History, overall, is a sweeping synthesis of both the darker the more triumphant moments of the human race. Despite this, there will always be some nations that will stand for the better principles of humanity, even if its constituents and administrators sometimes fall short. In his piece, “The America I Love”, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel touches on various points of history to illustrate why in both moments of triumph and shame, America will remain a beacon of liberty for him.
One such example is when Wiesel recounts his own experiences as a Holocaust survivor in the Buchenwald concentration camp. He writes, “The day I encountered…the American soldiers wept and wept with rage and sadness.” (Wiesel, 835). The sight of American soldiers is significant for Elie Wiesel and survivors of the Holocaust in general because it was the first sign of emancipation from otherwise gruesome fates. Wiesel himself acknowledges this when he writes, “And we received their tears as if they were heartrending offerings from a wounded and generous humanity.” (836). His personal experience of
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Buchenwald’s liberation allows the reader to understand how his perspective of America as a symbol of freedom formed in the first place. It gave Wiesel his first face-to-face experience with the US in the form of the American soldiers that liberated the camp, so it is only natural that this experience would make him view them as a symbol for what America stands for. As a result, the liberation of Buchenwald is an effective starting point for Wiesel to discuss his sentiments as to why he views America in such a positive light. In contrast, Wiesel also uses personal experience to illustrate a dark side of domestic American history, namely, the racism towards blacks that festered into the 1950s and 1960s, recalling, “What made it worse at the time was the realization that racism was the law…Still, my generation was lucky to see the downfall of prejudice in many forms.” (836). Addressing the discrimination and prejudice that African-Americans suffered shows that he is not naïve and blindly reverent and acknowledges that some aspects of American history are rather shameful. However, the latter part of the quote also expresses a larger idea that a country like America with strongly held democratic ideals can also take corrective measures to perfect itself. To Wiesel, the downfall of racism shows that America has made fast progress at realizing its mistakes, demonstrating the inherent virtue in its democratic ideals. Wiesel, however, boldly goes a step further and invokes the controversial invasion and occupation of Iraq, writing “In extreme left-wing…They are wrong.
America went to war to liberate a population too long subjected to terror and death.” (837). Wiesel asserts that the critics who espouse that Iraq was nothing more than a capitalist-pleasing endeavor underestimate, if not completely ignore, the nobility in America’s motives. As a Holocaust survivor who was one of many liberated by American soldiers, it is very likely that this experience has influenced his perception that the Iraq War was genuinely pursued with the humane motives of liberating a people subjected to the oppression of a totalitarian regime. From this, it stands to reason that if he views Iraq as an example of America displaying an active interest in the well being of others around the world, then it contributes strongly
to his case for American greatness by showing an example of it not merely espousing, but actively standing up for democratic ideals for all peoples. By relying on the Iraq War and other various aspects of American history, Elie Wiesel makes a case for the continued existence of American greatness in a time where the US is highly criticized as a world power. Using the lens of history allows him to strengthen his case by using actual events and facts to support his claim rather than spouting generic, abstract principles such as democracy and freedom. By doing so, Wiesel has constructed an arguably heartfelt argument that America will always stand for humanity’s greater virtues.
Elie Wiesel writes about his personal experience of the Holocaust in his memoir, Night. He is a Jewish man who is sent to a concentration camp, controlled by an infamous dictator, Hitler. Elie is stripped away everything that belongs to him. All that he has worked for in his life is taken away from him instantly. He is even separated from his mother and sister. On the other side of this he is fortunate to survive and tell his story. He describes the immense cruel treatment that he receives from the Nazis. Even after all of the brutal treatment and atrocities he experiences he does not hate the world and everything in it, along with not becoming a brute.
Six million Jews died during World War II by the Nazi army under Hitler who wanted to exterminate all Jews. In Night, Elie Wiesel, the author, recalls his horrifying journey through Auschwitz in the concentration camp. This memoir is based off of Elie’s first-hand experience in the camp as a fifteen year old boy from Sighet survives and lives to tell his story. The theme of this memoir is man's inhumanity to man. The cruel events that occurred to Elie and others during the Holocaust turned families and others against each other as they struggled to survive Hitler's and the Nazi Army’s inhumane treatment.
