1999. Speech.