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"After Auschwitz"

Last updated over 1 year ago

7 questions

5

Question 1

1.

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10

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Speakers try to capture their audience's attention by beginning speeches with a striking or memorable image (much like you do when you give speeches).  Reread lines 1-19.  What does Wiesel do to get listeners' attention at the beginning of his speech?  Why might Wiesel have chosen to begin this way.

Question 2

2.

Rhetorical devices are the techniques writers use to enhance their arguments and communicate more effectively. Repetition--repeating a word, phrase, or line--is one such device. What repetition is used in lines 4-6? What is the impact of this repetition?

Question 3

3.

Parallelism is also a rhetorical device in which similar grammatical structures are repeated. Both parallelism and repitition can have rhythmical effects, helping listeners connect meaning, sound, and feeling. Reread lines 25-33, noting the phrase kingdom of darkness in line 25. Find a parallel phrase in the next paragraph and describe the impact of both phrases.

Question 4

4.

Judaism forbids cremation; the bodies of the dead are required to be buried in the earth. Reread lines 37-39. What meaning does Wiesel's word choice of the word blasphemy convey?

Question 5

5.

An ethical appeal is a persuasive technique in which a speaker appeals to his listeners' sense of morality--in this case, the accepted belief that bloodshed and terror are wrong. Wiesel gave this speech in 1995 and makes references to ethnic strife and genocide in the world at that time. Reread lines 51-60 and identify three words or phrases that convey an ethical appeal.

Question 6

6.

Reread lines 61-64. What kind of appeal is Wiesel making in this part of his speech? What human feelings is he tapping into to make his point?

Question 7

7.

The sentence Yitgadal veyitkadash Shmay Rabba is repeated three times in the speech? Is the use of this rhetorical device effective? Why or why not?