Hope, Despair and Memory: Symbols, Motifs, and Rhetorical Devices
Hope, Despair and Memory: Symbols, Motifs, and Rhetorical Devices
Besht Anecdote
In a move that surprises exactly no one, masterful writer Elie Wiesel turns out to be a masterful speech-writer. And he starts out this stunning, moving speech with a pretty much perfect anecdote:...
Jewish Texts
The Bescht isn't the only time Wiesel brings Jewish teaching up in his speech. In fact, he peppers this text with citations from the Torah and the Talmud. You don't just learn about hope, despair,...
A Young Man in Paris
Wiesel buries some autobiographical goodness in his Nobel Prize speech—but you might miss this Easter Egg if you don't know what you're looking for. Here it is:A recollection. The time: After the...
Inverted Tower of Babel
Remember the Tower of Babel? You know, that massive Biblical tower to heaven that mankind thought was such a good idea…until God smacked the tower down, condemned everyone in the world to speak i...