One man is not capable of changing a nation, but he is able to change the people in it; to show them humility, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Louis Zamperini was an unlikely hero for America, and an even unlikelier role model for the world. “Louis Zamperini was a World War II prisoner of war, an Olympic athlete and an inspirational figure and writer” (Biography). He was born into an immigrant Italian family and faced discrimination, and lacked support throughout his early life, but he became an advocate and representative for the best aspects of America and the human race through his determination to improve himself and those around him. The words bravery, courage, and heroism are often used to label a person whose actions exceed or surpass the …show more content…
A couple years after his birth, his family decided to move to the West Coast due to an increasing abundance of jobs. This move landed the Zamerini family in the twon of Torrance, California. His father, Anthony Zamperini, was the breadwinner for the family, and his mother, Louise Dossi-Zamperini was a very kind stay-at-home mother (Bumgarder).
For much of his young life, Louis was a local nuisance, causing more harm than good. He would steal, lie, and vandalize. Though most of it was harmless and not meant to be malicious, the town (as well as the local police) were tired of the constant disturbance that was the “Terror of Torrance”. It wasn’t until his older brother Pete forced Louis to be involved in the high school track team that Louis finally started bucking some of his more mischievous habits (Hillenbrand).
Speaking of Louis’ track career, the kid was a total natural. Throughout his high school career he broke and set dozens of national high school records in the 1,600 meter run (Hillenbrand). “In 1934, Zamperini set the national high school mile record, and his time of 4 minutes and 21.2 seconds would stand for an incredible 20 years”
…show more content…
The university even offered him a scholarship to attend. Louis accepted (Biography). Even though his collegiate career had begun, his track and field career was far from over. Actually it seemed to just be kicking off. At the age of nine-teen he wanted to try out for the U.S. Olympic team in the mile run, but due to financial difficulties and timing he was unable to attend the tryouts for that particular event. He was very disappointed by this, but his mother (who had always encouraged him to follow his passions) found an article in the newspaper stating that the 5,000 meter run tryouts were being held a few weeks later (Hillenbrand).
Louis thought that there was no chance for him to qualify, especially an event he had never run before and only had a matter of days to train for. Despite this, he tied the world record holder, Don Lash, in the 5,000 meter and qualified with flying colors for the Olympic team. He was going to the 1936 Berlin Olympics
I agree with the statement that Louie was as much a captive as he’d been when barbed wire had surrounded him after the war. The following quote was taken from chapter 39 of Unbroken. “It was forgiveness, beautiful and effortless and complete. For Louie Zamperini, the war was over” (386). From this quote, we can see that Louie was struggling with vengeance. Although the war was over in 1945, it toke Louie almost five years to say that the war was over for him because of the hatred and thought of revenge Louie undergo after the war. This is one of the reasons why I agree with the author’s choice to include the post-war years and explore this story of obsession for vengeance. Putting Part V into the book not only not take away the theme of survival,
In Unbroken: A world war 2 story of survival, resilience, and redemption- by Laura Hillenbrand; young Louie Zamperini is a delinquent of Torrance, California. He steals food, runs around like hell and even dreams of hoping on a train and running away for good. However, Pete, his older manages to turn his life around by turning his love of running from the law into a passion for track and field. Zamperini is so fast that he breaks his high school’s mile record, resulting in him attending the olympics in berlin in 1936. His running career however was put on hold when World war 2 broke out, he enlisted in the the Air Corps and becomes a bombardier. During a harrowing battle, the “superman” gets hit numerous times with japanese bullets destroying
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
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.
...wenty years after his tragic death, he continues to inspire distance runners across the nation with his impressive times, great quotes, and unique running ability.
A huge part of the story showed how a person could overcome all the odds to become successful is feats such as sports and other activities. Most sports champions show great endurance to win many competitions. Similarly, Hillenbrand indicated that Louis, a competitive runner, trained until “he (had) rubbed the skin right off one of his toes, (leaving) his sock bloody” (Hillenbrand 23). As a result of all the hard work, Louis overcome struggles such as a bleeding shin, broken ribs, and a damaged toe to set time records for many races. In my experiences, I see many people take sports and other extra-curricular activities as a burden without embracing the challenges. In contrast, Louis illustrates the rare athlete and human being who seeks solutions to
Life is hard. No one can deny that. People can wish and hope and pray for their troubles to go away, but all anyone can really do is get through them. Everyone in the world is on their own life’s journey, growing and learning from mistakes, loving and hoping, and striving for success unique to each individual. Louis Zamperini is one man who remained resilient throughout all the hardships he had to face, but it wasn’t always easy for him. It is through his triumphs over his tough times that he became an admirable role model for anyone experiencing difficulties. He displayed the honorable traits that all humans are inherently capable of if they dig deep enough within themselves.
