George Orwell s The Perils Of Indifference Lessons...

Actions Define the Human Condition Philosophical issues have been debated for centuries. One of the more recent dilemmas in philosophy is the â€Å"Trolley problem† (Foot). The basic premise is, a runaway train going straight will kill five people, if it is diverted, it will kill one person, which do you choose? George â€Å"Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant† (Orwell 407) and Elie Wiesel’s â€Å"The Perils of Indifference: Lessons Learned from a Violent Century† (Wiesel 289) both examine the effect of human actions. Wiesel’s speech is the more persuasive due to the emotional element as well his plainly stated view upon indifference, whereas Orwell’s narrative leaves the reader questioning his action. Elie Wiesel born in 1928 is a Jewish holocaust survivor, who later in life won the noble peace prize and published over 40 different books. The speech The Perils of Indifference: Lessons Learned from a Violent Century was given at the white house during the Millennium Evenings. He expressed his gratitude to the president, the army that saved him and the country that sent them. Wiesel is descriptive in his recollection of his time spent in the camps as well as bold in his statements about all of humanity. At one point he is even critical of the country that saved him from Auschwitz. But in the end he speaks of hope for the future. George Orwell, who used the pen name Eric Arthur Blair, was born in India in 1903. A British man, who after his education returned to India and became an Imperial