The Perils Of Indifference Speech Analysis

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On April 12th, 1999, Elie Wiesel delivered a profound speech at the White House as a part of the Millennium Lecture series, during the Presidency of Bill Clinton. Elie Wiesel was the only member of his family to survive the horrors of the Nazi death camps, leaving him an orphan. In 1950 at the age of twenty-two, he wrote the first addition of his famous work Night. Since then, he has received many awards including a Noble Peace Prize and was imperative in the creation of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.(History.com Staff). In his speech entitled "The Perils of Indifference," Wiesel incorporates ethos and pathos highly effectively, resulting in a speech that is moving to many American audiences. Elie Wiesel integrates ethos …show more content…
Wiesel takes this angle, because as a society, America is quite wrapped up in the idea of being blessed by god. The thought of being judged by him might bring them fear. He also references religion when he says,"Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment."Wiesel uses the strategy of referencing god, because many in our nation believe in the Judeo-Christian god. By referencing him, he is in a way drawing his words from a higher power, increasing his ability to reach a religious audience, but also excluding those who might not believe in god or a different god. Elie Wiesel’s speech "The Perils of Indifference" is an artfully crafted piece of rhetoric directed primarily toward American government officials. In the speech, Wiesel thoughtfully and intentionally utilizes both ethos, to make him a credible speaker, and pathos, to tap into the beliefs of society. Although this speech is primarily directed towards American lawmakers and the political elite, there is a message with can also be related to the general person too being,"Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and
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