Analyzing Elie Wiesel's Speech

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Elie Wiesel was presented with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 in Oslo, Norway for speaking out on behalf of oppressed people all over the world. In his speech to members of the Nobel Committee, the people of Norway, and the global community, Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the Holocaust, convincingly argues for change by pointing out that oppression and persecution continue to affect individuals at different stages of life mainly seen through their ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and political considerations. He admits how terrible injustices exist all over earth, claiming that silence or pretending not to know when somebody is suffering leads to more problems than peace. As a result, Wiesel enlightens mankind about worldwide suffering and its need for expression. Wiesel’s diction shows …show more content…
In addition, parallelism occurs in ‘Neutrality helps the oppressor never the victim; silence encourages the tormentor never the tormented.’ This emphasizes that there is an urgent need for action. Wiesel is adept at moving between the personal and collective viewpoints in his speech. His use of “I remember” demonstrates that he speaks as an individual survivor, while “this honor belongs to all the survivors and their children” shows him speaking as the representative of the Jewish people. Furthermore, Wiesel uses this narrative voice because he wants to stress how much he personally knows about those times and how responsible he is for them. More so, looking through these two perspectives simultaneously reveals a direct connection between him and other people who witnessed those terrible events but still lived on after them. Besides adding a personal touch to it, “And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remained silent.” This speech is written from a first-person point of view, making it very relevant to readers’

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