Activity 3.3.7 Analyze the Quest for Human Rights

Read this passage: And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. And together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 How does Wiesel persuade his audience in this passage?

By providing an emotional image

Read this passage: And yet, my friends, good things have also happened in this traumatic century: the defeat of Nazism, the collapse of communism, the rebirth of Israel on its ancestral soil, the demise of apartheid, Israel's peace treaty with Egypt, the peace accord in Ireland. And let us remember the meeting, filled with drama and emotion, between Rabin and Arafat that you, Mr. President, convened in this very place. I was here and I will never forget it. And then, of course, the joint decision of the United States and NATO to intervene in Kosovo and save those victims, those refugees, those who were uprooted by a man, whom I believe that because of his crimes, should be charged with crimes against humanity. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 What point is Wiesel trying to make in this passage?

Good has happened in the world because countries intervened to stop human suffering.

Read this passage: The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo nearly 1,000 Jews was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 How is Wiesel establishing logos in this passage from "The Perils of Indifference"?

He gives a specific example of a tragedy caused by indifference.

Read this passage: And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew, the State Department knew. And the illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader and I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945. So he is very much present to me and to us. No doubt, he was a great leader. He mobilized the American people and the world, going into battle, bringing hundreds and thousands of valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler. And so many of the young people fell in battle. And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history I must say it his image in Jewish history is flawed. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 What is Wiesel's overall attitude toward the United States in this passage?

He is upset that the United States didn't do more to end the Holocaust.

How does Wiesel reestablish his ethos in the conclusion to "The Perils of Indifference"?

He reminds the audience of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor.

Which behavior is most clearly a response to a rhetorical situation?

Editing a speech to make it more formal

Read this passage: Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them for that rage, and also for their compassion. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know that they, too, would remember, and bear witness. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 In the introduction of "The Perils of Indifference," how does Wiesel appeal directly to his U.S. audience?

He thanks the U.S. soldiers for their sacrifices in helping to free him from the concentration camp.

Read this passage: The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo nearly 1,000 Jews was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 What rhetorical strategy is Wiesel using in the passage?

Logos, by showing a specific example of the cost of indifference

Read this passage: And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire; that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of the war against the Allies. If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders 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. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 What type of appeal is Wiesel making by using the underlined words in the passage?

Pathos

Read this passage: And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. And together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 Which kind of rhetorical appeal is Wiesel most clearly using in this passage?

Pathos

Read this passage: The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo nearly 1,000 Jews was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. I don't understand. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart. He understood those who needed help. Why didn't he allow these refugees to disembark? A thousand people in America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in modern history. What happened? I don't understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims? -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 What is Wiesel trying to do in this passage?

Show an example of the United States' indifference to the plight of the Jews

What is Wiesel primarily trying to persuade people to do in "The Perils of Indifference"?

Take action to stop human suffering

Read this passage: Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them for that rage, and also for their compassion. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know that they, too, would remember, and bear witness. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 In "The Perils of Indifference," why does Wiesel begin his speech by thanking the U.S. soldiers for their sacrifices?

To appeal directly to the mostly U.S. audience

Read this passage: And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew, the State Department knew. And the illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader and I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945. So he is very much present to me and to us. No doubt, he was a great leader. He mobilized the American people and the world, going into battle, bringing hundreds and thousands of valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler. And so many of the young people fell in battle. And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history I must say it his image in Jewish history is flawed. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 Why does Wiesel spend time during his speech complimenting Franklin D. Roosevelt?

To soften his later attacks that the United States was indifferent to the suffering of the Jews

Read this passage: And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire; that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of the war against the Allies. If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders 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. -Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference," 1999 Which phrase from the passage most clearly uses pathos to persuade the audience?

black gates and barbed wire

In the conclusion, the reminder that Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor helps reestablish _____.

ethos