A brave hero often risks his/her lives to save someone else. In Zeitoun, Dave Eggers tells us a story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, the hard working Syrian American owner of a contracting company in New Orleans. Zeitoun and his wife Kathy ran the company together. They have three children named Nademah, Safiyah, Aisha. Kathy has a child from her first marriage. Zeitoun is very closed with his family and he takes his family like nobody else. When hurricane Katrina landed in 2005, endless number of people were affected. Mayor Nagin ordered a first time ever mandatory evacuation. Kathy moved with the children to her sister’s house in Baton Rouge. Zeitoun refused to leave with his family because he didn’t want lose his properties, but at the same time, his customers trusted him and gave him their house keys to check on their houses, which caused his separation with his family. This illustrates that Zeitoun is a responsible, powerful, trustworthy, and unselfish person. During the hurricane, Zeitoun was using a canoe rescuing people. Due to the lack of rescue work, many people didn’t get enough supports at that time. Zeitoun had the courage to sacrifice his family, safety, and selfish needs for saving the people.
... have been re-entered into Olympic record books and he is now widely acknowledged as one of the greatest athletes of all time(About.com). But throughout his shorter and memorable life. One thing people just look over completely is the problems he had with racism and segregation especially in the earlier part of his life but he overcame all obstacles and was on top for a very long time.
Just like these two World War II survivors, Louie Zamperini from Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand demonstrates the will power and determination it takes to survive and overcome life-threatening obstacles. Louie’s life was a constant battle; he endured 47 days stranded on a raft and endless nights as a prisoner in Japanese camps (Laura Hillenbrand). He had every reason to break down, but with all those challenges, he rose to the occasion. Hillenbrand states that “without dignity, identity is erased” meaning that without all the battles that Louie went through, he wouldn’t be the person he is today (Hillenbrand 182). All the hardships throughout someone’s life build them into a stronger person, not defining them, but impacting them to do better. It is safe to say that many Americans have faced countless number of problems and inspire everyday people like myself to keep
Raymond Gray “Ray” Lewis was a track and field athlete. He was the first African-Canadian to win a medal at the Olympics, but his life was much more than that. Born in 1910, he faced racism and prejudice for his black heritage, but that didn’t stop him from following his dream. He accomplished various things in his life, and was, and still is, a source of inspiration for many people.
- second in 45-49 age group in national championship 100 km in 8:51 in New York City in 1993, and
On top of running with his athletes he has competed in numerous running events such as the monument 10k, the Henrico festival dash, Suffolk celebration community 5K run/1 mile walk, and the New Year's Day Resolution 10-K, 5-K, or 1-mile trail run. He runs these events to either help for the cause for example donating to the poor, people with cancer, or people with diseases or he just runs just to have fun. Even at 36 years old he is still competing at track meets just recently he just finished competing at the real deal track and field classic at Boo Williams in Suffolk Virginia. He ran the 200-meter dash and he gathered his all-American team from 1999 and ran the four by 200-meter relay one last time. They all had fun reuniting with each other to run again and they won the adult section of the four by 200-meter relay even if they all ran as slow as a week in jail. After he finishes his running he always comes back to the school to help fundraise for the track and field team.
Finding immense happiness and fulfillment in running, he started training every day. In this way, he kept pushing himself. Louis didn't stop until he became the very best. Earning a scholarship to the University of Southern California, he surprised everyone.
There is another type of hero that almost no one is aware of. In the poorest areas of the country, live mostly minorities and other ethic background. All their lives they’ve been expected to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Some individuals living in poverty with a determination to succeed work hard all of their lives to become what everybody doubted they could. Escaping the crime, drugs, and prostitution is enough to escape hell, even if they don’t go to college. Despite of their financial problems, drug and crime surroundings, or difficulties in the language skills, their desire to triumph fuels their persistence. Those who make it to success are the few living examples of the purest form of hero anyone can be. They are not only their own heroes but also the heroes of the poor children who dream of becoming like them someday.