Elie Wiesel shows great respect for America. He complements the soldiers, the first lady and the president. He informs us about how young he was and felt anger and rage towards the Nazis. He also notices the soldiers that saved him had great rage which translates to true compassion for one another. He gives us a great history lesson and who was indifferent especially towards how towns were miles away from the camps and did nothing about it. He impounded the heart breaking on how doing business with them until 1942 and we knew what was going on. He questions the indifference we had.
An example of adversity is the Holocaust - Hitler‘s plan to exterminate the Jews. In the memoir, Night, we discover how Elie Wiesel changes in response to his concentration camp experiences. The separation from his loved ones and the horrible conditions of these camps affect Elie immensely. Elie is affected in the following ways: physically, emotionally and spiritually. The Holocaust had changed him into a completely different person.
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 Elie Wiesel’s speech “Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech”, Wiesel suggests that in times of crisis, people must stand together against injustices. Wiesel develops and supports his claim through his use of anecdotes, inclusive diction, rhetorical questions, and parallel structures. Wiesel’s purpose is to motivate the world to stand up against injustices in order to prevent the persecution of more innocent people. The audience Wiesel intended for his speech is anyone on Earth who is willing to make a difference, but mostly directed at adults who are able to go out and actually contribute to making a change. Wiesel succeeds in establishing a bond with the audience, as he comes off as very humble and trustworthy. Through his use of rhetorical
The Holocaust will forever be known as one of the largest genocides ever recorded in history. 11 million perished, and 6 million of the departed were Jewish. The concentration camps where the prisoners were held were considered to be the closest one could get to a living hell. There is no surprise that the men, women, and children there were afraid. One was considered blessed to have a family member alongside oneself. Elie Wiesel was considered to be one of those men, for he had his father working side by side with him. In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, a young boy and his father were condemned to a concentration camp located in Poland. In the concentration camps, having family members along can be a great blessing, but also a burden. Elie Wiesel shows that the relationship with his father was the strength that kept the young boy alive, but was also the major weakness.
The memoir Night by Elie Wiesel gives an in depth view of Nazi Concentration Camps. Growing up in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Wiesel, a young Jewish boy at the innocent age of 12, whose main focus in life was studying the Kabbalah and becoming closer in his relationship with God. In the memoir, Elie Wiesel reflects back to his stay within a Nazi Concentration Camp in hopes that by sharing his experiences, he could not only educate the world on the ugliness known as the Holocaust, but also to remind people that by remembering one atrocity, the next one can potentially be avoided. The holocaust was the persecution and murder of approximately six million Jew’s by Aldolf Hitler’s Nazi army between 1933 and 1945. Overall, the memoir shows
“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.
Pages 451, 452 -. Schuman, Michael A. Elie Wiesel: Voices From the Holocaust. Hillside - Enslow -. Publishers, Inc., 1994. http://www.
Eliezer Wiesel loses his faith in god, family and humanity through the experiences he has from the Nazi concentration camp.
(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.
During the 1930’s a bunch of commodity happened with the Jewish religion. World War II was cause by Adolf Hitler, which is why he was the most powerful men. Elie Wiesel’s wanted to convey that indifference is worse than hate or anger. One could be angry at injustice or hate evil, violent acts. The indifference is the absence of compassion and implies something worse than outright hate; indifference implies a lack of acknowledgement. Being
Irish Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.” Inhumanity is mankind’s worse attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point were they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous example used today is the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night demonstrates how fear is a debilitating force that causes people to lose sight of who they once were. After being forced into concentration camps, Elie was rudely awakened into reality. Traumatizing incidents such as Nazi persecution or even the mistreatment among fellow prisoners pushed Elie to realize the cruelty around him; Or even the wickedness Elie himself is capable of doing. This resulted in the loss of faith, innocence, and the close bonds with others.
“When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant, at that moment that should become the center of the universe.” Elie Wiesel said this quote when he was awarded with the Nobel Peace Award for his campaign against worldwide genocide and violence in 1986. But what Elie Wiesel truly wanted to say is that the U.S did wrong because they entered two years after World War 2 started, so he didn’t approve it because if the U.S could fight the Nazis as soon as the war started then they could have saved a lot of people. In my opinion this quote is true because when a tragedy happens around the world no matter what or where it is always going to be the center of attention. Unfortunately