N
Glam Journal

How does Elie Wiesel persuade his audience?

Author

Chloe Ramirez

Updated on March 13, 2026

How does Elie Wiesel persuade his audience?

Wiesel persuades the audience to embrace a higher level of level moral awareness against indifference by stating, “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”.

Why is indifference perilous according to Elie?

Wiesel believes that indifference, “after all, is more dangerous than anger or hatred” (51) because it’s not an active emotion. It’s the exact opposite—when you’re indifferent to someone, you just ignore what they’re going through.

What rhetorical devices were used in the perils of indifference?

Wiesel uses repetition in his speech to emphasize an idea. Wiesel uses alliteration in his speech to create sound effects and appeal to his audience. For example, Wiesel repeats words such as “indifference” to show the audience his message.

How does Elie Wiesel feel about indifference?

Wiesel gave a speech at the White House in 1999 titled The Perils of Indifference in which he emphasized the danger of apathy. They felt the sting of indifference. Defining someone’s suffering as an interruption removes their value and denies their humanity. Wiesel warned of the lure of this indifferent mindset.

Why is Wiesel grateful for rage?

Wiesel begins by recalling the rage in the eyes of the American soldiers who liberated Buchenwald. He was grateful for their anger, for it reflected his own. One ought to be angry about the concentration camps, just as one ought to be angry about all monstrous cruelty. To be indifferent is to become monstrous oneself.

How does Elie Wiesel use ethos in his acceptance speech?

In Wiesel’s speech, his opening is an example of using ethos. “Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, friends,” is what Wiesel uses to obtain credibility with his audience by making it seem as though he knows all of them personally.

Who is the intended audience for the perils of indifference?

In his speech, Wiesel addresses President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, the members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, and friends. His intended audience is the President, First Lady, White House officials, and the American people.

How is logos used in the perils of indifference?

Logos rely directly on logic and reason. In The Perils of Indifference, Wiesel kept his although emotional speech to mainly facts, which can be quite difficult to do when you were actually experiencing the event. For example, when Elie says, “It is so much easier to look away from victims.

Is indifference worse than hate?

The truth is that indifference is an even worse human attribute because it has no emotion, no expression and no response. You disarm it…Indifference is not a response.” (Wiesel, 2). As a result, indifference is more frightful than anger and hatred because it does not give victims a chance to express themselves.

How does indifference affect society?

Indifference affects people as individuals and as a society because when you allow certain people rights and freedoms that you don’t allow for other genders, races, and, religions you are then seperating people and making one of them more superior than the other.

What lesson is Wiesel trying to teach his audience?

Wiesel’s main message, however, is that we should guard against becoming indifferent or desensitized to atrocities and crimes against humanity. It is easy to become indifferent or desensitized when these atrocities and crimes seem to be so frequent, but it is also dangerous.

What is the main idea of Nobel Prize acceptance speech Elie Wiesel?

Wiesel uses rhetorical devices and appeals to hold up the central idea that the persecution of individuals for political views, race, gender, and religion must be confronted. His speech uses heavy amounts of emotion and is strengthened by the credibility that he has as someone who had experienced concentration camps.