Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand

In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand tells the life story of Louie Zamperini, a former Olympian, soldier, and survivor of World War ll. The author opens the book by informing the reader of how World War ll was globally developing through the use of a flashback. Then, she begins to introduce the main character, Louie Zamperini, as a child and leads up to show his motivation and survival of World War ll. Hillenbrand uses these flashbacks to provide background information and show the characters motivation. In the beginning, Hillenbrand uses a flashback of the Zeppelin to provide the reader with background information and develop the setting. The novel begins with Louie standing in his backyard looking up at the sky thinking of the Zeppelin. This scene is described in the quote, "The ship passed over Nuremberg, Germany, where an obscure politician named Adolf Hitler had just called for the killing of the "weakest" babies to strengthen the German

During the Olympic race in Berlin, Louie was falling behind and losing hope of finishing. " Then he found himself thinking of something Pete once said: A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain. Louie thought: Let go" (Hillenbrand 36). After thinking of what Pete said, Louie began regaining hope and started to push himself past the finish line. This reveals that thinking of something Pete said could make Louie realize that even if it hurts to finish its worth the moment of victory in the end. Therefore, because of this flashback, Louie became motivated to finish the race. In conclusion, Flashbacks can be used to provide the reader with background information and show the characters motivation. Flashbacks lead the reader to wonder what's going on in the mind of the character throughout the story. Hillenbrand uses these flashbacks so the reader can better understand the story and Louie as a