Ethos, Repetition, And Pathos In The Perils Of Indifference

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In “The Perils of Indifference” Elie Wiesel uses several techniques to get his point across. Three of them in the speech are Ethos, Repetition, and Pathos. He uses a combination of the three elements throughout the paragraphs of his speech to attract the readers. The combination of these elements help draw the reader’s emotions and interest towards his subject. He focuses on word choice that would pertain to his audience’s level of vocabulary. The author uses ethos in several of the paragraphs to help pull the listener into his speech. After his introduction he starts off telling of himself as a young Jewish boy, where he was from, and when he was set free. “He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart.” He uses strategic pausing …show more content…

They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once.”
The use of “they would have” creates an emotional attachment to his hope and the sadness from help not arriving right away to their aid. “That ship which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. I don’t understand.” The last three words are the strongest of this excerpt from the speech. “I don’t understand.” It drags out the human emotion to want to nurture someone in peril or danger. Also, since this phrase is from his as a younger age it affects those who had been parents or had siblings more …show more content…

“He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart.” This evokes sadness and pity from the author over a young boy having no joy in him. Elie Wiesel uses this technique to get human feelings of attachment to form with his speech.
“...would have moved heaven and earth to intervene. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once.”
The usages of “would have” invokes pity for Elie Wiesel because of the United States not coming to the rescue sooner than they did when they helped the Jews in Germany. This lead to his speech becoming very moving and widely known in America. “Man can live far from God -- not outside God. God is wherever we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering.” Here he uses the repetition of God and the phrase “Even in suffering.” Elie Wiesel causes the words “Even in suffering” to sound like a fact and truth from having it start as a question and turning into a

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