Unbroken is a story of survival during World War 2. The author, Laura Hillenbrand, describes how it was for Louis Zamperini to pull through beatings, tormenting, and just being able to breathe. This book is a nonfiction story on the life of a air force soldier whose plane, the Green Hornet, crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louis Zamperini was a thieving boy in his childhood. Living in the shadow of his older brother Pete, he would steal food out of windows, restaurants, and shops. In his teens, he learned to channel his energy into running. Since he knew many useful strategies, Pete volunteered to train him. Eventually, Zamperini devoted his life to making the cut for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. He ran the 5,000-meter race and …show more content…
Army Air Corps and was eventually stationed in Hawaii. In May 1943, he was serving as the bombardier on a B-24 that was searching for a missing plane when his own plane endured mechanical problems and went down in the Pacific. Of the 11 people onboard, only the 26-year-old Zamperini, along with the pilot and the tail gunner survived the initial crash. The three men stayed alive in their small raft by drinking rainwater and eating the occasional birds and fish they were able to catch, all while hiding from the Japanese and the onward threat of shark attacks. After a month at sea, Francis McNamara, the tail gunner, died. On their forty-seventh day in the raft, Zamperini and fellow survivor Russell Allen Phillips, having drifted around 2,000 miles since the crash, were picked up by Japanese sailors when trying to escape out of site on an island. For over two years, the two men were held in a series of prison camps, where they were repeatedly beaten and starved. They got three sips of water a day, a handful of grungy soup for breakfast and dinner, and an occasional wad of rice thrown through the window. Guards would force them to humiliate themselves by doing the can-can, singing, and putting his head into the latrine bucket. As an ex-Olympian, Zamperini was considered a useful tool by the Japanese and saved from execution; at the same time, however, he was singled out for particularly vicious and painful forms of torture. An …show more content…
His wife, Cynthia had left him and took their infant daughter, Cissy, with her for their safety. Then, after being inspired by evangelist Billy Graham to convert to Christianity in 1949, Zamperini went on to become an inspirational speaker, forgive his captors. Zamperini went to visit his captors in a prison unit in Japan. After this life changing event, Zamperini had been released from his nightmares and flashbacks. He also had been released from his urge to go out and murder The Bird. He was also at peace to find that The Bird wasn’t with the captive prison guards, but already
In the events of September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 world war 2 erupted and up came a man his name was Louis Zamperini. During Louie's life as a young adult, he decided to join the army to defend his country. Then during one of his missions on the way to the bomb site two, two of the four engines on their b-24 malfunctioned sending them plummeting into the ocean. In the book Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses the life experiences of Louie Zamperini to show the traits of optimistic and resourceful.
Later On in the book, Bill Graham comes to town and persuades his wife to change her mind, and she convinces Zamperini to attend one of his preaching sessions. Zamperini remembered the bargain he made to god while stuck on the raft and attends the meetings. He then then found faith from the sessions which helped him quit drinking and becoming a motivational speaker. Years later, Zamperini forgives all those who did him wrong during the war especially “the bird”. He reaches out to the bird when he finds out hes still alive but the the bird refuses. During the olympics in 1998, Zamperini carries the olympic torch past Naoetsu, and puts his dark past behind him. Hillenbrand Emphasis on personal strength and tenacious determination to keep going and pushing through as something to walk away with. I would rate this book a 10. The book is well written and gives a good insight into the life of a prisoner of war during World War 2. I believe that since Zamperini was a long distance runner, and long distance requires a certain mentality to push yourself for miles and miles that he was able to endure and
In the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, young Louie Zamperini is the troublemaker of Torrance, California. After his life had taken a mischievous turn, his older brother, Pete, managed to convert his love of running away, into a passion for running on the track. At first, Louie’s old habit of smoking gets the best of him, and it is very hard for him to compare to the other track athletes. After a few months of training, coached by Pete, Louie begins to break high school records, and became the fastest high school miler in 1934. After much more hard work, goes to the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 but is no match for the Finnish runners. He trains hard for the next Olympic Games, and hopes to beat the four minute
The greatest transformation of a character in "Unbroken", by Laura Hillenbrand, was Louis Zamperini. Throughout the course of events portrayed in the novel, Louis transforms from a troublemaking kid to a determined and focus adult. The events of his life, though horrific and unimaginable, shaped him into the man he became after WWII. Louis' transformation, though difficult, changed the course of his life forever.
