His Olympic running dreams crushed by war, crashing his bomber plane into the ocean, floating in a raft with no food and no water for weeks. Getting captured by the Japanese, getting beaten close to death everyday, being abused in prison camps for years. That was the life of Louis Zamperini. The biography Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand tells the chilling true story of Louie and the countless obstacles he faced during World War II. Louie teaches readers that through optimism, any challenge can be overcome. During Louie’s life as a runner, he stayed hopeful even when war caused his life plan to go awry. For example, Louie’s dreams of being an Olympic runner were shattered when the Olympics were cancelled. World War II began, and Louie was forced …show more content…
Most of his crew died, leaving Louie, Phil and Mac in the middle of the sea, stranded on a raft. Louie didn’t lose hope, despite drifting for over 40 days. During their first night on the raft, Mac panicked and ate all the chocolate, which was the only food they had. Louie understood that “...that Mac acted in panic, he reassured him that they’d soon be rescued”(132). Louie knew that Mac had freaked out and acted irrationally, so Louie reassured him that they’d be okay. Even with all the food gone, Louie was hopeful and determined to persevere. Many days later, things were looking grim for the three men. But Louie didn’t let it faze him. While on the raft, “...they imagined themselves back in the world again, they willed a happy ending onto their ordeal and made it their expectation”(146). Louie knew how close they were to death, but he didn’t let that possibility affect his mentality. He stayed resilient and had a positive outlook despite the dire situation. Through optimism and determination, Louie fought hard, surviving the plane crash and hard weeks on the …show more content…
Yet Louie was optimistic the whole time. Louie and Phil survived the raft stranding, but unfortunately Mac died. Phil and Louie were finally rescued, but were captured by the Japanese and sent to a prison camp. The camp was horrible and abusive. Louie was sent from camp to camp, hoping to survive. Louie was beaten close to death. He was starved until he could barely move. But Louie kept going. He held on, determined that when America won the war, he’d get to go home. Louie met corporal, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, or as all the prisoners called him, the Bird. The Bird taunted Louie, beating him unconscious often. He had a deep hatred for Louie, but Louie didn’t let fear and despair overwhelm him. Louie and other prisoners rebelled against the guards, stealing and feeling the satisfaction of doing something defiant. Louie never lost hope during those awful years, and it was worth it. When America won the war, Louie went home, thrilled to be with his family, yet he was plagued with PTSD and alcoholism. When he realized he could be putting his wife, Cynthia, and his daughter in danger, he went for help. Through God, Louie realized, “He was not the worthless, broken, forsaken man that the Bird had striven to make of him”(376). Through all of his post-war sadness and alcoholism, Louie stayed optimistic. He wanted to heal and enjoy his life, so he
He remained sad and quiet; he gave up hope and because his spirit was broken and his body wasn’t capable of staying alive, he passed on. “Mac’s resignation seemed to paralyze him and the less he participated in their efforts to survive, the more he slipped. Though he did the least, as days passed on, it was he who faded the most” (148). This examples shows that an unbroken spirit can survive even the worst circumstances, “dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man’s soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is the personalized account of Louis Zamperini by author Laura Hillenbrand. She researched and described Zamperini's personalized accounts of his life from birth until his return home from World War II as a Prisoner of War in Japan. Hillenbrand introduces Louis Zamperini as the son of Anthony and Louise, Italian immigrants, born in 1917. They lived in Torrance, California in the midst of immigrant hatred. Louie lived a troubled childhood, constantly fighting or stealing to prove himself.
The American religious leader and author Thomas Monson once said, “Good timber does not come with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees”. In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, the eager Louis Zamperini put Monson’s words into action when, against all odds, he turned his life around and becoming not only one of the greatest track athletes but also a survivor of Japanese POW camps during World War II. It was Louie’s eagerness to become stronger than he had thought possible that lead Hillenbrand to share his remarkable story.
