Unbroken Essay

The Lost Olympian’s Journey

This man had survived 47 days on a raft in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. He had survived two years of beatings, starvation, terrible living conditions, and forced labor everyday. He was declared dead by his own government a year after his disappearance. This man was Louie Zamperini. Louie was born in New York and shortly moved to torrance California. Louie became an olympic runner during 1940, but then joined the airforce. After surviving a plane crash Louie spent 49 days on a raft. Then, being captured by the Japanese he had to endure a horrible two years in POW camps until his final release in 1945. In Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, Louie Zamperini shows many examples of how he is rebellious but also forgiving,

The first example where Louie is very forgiving, is when he is stranded on the raft with Phil and Mac. In the book it says “The realization that Mac had eaten their only food rolled hard over Louie. He knew they could die without it, but he quelled the thought. They’d be rescued today, perhaps tomorrow. Curbing his anger, he told Mac he was disappointed in him, but understanding that Mac had acted in panic, he reassured him they would soon be rescued.” (107-108) The chocolate was the only food they had. Instead of sharing it, Mac ate all of the chocolate for himself. Louie could have been extremely angry, but he understood why Mac had done it. He even gave positive thoughts to the group after losing all of their food. The next situation where Louie shows his amazing power of forgiveness is when Louie visits Japan to see the people who had tormented him. Here it says, “Louie was seized by giddy exuberance. Before he realized what he was doing, he was bounding down the aisle. In bewilderment, the men who had abused watched him come to them, his hands extended, a radiant smile on his face.” (273) The war is over and Louie is visiting his captors who had treated him less than human. But instead of letting anger consume him, Louie was delighted to see them. He forgave them for all the terrible, inhumane things they had done to him. Finally, The last example where Louie displays the power of forgiveness is when he writes his letter to The Bird after figuring out he was alive. In the letter Louie says, “The post-war nightmares caused my life to crumble, but thanks to a confrontation with God through the evangelist Billy Graham, I committed my life to Christ. Love replaced the hate I had for you.” (281) The anger Louie had for The Bird has long washed over him. Louie had forgiven the man who had made his life miserable and stripped him of everything he had. Throughout all of these situations