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How Elie Wiesel's life was shaped by the horrors of the Holocaust
How Elie Wiesel's life was shaped by the horrors of the Holocaust
The holocaust history elie wiesel
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Well-known Noble Peace prize winner, Elie Wiesel, in his speech, The Perils of Indifference, admonishing indifference and history in his time. Wiesel’s purpose is to impress upon the audience that being indifferent is as bad as committing the wrong doing. He creates warm, sentimental tone to convey to the audience his experience in the Holocaust and how he was treated. As well as making the point about the people who were indifferent and how they could’ve made a difference just by lending a helping hand. Wiesl begins his speech by describing his experience in The Holocaust and discussing his feelings when he was liberated by the American soldiers. He appeals to the mournful emotions of the audience by including that “there was no joy in his
Though it took 10 years for Wiesel to speak of his tragic memories of the Holocaust, he does an excellent job of fearlessly sharing his story for the others who cannot. His struggles with faith and search for meaning are inspiring. Night immediately grabs the reader’s attention and holds it until the last page; it leaves the reader yearning for more stories of Wiesel life. Works Cited "Elie Wiesel Interview -- Page 3 / 4 -- Academy of Achievement."
Speeches are given for a purpose. Whether it is for persuasion, or education, or even entertainment, they all target certain parts of people’s minds. This speech, The Perils of Indifference, was given by Elie Wiesel with intention to persuade his audience that indifference is the downfall of humanity, and also to educate his audience about his conclusions about the Holocaust and the corresponding events. He was very successful in achieving those goals. Not only was the audience enlightened, but also President Bill Clinton, and the First Lady, Hillary Clinton, themselves were deeply touched by Wiesel’s words.
In the eyes of Elie Wiesel, author of Night, indifference whether it be in relationship abuse or another problem, is mentally damaging and needs to be eliminated. In his memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel illustrates how indifference can harm the mind of the victim when he says, “Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live,” (Night 34). In this, Wiesel is speaking of his first night in Auschwitz. When he mentions silence he is referring to the indifference that the Jews in concentration camps faced from the rest of the world. Wiesel refers to that night as the time he lost his desire to live because he saw so much indifference toward the suffering of the inmates and the horrific things that were happening to them. After this, his desire to stay alive was destroyed because he watched as the world stood by, indifferent to the senseless murder of millions. Throught this, Wiesel illustrates that indifference will impact people for the rest of their lives. Because indifference
In April, 1945, Elie Wiesel was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp after struggling with hunger, beatings, losing his entire family, and narrowly escaping death himself. He at first remained silent about his experiences, because it was too hard to relive them. However, eventually he spoke up, knowing it was his duty not to let the world forget the tragedies resulting from their silence. He wrote Night, a memoir of his and his family’s experience, and began using his freedom to spread the word about what had happened and hopefully prevent it from happening again. In 1999, he was invited to speak at the Millennium Lectures, in front of the president, first lady, and other important governmental figures,. In his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”, he uses rhetoric devices to get emotional responses and to connect with the audience. He wants to create awareness of the dangers of indifference and show how there needs to be change. His speech eloquently calls out the government for their lack of response during the Holocaust, and warns against continued disregard for the struggles of others. He sees indifference as being the ally of the enemy, and without compassion there is no hope for the
(Commire 175) says Wiesel in an interview. This shows that the Holocaust is so ingrained in his mind that he cannot talk about the subject without it hurting him. It may also represent how he respects his friends who died. Throughout Elbagirs article, “Child Soldiers Battle Traumas in Congo Rehab,” she mentions how the children, who were forced to join the army, now struggle with many problems, mentally. “They all have abandonment issues,” Rahima Choffy states.
The Holocaust was a huge historical event that changed many people’s lives. Eli Wiesel, a survivor of the holocaust, opens up about his horrifying experience. The story tells his journey of his time at the Aushwitz concentration camp, then Buchenwald. He discusses losing his family, faith, and sense of self. In “Eight Simple, Short Words”, Eli Wiesel successfully utilizes symbolism, imagery, and tone.
The unimaginable actions from German authorities in the concentration camps of the Holocaust were expected to be tolerated by weak prisoners like Wiesel or death was an alternate. These constant actions from the S.S. officers crushed the identification of who Wiesel really was. When Wiesel’s physical state left, so did his mental state. If a prisoner chose to have a mind of their own and did not follow the S.S. officer’s commands they were written brutally beaten or even in severe cases sentenced to their death. After Wiesel was liberated he looked at himself in the mirror and didn’t even recognize who he was anymore. No prisoner that was a part of the Holocaust could avoid inner and outer turmoil.
Wiesel is a mentally strong person because for most Holocaust survivors, retelling is reliving. In Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, he seems to have come out of “night” and have faith in God.
From being a bystander of bullying to committing murder are many ways of being indifferent. It is everywhere in everyday life in prospering countries and in poor and destroyed countries. Elie Wiesel knows how indifference feels and how it affects people. He was also indifferent and regrets what he did to this day. He was a victim of the Holocaust and lived through indifference. During his imprison ship he saw indifference everywhere in the camps. How he treated his father is what he regrets. He just cared about himself because another prisoner told him to. He believes his father died because he did not help him all he could. His whole book could be based on indifference if you interpreted it that way. From how the guards treated the prisoners to how kids including Elie treated their own parents. Indifference is a very big topic and a part of Night. Indifference is what pushed him to write his descriptive, emotional, strong, and outstanding novel.
Eliezer Wiesel loses his faith in god, family and humanity through the experiences he has from the Nazi concentration camp.
“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.
Wiesel begins his speech by retelling of his liberation from Buchenwald. This is the most important use of the appeal to credibility. Wiesel is
He conveys a powerful message using pathos: “There was… suffering and loneliness in the concentration camps that defies imagination. Cut off from the world with no refuge anywhere, sons watched helplessly their fathers being beaten to death. Mothers watched their children die of hunger.” Diction like “loneliness”, “defies imagination”, and “helplessly” create a solemn and helpless tone. It evokes vivid imagery, a tragic scene of death and despair. The juxtaposition of children, this idea of youth and innocence, and death evokes pity from the audience. With this in mind, Reagan would feel guilty if he forced the Jewish people to relive their suffering by going to the Bitburg cemetery. Wiesel then appeals to Reagan’s ethos. They both share a common goal – to attain reconciliation, and to do so, they “must work together with them and with all people” to “bring peace and understanding to a tormented world that… is still awaiting
Throughout the memoir, Wiesel demonstrates how oppression and dehumanization can affect one’s identity by describing the actions of the Nazis and how it changed the Jewish people’s outlook on life. Wiesel’s identity transformed dramatically throughout the narrative. “How old he had grown the night before! His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into itself. His eyes were petrified, his lips withered, decayed.
Many people stay silent in times of dispute because they fear being judged, but in reality staying quiet and not choosing sides will never solve the situation. Elie Wiesel was a devoted Jew who was forced to suffer the horrors of the Holocaust at the young age of 15. After being shipped in cattle cars to many concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Elie began fighting for justice and equality for all people despite income, race, religion, or political views. In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel stresses his claim that silence and neutrality will always benefit the oppressor through the use of logos, ethos, and pathos.