Laura Hillenbrand’s novel Unbroken incorporates the improbable life of the main character, Louie Zamperini. She introduces both the inspiring and powerful journey that Louie encounters in his life as he grows up. Hillenbrand looks to and successfully does catch the versatility of the human soul. Zamperini’s story including his involvement in World War II gives a persuasive stage in which the author demonstrates numerous qualities of Louie. Leaving readers to appreciate his courage, quality, grit and above all else, his bravery. “Confident that he was clever resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament, [Louie] was almost incapable of discouragement. When history carried him into war, this resilient optimism would define him.” Louie
Louis “Louie” Zamperini went from the Terror of Torrance to a World War II hero. He grew from a young boy, who terrorized his town, into a record breaking runner, who competed in the Olympics. He later joined the United States Army Air Forces and served as a bombardier in World War II. After his plane crashed and he was stuck on a raft in the ocean, he was captured by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war. Louie’s resourcefulness, toughness, and defiance from his boyhood helped him to survive the relentless torment thrown at him later in life.
In the novel Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses both internal and external conflict to show the theme people can stand up against enemies even when the odds seemed stacked up against them. Whether it be simply defending himself or lying, Louie found a way to get through prison camp alive. After the war, this left him leaving the camp feeling euphoric. Louie’s experiences really show that no matter what situation someone is in, they can stand
... to be placed alongside Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption and Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin as one of the classic popular history book.
The demand to survive in an extreme environment encourages certain individuals to proceed to live their life despite the hardships they may face. In the novels, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the individuals must discover what it takes to obtain the will to survive in these extreme environments they are presented with. Thus, resulting in comparisons between their mental states (internal challenges), and contrasts between their physical states (external challenges) by Louie Zamperini and Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi).
Our enemy was the Japanese, but when the war ended, it also had another story to it, and it was Louie, a survivor of the American army, and a survivor from a prisoner of war camp. Louie’s life was that he was an athlete in his childhood, and the one who made Louie into an athlete was Pete, his big brother in the family, which his brother was the one that encouraged Louie the most. When Louie was older, he joined the army, and when he joined, he was still running and practiced like an athlete. When Louie was growing up, he kept on changing his personalities, and was growing new traits as he learned from others, and had joy with loved ones too. In the book Unbroken, the author Laura Hillenbrand described Louie as
Louie Zamperini; Olympic runner, American Bombardier, and former POW of Japan. It was thanks to his older brother that Louie ever ran in the Olympics and met Hitler. But after giving up on his dream of running in his second Olympics, it was his and his crews’ plane crashing into the pacific that really began Louie’s remarkable life story. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand tells the unbelievable true story of reliant and dignified Louie Zamperini from Berlin to Japan to Los Angeles.
During WWII, both Japanese American internees and American POWs in Japan were made invisible by being isolated and dehumanized, even through all of this both internees and POWs did not give up and resisted against their captors. In the novel, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie Zamperini is in the U.S air force during WWII. He and his crew crash leaving Louie and another man drifting in the pacific until they are eventually found by the Japanese and are put into camps. While in the camps Louie has his dignity taken away from them, but resist giving in to the camp leader. In The life of Miné Okubo, Miné Okubo is a Japanese-American artist who is forced to enter a camp because of her Japanese ancestry. While being in the internment camps Miné
Louie Zamperini had escaped the grievance with his life and has become an advanced soul. Louie Zamperini lived in a miniature house in Torrance, California; he was a fascinating Olympian. He was also held captive as a prisoner of war. In the book Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses the life experiences of Louie Zamperini to show the traits of optimistic and rebellious.
Pete Zambrini, Louis's older brother, got Louis into track. Louis turned out to be absolutely spectacularly at running events, winning every race he was faced with. Louis eventually went onto compete in the Olympics. This challenge of changing from a hoodlum to a track star was very difficult for Louis. Louis didn't just become a great runner, he was tired of being a petty thief. When his brother convinced him to try out for the track team, he slowly devoted hi...
Hillenbrand, L. (2010). Unbroken: A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption. New York: Random