Wiesel’s choice of genre, which is autobiographical and reflective, proves beneficial in the excerpt because it allows him a moment to reflect on why the world neglected to aid the Jewish people during their greatest time of need. Through this reflective narrative, Wiesel grapples with profound questions about the apathy and inaction of powerful nations in the face of the Holocaust, highlighting not just the historical events but also the moral implications and the emotional weight of those unanswered questions. This genre enables him to convey the depth of his anguish and confusion, urging readers to contemplate the responsibilities of the world in times of atrocity.
Read the excerpt from Elie Wiesel’s All Rivers Run to the Sea.
Why were those trains allowed to roll unhindered into Poland? Why were the tracks leading to Birkenau never bombed? I have put these questions to American presidents and generals and to high-ranking Soviet officers. Since Moscow and Washington knew what the killers were doing in the death camps, why was nothing done at least to slow down their “production”? That not a single Allied military aircraft ever tried to destroy the rail lines converging on Auschwitz remains an outrageous enigma to me.
How does Wiesel’s choice of genre prove beneficial in the excerpt?
It shows him trying to reconcile the events of his past in Poland so he can move on with his future in America.
It gives him the chance to question presidents and generals about their positions regarding the Holocaust.
It allows him a moment to reflect on why the world neglected to aid the Jewish people during their greatest time of need.
It provides him the opportunity to accuse American and Soviet leaders of keeping the Holocaust a secret.
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