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The Perils of Indifference
The dangers of indifference
Analysis of the perils of indifference
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Recommended: The Perils of Indifference
The indifference of people is to behave or act as if something, someone or some event
does not affect them or that they are somehow immune to it, or it does not apply to them,
their family, or anyone they know. Indifference is to be without compassion and without
sensitivity and not caring about or the denial of the suffering of others.
Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. (Elie Wiesel, The Perils of Indifference, American Rhetoric, 12 April 1999)
The indifference to the pain and suffering of others is a continuing theme of reflection
and comment. One of the effects of in...
“ In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman.” (Weisel)
African-Americans’/ Affrilachians’ Suffering Mirrored: How do Nikky Finney’s “Red Velvet” and “Left” Capture events from the Past in order to Reshape the Present?
Having an opinion and or a belief is better than not having one at all. A great man such as Elie Wiesel would agree to that statement. He believes standing up for what is right by showing compassion for a fellow human being than for letting good men do nothing while evil triumphs. The message he passes was how indifference is showing the other man he is nothing. He attempts to grasp the audience by personal experiences and historic failures, we need to learn from and also to grow to be the compassionate human being we all are.
“Sonny’s Blues” is a short story in which James Baldwin, the author, presents an existential world where suffering characterizes a man’s basic state. The theme of tragedy and suffering can be transformed into a communal art form such as blues music. Blues music serves as a catalyst for change because the narrator starts to understand that not only the music but also himself and his relationship with Sonny. The narrator’s view of his brother begins to change; he understands that Sonny uses music as an exit of his suffering and pain. This story illustrates a wide critical examination. Richard N. Albert is one critic that explores and analyzes the world of “Sonny’s Blues”. His analysis, “The Jazz-Blues Motif in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”” is an example of how one can discover plot, characterization and jazz motif that builds this theme of suffering.
...ing sorrow causes people to want to ignore it entirely, attempting to forget their experiences rather than rise to surmount their pain. This furthermore extends the time it takes for despair to be eased, proving that influence of misery is long-term and not effortlessly vanquished.
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.
“The Perils of Indifference” is a speech that Elie Wiesel delivered in Washington D.C. on April 12, 1999, exactly 54 years after his release from the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald by American troops. Both Congress along with President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton were present to hear the speech. Wiesel spoke briefly about what it was like in the concentration camps, but he focused mostly on the topic of Indifference. His speech was effective in its use of rhetoric to convince the audience that as individuals and as a world culture we cannot afford to become indifferent to the suffering around us.
Pain and suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition; feelings of empathy and sympathy the benchmark of human decency. However, with the mass production of shocking images, we may become desensitized and lose our sense of humanity. This idea is explained in David Axelrod’s lyric poem “Once in a While a Protest Poem”, using specific word choice as well as repetition to express the changes in the constitution of humanity.
Throughout our human life, we go through and endure pain and suffering in our own ways. They influence our way of thinking and merely what drive us to become mature characters. The idea of pain and suffering is one of the basic themes of, “The Odyssey Of Homer” translated by Richmond Lattimore. This epic narrative story talks about Odysseus journey home to the land of Ithaca, where he resides as king. The main question or idea that arises is, how does the theme of pain and suffering influence Odysseus’ actions and guide him to become a man of cunning, and strength?
Suffering can be defined as an experience of discomfort suffered by a person during his life. The New York Times published an article entitled what suffering does, by David Brooks (2014). In this article, Brooks explains how suffering plays an important role in our pursuit of happiness. He explains firstly that happiness is found through experiences and then, suffering can also be a motivation in our pursuit of happiness. In other words, suffering is a fearful but necessary gift to acquire happiness. This paper is related to motivation and emotion, two keys words to the pursuit of happiness (King, 2010).
When Autrey saw Peter suffering, Autrey also experiences pain. For example, Autrey believes that Peter would lose his limbs or even life if he does not save Peter. Such a depressing and horrifying thoughts and imageries might have led to Autrey 's own pain which subsequently generates helping behavior that relieves the pain. In addition, Autrey’s thought of Peter losing his limbs might simultaneously provoke the experiences of a more selfless concern for the victim. For example, the thought of Peter losing his life might have prompted Autrey to imagine Peter 's disabled life after losing his limbs. As a result, Autrey helped Peter because Autrey does not want Peter to lead a miserable and disabled life. In addition, both personal distress and empathic concern might interact with each other. In other words, personal distress might enhance empathic concern, and vice versa. In short, the interaction between personal distress and emphatic concern together triggers Autrey 's
First, a cause of apathy is people wanting to fit in around others, so they will do anything they expect will cause them to look favorable to others. People worry about what others think about them and do not want to be laughed at. Therefore, some people have a selfish desire to fit in which dominates over their sense of morality and civic
In the typical slave narrative, the intentions are fairly known. The author has written with a certain willingness that would appeal to the reader emotionally. There is a message behind every tear, or in this case, every page. The slave narrative was used to give others an insight of what they had endured. Grabbing the reader’s sympathy, they also now had the reader’s support (wsu.edu). This reasoning could be seen in several narratives from that off Jacobs, Douglass, and Equiano. The theme of their slave narratives was generally to gain the sympathy of readers and promote their rights as humans.