Famous writer, speaker and survivor of the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel once said: “Together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope.” He spent his life trying to make a difference in the world today, hoping we will follow in his path of enlightening future generations about the dangers in society. Wiesel makes many valid arguments about indifference in the world that correlate to society in the 21st century. In “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel, there are correlations between his arguments that people are indifferent to things unless there is a motivation not to be, the continued discrimination throughout society and the progression towards the goal of stopping indifference and the world today. …show more content…
In “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel, Wiesel states, “This time the world was not silent. This time we do respond. This time, we intervene” when talking about the different times in history when countries have stepped in to help each other. For instance, on January 21, 2017, when over two million people gathered around the world to take part in a march for women’s rights, trying to make a difference. (Smith-Spark) This shows that people are standing up for what they believe in and deciding to take action instead of sitting back and watching the discrimination happening right in front of them. In fact, in 2012, after the shooting death of a black boy, Trayvon Martin, a new hashtag started to appear on social media: “#blacklivesmatter.” This hashtag started a new group who was supporting black equality called Black Lives Matter. As a result, with the help of social media and people around the world, these people are making change and trying to shut down discrimination. (Sidner) Not only have they informed people about the discrimination against race, but they have stood up for what they believe and and protested against what was wrong in hopes to exact change. Parts of society are moving forward, away from the indifference. Even though there is still along way to go people are trying to make a difference and putting in effort to help
Injustice still occurs in today’s society. In “Hope, Despair, and Memory” Ellie Wiesel repeats, “it would be enough” to express his frustration in how humanity has not changed. Wiesel’s point of view differs from Solzhenitsyn oration in “One Word of Truth Outweighs the World” because Solzhenitsyn believes lying and violence are inseparable. However, Wiesel and Solzhenitsyn are similar in that they are both frustrated with our society not learning from past mistakes.
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.
Throughout the Nobel Peace Prize award winner Night, a common theme is established around dehumanization. Elie Wiesel, the author, writes of his self-account within the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. Being notoriously famed for its unethical methods of punishment, and the concept of laboring Jews in order to follow a regime, was disgusting for the wide public due to the psychotic ideology behind the concept. In the Autobiography we are introduced to Wiesel who is a twelve year old child who formerly lived in the small village of Sighet, Romania. Wiesel and his family are taken by the Nazi aggressors to the Concentration camp Auschwitz were they are treated like dogs by the guards. Throughout the Autobiography the guards use their authoritative
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
Thus the theme of inhumanity can be seen through discrimination, fear and survival. Discrimination is seen when the Hungarian police beat the Jewish people because of their religion. Also, fear can be seen when Elie is whipped because Idek is afraid Elie would tell everyone of his affair. Lastly, survival is seen when the men beat each other for food. The reader can therefore conclude that what Elie Wiesel was trying to say about inhumanity was that other people are capable of treating other humans like animals and that it makes this victims feel less like people. This has implications about the real world and everyday life because there are maybe many instances throughout one’s life when they are being treated inhumanly. Additionally, many countries today suffer people are not being treated well, and the author seems to suggest that it should be stopped.
To the people in the concentration camps, apathy is a “harsher punishment” (Wiesel) than anger or rage, because anger has feelings in it, while indifference just makes a suffering person feel even smaller and more insignificant. Indifference in humans potentially goes against religion, because it blurs the lines between “light and darkness” (Wiesel). Throughout his speech at the Millennium Lectures, Elie Wiesel both enlightens on the consequences of apathy towards those who need help, and inspires hope for a better future.
Elie Wiesel not only spoke on his behalf but also on behalf of all the victims of the Holocaust. His words do not only pertain to his situation but to the situations of every world crisis that has been failed to be acknowledged. Elie’s words can be related universally and makes you question, where were these people that are supposedly suppose to be the voices for the silent? The world thrives for equality but how can a world grow and unit if the people are silent. Elie makes valid points throughout the novel that can be referred to other situations in the past and are to come in the future.
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.
Oppression is the systematic method of prolonged cruelty and unjust treatment, often intended for those who are deemed “different” by a hierarchical society. It’s a basis that can be found in the plot of a fictional movie or novel, but most importantly, it’s an aspect of both past and modern life that has affected multiple nations. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, is a humanitarian who embodies the personal experiences of what being oppressed feels like – how it itches at one’s skin like the hatred and stares directed at them. The reason he is so important is because of his stories; what he has seen. The insight and intelligence he has brought forth further educates those who had previously accepted the world with their eyes closed.
Author and survivor of the holocaust, elie wiesel in his reflective speech “The Perils of Indifference”, informs just how such an effect indifference can make. He supports his claim by expressing gratitude, providing examples of the effect of indifference as well as sharing a personal story. In addition , he explains just how the tragic event of a genocide could happen again if we ignore it. Wiesel's purpose is to inform and warn readers just what indifference can do and how we should be aware to stop any future tragic events like this . he establishes a formal yet serious tone by using stylistic devices such as rhetorical questions and imagery in order to achieve his message, about inhumanity of indifference, the importance of resistance and how its still relevant today.
If a person had to choose between their life and someone else’s, they’d choose to be the ones to live. Selfishness is a terrible thing that can cause families to fight, it can cause wars, or the death of someone to spare one’s own life. Night by Elie Wiesel, shows many examples of selfishness. Sons leave their fathers to save their own lives, reluctantly feed their dying father and even kill just for a piece of bread. Humans are inherently selfish, it’s a personality trait that doesn’t care about relatives or lovers or anyone else.
Does survival require selfishness? I believe that survival is selfish because in order to survive you need to have some selfishness. This is supported within the novel Night by elie wiesel, the story Deep survival by Laurence gonzales and the story Is Survival Selfish by Lane Wallace.
The speech, titled “The Perils of Indifference” by the author Elie Wiesel. He was a survivor in World War II. He and his family starved on small portions of bread and soup and alongside were brutal punishments like once he has been whipped twenty-five times for something minor. A few months later, after the passing of his family, the American troops came and save Wiesel. He then lived in Paris and became a journalist in 1945. In 1975 he moved to New York and taught at Boston University. Wiesel has won many awards, including the Presidential
A common example of injustice occurring right now in our own culture would be the glass ceiling. The discrimination and injustice minorities face in the workplace is immense and should be taken action against. However, instead, today’s generation does not want to take the next step and create a movement against this injustice. This generation has become so absorbed in technology that they believe everything can be done through speaking about issues on social media. Although, social media may not be a bad platform to begin movements, action must be taken beyond the internet in order the create a positive impact around the world. All in all, Wiesel is attempting to get future generations to stand up against injustice occurring all over the world in order to fix the issues the world
He says, “These failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars, the senseless chain of assassinations,... so much violence; so much indifference.” (4). Indifference is shown by not only the people involved in these violent events, but also Wiesel’s audience as well, many clueless of these events. For one to fail to know and understand these events in order to stop and bring awareness to them is just as wrong as committing the event in the first place, according to Wiesel. One must also believe the event itself to escape the corruptive qualities of indifference. During the Holocaust, many did not believe what was happening and chose to then ignore it rather than do anything about it. The unaware audience and people in the 1940s thoroughly proves the corrosiveness of