Monday, December 8, 2008

Perils of Indifference - Elie Wiesel

The author Wiesel is writing about the Holocaust and about being a survivor, himself. This speech took place in 1999 in Washington D.C. He is addressing a group which consists of the President of the United States, Members of Congress and other survivors of the Holocaust including himself. He is trying to inform his audience about what happened for than fifty years ago, that he was apart of. He is extremely grateful to the American people for his freedom.
He tells us about Auschwitz, www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html and how the prisoners were abandoned and wrapped in torn blankets, feeling like strangers to their surroundings. He has used pathos by showing us the tragedy and how these prisoners no longer felt pain they were essentially dead and didn’t know it after all the trauma and pain they experienced. He is telling us that now we are entering into a new millennium, a new century. He is concerned about how the century will be judged. He tells of a history of wars and assassinations, (Gandhi, Kennedy, Martin Luther King,) so much violence, and indifference. The word indifference means “no difference”. He states that indifference is a sin and a punishment.
He is using logos by telling of the depressing tale of the ship, know as the St. Louis. What happened to the human cargo, nearly 1000 Jews who were turned back to Nazi Germany. The ship was already in the U.S., why was it turned back? The author is confused about Roosevelt, who was a good man why did he turn the ship back, why didn’t he help and let the refugees disembark? Why the indifference. Thousands of people suffered in concentration camps.

He makes sure to tell us of some good things that happened during this century also,. The defeat of Nazism, the collapse of Communism, Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt, the peace accord in Ireland. What about the union of the United States and NATO to intervene in Kosovo, and save all of those refugees.

He is addressing the President and Congress to be sure that this type of indifference never happens again. He is trying to persuade the audience by using ethos and explaining the horrific historic events that occurred to open the eyes of the world so we can work toward a better new century.

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