THE PERILS OF INDIFFERENCE
ELIE WIESEL
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS:
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Liberated –
Gratitude –
Indifference –
Aggressor –
Seductive –
Convicton –
Pogrom –
Gentiles –
Millennium -
1.
The audience for this speech was
a. just the members of Congress
b. the American people
c. President Clinton, his wife, and Congress
d. German war criminals
2.
The word peril in the title of the speech means
a. indifference
b. helplessness
c. danger
d. hatred and violence
3.
What word did Wiesel say “defines the humanity of the human being”?
a. gratitude
b. indifference
c. humanitarian
d. millennium
4.
When Wiesel said that “indifference can be seductive,” he meant that
a. it’s tempting not to get involved
b. it’s wrong to have sex outside of marriage, even if you’re indifferent
c. it’s brutal to be violent and cruel with people just because of their ethnicity
d. other people’s hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest to Americans
5.
Wiesel said, “Indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for It benefits the aggressor.”
Which quotation means the same thing?
a. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to remain silent.” (Author
unknown )
b. “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy)
c. “Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.” (Shakespeare)
d. “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual ways to preserve peace.” (George
Washington)
6.
Why did Wiesel probably include the depressing tale of the St. Louis?
a. to show that even a good person like Roosevelt can be indifferent
b. to show that bringing refugees over on a ship can be a cruel salvation
c. to show that Roosevelt was a great President of the United States
d. to show that Americans are indifferent
7.
This line is probably Wiesel’s claim or assertion for the entire speech:
a. “Society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the
bystanders.”
b. “I don’t understand. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart.”
c. “Indifference, then, is not only a sin; it is a punishment.”
d. “Why was there a greater effort to save SS murderers after the war than to save their victims
during the war?”
8.
Which statement best represents the author’s point of view?
a. The author feels that, although he never actually experienced the horrors of the Holocaust,
he has the right to warn people not to be indifferent to others’ pain.
b. The author feels that most people just don’t care about others.
c. The author feels that members of Congress are selfish.
d. The author feels that evil exists and everyone must help fight it.
9.
One conclusion that might be drawn from this speech is
a. people must never forget the Holocaust.
b. people must decide what they care about and take a stand for or against that issue.
c. people must not turn away refugees.
d. people must prosecute war criminals.
10.
This speech/text/document was a(n)
a. primary source.
b. secondary source.
c. words cited page.
d. appeal entirely to logos.