Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference

Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor who was fifteen when he was deported to Auschwitz from his home in present day Romania. In his acclaimed book, “Night,” he recalls his traumatic experiences and states that “...Action is the only remedy to indifference, the most insidious danger of all.” Indifference in mankind that leads to destruction has been demonstrated throughout history in more instances than can be counted. The Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, slavery, and many more circumstances in which people have had apathy have resulted in the devastation of millions of people. Elie Wiesel and his speech “The Perils of Indifference” demonstrate the indifferent cycle that humans have fallen into. In fact, Wiesel has firsthand experience

The speeches were publicized over media outlets as well as the internet. The widespread audience allowed for more people to witness Wiesel’s speech and take in his ideas that empathy is the best thing a person can display towards another. Wiesel wants the audience to recognize the ways of their past and change them to create a better future. Even today, indifference is rampant in the lives of human’s around the world. Whether the person is the victim or the one who is apathetic, everyone is negatively affected by indifference in modern society. Elie Wiesel effectively uses rhetorical appeals in “The Perils of Indifference” to communicate the purpose of showing the world how it must change its indifferent ways to create an empathetic

Wiesel states that he and other victims were “Rooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate . . . [b]etter an unjust God than an indifferent one.” (2). This quote shows the audience that Wiesel and the other Jewish victims of the Holocaust are “rooted in our tradition.” This proves that Wiesel is credible because he is grouping his feelings and experiences with the other Jews. Even in the darkest of times, he carried on his traditions along with the people around him. This ethos drives the audience to be sympathetic because Wiesel believes that “an unjust God [is better] than an indifferent one” which allows the audience to realize the true damage that indifference can have one someone’s life. The fact that the victims feel that indifference is worse than “to be abandoned by humanity”