Indifference is like an addiction that slowly outgrows from the inside of a person until there is absolute “no concern” left. Once indifference engulfs a person, it is very strenuous to recover from such a disease. Every human being has evidently dealt with this state of indifference, a simple yet perilous state in which individuals create an arbitrary world around them and conclusively decide upon taking no action to another person's’ struggles. The dangers of indifference effect and ultimately intimidate humankind; as a result, individuals who are "different" in any way are shown no concern as though a precise way of saying, that "the world does not care." Throughout humanity, human beings have displayed this sort of indifference at unreasonable …show more content…
This sort of idea has made human beings apathetic to the situations that are ongoing in the world. Understanding different perspectives of individuals and being a caring person has overall decreased, perhaps most individuals are only concerned if something affects them. This is evidently displayed in Martin Niemoller's poem, "First they came," where the main premise of the poem is how people are indifferent until it affects them. In the poem, Niemoller writes "Then they came for me- And there was no one left to object." This signifies how the world remained silent to even the slightest of injustices until it was bound to occur to them. Once it occurred, they realized, maybe objection is necessary, but it is too late. This level of indifference is very self-centered because the ability to keep silent in the midst of an atrocity is a pure act of brutality. These injustices have turned into a tradition, that repeat continuously and individuals still "do not care." This is displayed by in the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis, that instead of helping them sustain stability after a warfare impact to their minds, individuals criticize and start to demoralize them. Which is illustrated by Hassan Blassim's poem, "A Refugee in the paradise that is Europe," where it describes that transition into the so-called …show more content…
In general, fear is viewed as a disadvantage because metaphorically it causes humans to be trapped in prison, and not being able to escape to face those fears. However, in current society indifference can be created from Fear of helping each other. This is articulated by Blasim that "They decide to stop hitting you, and set up a military unit to confront you." Blasims reference is ideal and meaningful, as it shows how fear from a person, makes the feared become isolated and indirectly creates indifference, in the mind of the fearful to completely avoid such a big threat. This also contributes to the idea of dominance over another person, which shows the indifference towards the "lowly" person. This reluctance to help each other because of fear has made the views of many people change about specific ethnic groups. They are usually identified as thieves or even terrorists, which is ironic because they escaped from them to get to a new place, yet people call them terrorists. Which indicated that these depictions about refugees are invalid and show the actions of indifference that fear contributes adds into. In Elie Wiesel's speech "The perils of indifference," Wiesel poses a question "Why was there a greater effort to save SS murderers after the war than to save the victims during the war"? Wiesel questions hold the answer within itself since it shows the true extent of fear in
The modern world is full of social issues and people use all different kinds of way to express the way that they feel and how they see things. Bruce Dawe uses his poem ‘War Without End’ and Christopher Mann with his poem ‘Country Matters’ to convey important messages.
In the novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel, the author displays the transformation and the evolution of the average human being, through a horrible experience that he personally went through. When he is transported from one place to another, forced to leave everything behind, to go live in the ghettos, then in a horrible concentration camp. In the concentration camp Elie experiences numerous events that challenges his physical and mental limits. Some of these events made him question his faith, and whether there is such a thing as God, turning him from a conservative Jew to a reform Jew. Elie doesn’t love the concentration camps, yet he doesn’t hate it, in fact he does not care anymore. At a conference in 1986 Elie explains “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference”. (Elie Wiesel), meaning that opposite of love is not hate, it’s getting used to use to the situation, to the point that the person doesn’t care whether what is happening is right or wrong. In the novel Elie experience physical, mental, and spiritual pain, that test his humanity and morality.
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.
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 about 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 these victims feel less like people.
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.
”Lie down on it! On your belly! I obeyed. I no longer felt anything except the lashes of the whip. One! Two! He took time between the lashes. Ten eleven! Twenty-three. Twenty four, twenty five! It was over. I had not realized it, but I fainted” (Wiesel 58). It was hard to imagine that a human being just like Elie Wiesel would be treating others so cruelly. There are many acts that Elie has been through with his father and his fellow inmates. Experiencing inhumanity can affect others in a variety of ways. When faced with extreme inhumanity, The people responded by becoming incredulous, losing their faith, and becoming inhumane themselves.
When people are scared, they tend to follow a routine, or pattern. In "Night" this is shown when a prisoner tries to steal soup during an air raid. Elie states "Hundreds of eyes were looking at them, shining with desire. Two lambs with hundreds of wolves lying in wait for them. Two lambs without a shepherd, free for the taking. But who would dare? Fear was greater than hunger." (Wiesel 59) This shows the way that fear can cause conformity in a society because the prisoners were too scared to go out and even attempt to try and get some food. They were
Indifference is lack of interest, concern, or sympathy or unimportance. Indifference has affected society and people in many different ways. In “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, the theme of indifference is very prevalent.
A list of statistics can be printed on a sheet of pure gold and still have no impact on how it can affect an individual’s day to day; however, hearing or in this case, reading of the experiences in the Concentration Camps is more than enough to make you rethink everything that you thought you knew about human nature and enable you to open your eyes and see the deep dark secrets of the past. Sometimes all it really takes is one voice, that one voice can make a much larger impact than any set of statistics, in this case its Elie Wiesel’s
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.
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.
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.
Their skepticism of the entire situation due to their modern thinking, their denial of the horrors occurring, and holding onto their religious beliefs caused them to react as passively as they did. Wiesel’s novel gives us examples of how skeptical the Jews were of the circumstances and how they tried to hold onto their religion in their worst hours. Browning’s novel also shows us the lack of resistance found during the deportations, and the rare cases in which Jews resisted. The Jews held onto their humanity and self-worth in their darkest moments, demonstrating that even in the most horrendous of circumstances we are still able to hold onto our humanity and identity to push forward to a better future. It is also a reminder that violence is not always the best way to fight
The Dangers of Fear 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 worst attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point where they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous examples 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.
...o the bigger picture. Absorbed in their daily routines and petty problems. Like governments, people choose to spend more money on war issues - fix someone else’s problem - rather than staying home and feeding the poor - to fix own problems. Thus like a kettle boiling water, screaming for help, only some major event will finally bring people to their senses. Which is why as a society we should be taught to be more aware of what truly happens around us rather than reacting in the last minute.