When Elie differentiates between being “informed” and having “knowledge” what he’s doing is pointing out the fact that people can be informed about many different things and events, but if they do nothing with that information then they do not gain any knowledge. For instance I know about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda, but I would not consider myself knowledgeable about it as much as simply informed. When Elie mentions responsibility, he mentions it as a direct result of our acknowledgment of world issues. That’s why when people are asked “am I my brother’s keeper?” they hesitate to say yes, because if they do then they immediately become responsible for the care and well being of anyone they call their brother. Elie says that presence is being involved. People today have become too indifferent because of the overflow of knowledge and they need to become involved and present in one thing. To be involved in all the world’s problems is simply impossible, but even one’s involvement in a single issue can help.
To Wiesel, listening is an important part of communication, equally as valuable as the speaking itself. He also goes far enough to say that people have become deaf to the world and that the world is in need of being listened to. It is crying out for help from one another. Wiesel also uses the story of Cain and Able to illustrate his point that all humans have the desire to do good but can be easily swayed by evil. This story and method appeal to both the Jewish and Christian communities because that particular story occurs in the Torah and the Bible. In the end Wiesel connects his multiple points by saying that communication is the main way to address the worlds issues. We need to sift through all the noise in the world to find the real problems. With the information that we acquire we need to choose a situation that we feel strongly about and help as much as possible.
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