How Does Elie Wiesel Use Ethos In Keep Memory Alive

In the speech “Keep Memory Alive” by Elie Wiesel, the author is trying to inform his audience about the Holocaust while also trying to persuade them to keep fighting in keeping the memory alive. He does this by employing the rhetorical features of pathos, repetition and ethos throughout his speech in order to effectively persuade and inform.

One rhetorical feature that Elie Wiesel uses effectively is pathos. By including the story of the young boy and his journey, the audience gets a sense of somberness about the events that took place and the situations the Jews were put into. When the young boy says, “Tell me, what have you done with my future? What have you done with your life?” he is questioning Wiesel about the impact he has made in the world. Those questions make the audience wonder what they have done to help the oppressed and all those who have perished. This part of the speech makes the audience feel a sense of grief so strong, that they are moved to help him in his fight against the people who have forgotten and the people who have stayed silent.

By repeating the phrase “I remember”, he is conveying the impact the Holocaust had on him to where as even to this day he vividly remembers as if “it happened yesterday or eternities ago.” Wiesel also uses repetition when repeating the phrase “I have tried.” He wants to let the young boy, which is Wiesel’s younger self, know that he has not forgotten, and is fighting “to keep memory alive” by fighting “those who would forget.” This helps to further illustrate his purpose of persuading the audience to not stay silent and to join him in his fight against “the oppressor” by typifying the survivors, their children, and Jewish people everywhere when he identifies that he remembers that horrific time period and by really emphasizing how important it is to remember and