As a war sparked with Japan, Louie joined the air force. Peering down on the ocean while they hurtled down to its open arms, and they dove racing further into the deep waters. He springs up toward the shimmering daylight, breaking through the waters surface, and he continues looking for his survivors. With two other survivors they fight vicious
The plane crashes into the ocean, which forces Louie and his friends to survive in a raft until help arrives. Mac, being in a state of panic, decides to eat all of their nutrient chocolate at the very beginning of the ordeal and eventually dies of nutrition deficit. After 47 days of being at sea, Louie and Phil are captured by a passing Japanese ship. They are both sent to a concentration camp where Louie is known for being an Olympic runner. Louie is given an offer to spread Anti-American propaganda in exchange for being free, but declines the offer twice, which causes the Bird, the warden of the camp, to punish him severely.
After the Olympics, Louie was drafted in to the Army Air Corps. Furthermore, Louie was sent on a rescue mission accompanied by pilot and friend, Russell Allen Phillips, and other enlisted soldiers. Their plane malfuncitoned and crashed into the ocean. The only surivivors were Louie, Phillips and an enlistee known as Mac. Tragically, Mac died weeks after the crash, but Louie and Phillips survived on the life raft for forty-seven days at sea before being captured by the Japanese.
A second character trait Louie shows throughout the book is determined. An example of this is when Louie, Mac, and Phil are on the raft and sharks are circling them. “He stewed all night, scowled hatefully at them all day, and decided that if the sharks were going to try to eat them, he’d try to eat them. ”(126) Louie is determined and had a conviction to survive, because the sharks are trying to eat them, Louie is going to try and kill and eat them.
When they were able to spot land, they saw unfortunately that filled with japanese troops. On July 13, 1943 Louie was taken taken captive on Kwajalein Island. Part IV is about Louie’s Traumatic Years as a Prisoner of War, Louie was incarcerated in various POW camps, until he got the camp where he was under Mutsuhiro Watanabe aka “the bird”. This general was the personal demon of Louie, he beat, starved and humiliated Louie. After the war the bird disappeared to avoid being charged as a war
One of the top ranking staffs, known by the POWs, was the Bird. He would always chase and seek Louie out to beat him, to humiliate him. No matter how many times he tried to blend in, he couldn’t escape. Even after he escaped, the Bird still haunted him, including in his dreams. “Next!
Character Analysis of Louis Zamperini In the novel, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand,the author uses Louie’s life experiences to show his two most important traits: being rebellious and very determined. First He is most of the time filled with determination, but often can be rebellious. As we read through this novel we learn that Louis suffers through PTSD from dire situations that had happened in the internment camp and surviving 47 days on a raft during WWII.
Louie Zamperini went through more pain and suffering than most people will ever endure in their entire life. In the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis Zamperini was an Olympic runner. He was drafted during World War II . During the war, his plane crashed in the middle of the ocean and he was stranded with little resources to survive. This book follows his incredible story battling starvation and abuse in Prisoner of War camps (POW).
Louie didn’t want the Bird to see him in pain because he wanted to take control and turn the power around. He needed to be resilient and stay mentally strong. Later, for stealing, the Bird had made every man in the camp punch Louie and a few others in the
Topic 1 The biography, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was about the life of Louis and what troubles he faced while being kept as a POW in the Japanese camps during World War II. Louis and the other POWs faced horrendous conditions and were neglected throughout their time at the camps. There were strict rules placed on the captives but many of them found ways to break them. The POW camps served many purposes for the Japanese, but the conditions that the POWs faced at these camps were extremely severe.
Louie Zamperini has a lot to his name. A 4:08.3 mile, 56-second final lap in the 5000m, spoke with Hitler himself, these are achievements common people can’t come close to accomplishing. Louie was uncommon. In the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie shows his resourcefulness as well as his determination to make his way through the roughest time of his life. When they caught the first fish and they had food first time in a week, “Louie had demonstrated that if they were persistent and resourceful, they could catch food, and he and Phil felt inspired.”
His family was nervous how Louie would be after his traumatic experiences. He tried to continue to be tough but his dreams were haunted. He suffered from PTSD. Louie began to turn to alcohol to numb his memories. Louie did not know what to do with his life, he was directionless.