The Perils Of Indifference Analysis

The Dangers of Indifference
Indifference is the lack of interest, concern, or sympathy that indirectly influences Elie Wiesel and Ishmael Beah. Elie Wiesel is a World War II veteran who spreads awareness to the suffering of others in the world through his powerful speeches. Ishmael Beah is a former child soldier and a Civil War survivor who, like Wiesel, spreads awareness to those whom are silenced in the world. Both men had fallen to be victims of indifference, for both were abandoned by society. Indifference is an abstract concept that is portrayed as a threat to humanity by both Elie Wiesel in “The Perils of Indifference” and Ishmael Beah, in A Long Way Gone, for it diminishes humanity and silences the cries of the suffering.
Elie Wiesel experiences indifference taking away his humanity by being a prisoner of war. Wiesel was kept at a secluded concentration camp for years. He felt like the world viewed him as imaginary, and had forgotten about his suffering as well as the suffering of other’s in the concentration
Ishmael is orphaned during the civil war in Sierra Leone and is forced to fend for himself at an early age because others feel indifferent to his survival. He is silenced, for his suffering is ignored. After arriving in New York and having done a speech, he feels blessed to know, “that a memory of [his] existence was alive somewhere in the world” (Beah 200). Ishmael feels fortunate to share his story and raise awareness to the people in Sierra Leone because for the first time, he feels that his voice is being heard and that he is making a change in the world. In his speech, he raises awareness of the consequences of indifference, concluding that it does not bear good fruit, and therefore is used as a weapon to silence the victim and cause further destruction. Indifference is a threat to Ishmael because it was the leading factor that shunned him during his time of