The article, "Am I My Brother's Keeper?" looks at the basic need to respect others and care for others. Helping others can be a difficult topic because the choice to help others is a common dilemma in today's society. I feel that pathos is the best rhetorical appeal for "Am I My Brother's Keeper?" because of the emotional nature of the article. Sometimes articles report on fact and other times they report on how an author feels. In "Am I My Brother's Keeper" we see less of an academic journal article and more of a philosophical account of how we live in society.

 Elie is being interviewed, and the first question she is asked is "Are you your brother's keeper?" She responds and says "yes"; she believes that since we are all God's creations there are no strangers. But yet this is a deeper question- it refers to not only blood brothers but friends, associates, and even strangers.  Even though the world is evolving into a more accessible and interactive place, we barely know what is happening in our brother's life. The author blames over-communication for the vacancy between each other. Communication devices such as radio stations, television stations, and news publications have taken over and somewhat distracted us humans from actually involving and dealing with other humans.          

The initial reference to this question came from the bible. Cain asked god after killing Abel "Am I my brothers Keeper?" and the response was clear, we do have a responsibility to take care for others, even if we do not know the person. The idea that we are all just a group of strangers not caring for each other is concerning to me. When it comes to climate, do we have an obligation to care for those who follow us? If we do not recycle today, we will leave the planet in a worse way than when we found it. Elie Weisel suggest that it is our moral responsibility is to take care of others, since we do understand the type of negative impact that our actions can have on others.

The biggest factor that Wiesel presents is the need for knowledge; knowledge will help us determine what is best for the world. The need for attention is another theme or topic that Wiesel suggests. If we can focus our attention on helping others and fighting for the rights of others, we can create a world that is a much better place to live in. when we help educate others and teach them how to do things the overall quality of life rises for everyone. In other words, kindness to others should bring about more kindness in the world.

Oftentimes, we see people in poverty become overlooked and underrepresented. The worst part about this is that some people's voices are never heard. The people who need their voice heard the most are not being represented. The idea that we are so consumed with what we are doing in our own lives has made us overlook the needs of others. The ability to care for yourself is an important trait, but do not forget about the needs of your brother.

The idea that "people do not want to hear the world" is an interesting theme that Wiesel presents. The example of people going to and from places wearing headphones is a perfect way of explaining the perspective of people in society. Many people choose to close themselves off from society.

The rhetorical appeal found in this article is clearly pathos. Morality and emotion are linked throughout society. If we view others as our brother, we will begin to treat others like they are a part of a family, even though there is no biological connection.

These everyday situations demand our attention and result in us focusing more on our self and less on our brothers. Some may blame technology advancements but some humans go through the day not wanting to hear about what is going on in the world or experience what the new day has to bring, rather staying in their own lane to focus on their self and making sure that they are stable and functioning first ... .   Dealing with others may bring other problems and burdens into your life but avoiding a brother that is in need of help is not being your brother's keeper. 

However, if people talk sincerely, with the same respect that one owes to a close friend or to their mother something good will come out of that ...    some people take pride in being their Brothers Keeper, as their will be times in everyone's life when they will need assistance or help from somebody else.  At the end of the day, why not be there for a person in need?  

Emotional appeal or pathos, is valuable because it allows us to think with our heart. thinking about helping others is not necessarily an appeal to logos because caring and doing the right thing cannot be calculated.
