On May 27, 1943 Louis Zamperini and his crew of eleven other soliders we participating in a search for a lost plane over the Pacific when their plane suddenly malfunctioned and crashed into the sea. Zamperini was an Olympic long-distance runner and bombardier who survived a terrible plane crash, spent weeks afloat on a fragile raft in shark infested waters, and spent two years in Japanese prisoner of war camps. In a nonfiction book, Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand writes about Louie Zamperini and his will to survive which is stronger than that of an average person, enabling him to survive several seemingly unsurvivable situations. Hillenbrand is an author of American books and articles.
He wasn’t allowed food, water, or any sort of medical care and was interrogated, beaten and humiliated on many occasions. While Louie was transferred between many POW camps, most of his time was spent under Corporal Mutsuhiro “the Bird” Watanabe. The Bird was Louie’s worst tormentor. He deprived the prisoners of food and even made them lay face down in human excrement. However, even with all of the dehumanizing events, Louie’s spirit remained unbroken.
In this example, Louie’s morale was boosted by Phil’s confidence in him: “I’m glad it was you, Zamp” (132). Phil portrayed that out of all the crewman on the plane, Zamperini became the man that Phil wanted as a partner on the raft which they now depend on for survival. At this point in the story, Hillenbrand revealed Louie’s resilience when confronted with Mac’s untrustworthy act: “The realization that Mac had eaten all of the chocolate rolled hard over Louie... The crash had undone him. Louie knew that they couldn’t survive for long without food, but he quelled the thought” (138).
This book reminded me of many others stories of POWs and people in Nazi Concentration Camps. There was one story I read called “Making Bombs for Hitler” about a Ukrainian girl who is taken to a concentration camp. The Nazis thought there was no such place as Ukraine, so they gave her the least amount of food like the Russian prisoners, which was nothing compared to the meat, potatoes, and carrot soup with pudding that the Germans got. Louie Zamperini similarly got less food than other POWs since he was sent to a camp that was not classified as a POW camp, allowing the Japanese to treat him in any way they wanted because he had none of the rights that a normal POW would have. Unbroken also reminded me of a book called “Into the Killing Seas” about 3 boys during WWII, Benny, Patrick, and Teddy, who are on the USS Indianapolis when it is hit by a Japanese torpedo.
Refferd to as the Bird, Mutsuhiro Watanbe hunted Louie, beating him constantly everyday for no reason. For intstace, “No sooner has Louie stepped outside than the Bird found him, accused him of an imanginary infraction, and attacked him in a wild fury. The next day came another beating, and the next, another” (Hillenbrand 246). Reading of the way the POW’s were treated, especially Louie, creates a sad,
Louie started as a young trouble boy, who then became into a man who was an airman during World War 2. During his POW experience many challenges came in the way, one of them being Mutsuhiro Watanabe also known as the Bird. The Bird was a Japanese corporal who ended up in the Omori Camp. During Louie’s experience at Omori with the Bird became his worst challenge and enemy since the Bird wanted to make Louie’s life a nightmare. The Bird tortured Louie for different reasons but that it never broke Louie.
Hillenbrand spared no detail, which really allowed the reader to realize just how awful the situations could be. I respect both the amount of work she put forth in creating the biography and the degree of care with which she handled the information. The story of Louie Zampernini will encourage young people to persevere, no matter their circumstances, and it will assist many people in realizing exactly how easy their lives are as compared to someone who has lived through horrific events such as the Japanese camps. I do hope that this biography will inspire others in much the same way as it has inspired me - it has encouraged me to work hard and to never give
These small, simple quotes may not have everything, but it definitely pushed Louie to try his best and never give up. From the running to the quotes, this novel comes together and makes an amazing biography. The author used wonderful descriptive words to have pictures be drawn into the reader's’ mind and also she had used figurative language to also help with comparing such things like planes and bodies of water. The author created a mind blowing piece on the life of Louie Zamperini and it is definitely a book that is recommended to
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).
Morgan Cook Unbroken Book Review 1/16/18 Mrs. Campbell Honors Literature PD 1 “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand was published in 2010. From the first chapter i was hooked. Hillenbrand’s imagery and style caught my eye and pulled me into Louie’s story with no hesitation. I absolutely loved Hillenbrand’s structure in this book and it was much better than others i have read.
This quote from the novel demonstrates how Louie struggles to preserve his dignity. During the war, Louie faced harsh times where he had psychological wounds from getting beat by the Japanese. Being captives and a POW (Prisoner of War), Louie learned how to cope with being treated as a subhuman or trash. By using small acts of resistance against the guards and rebelling, like stealing anything he can find mostly food, mocking the guards behind their back, and trying to escape showing them he was still not scared. Those acts tested/reclaimed what little dignity he had left from what the guards tried to take (Florman
Unbroken The author wrote this story to inform the reader of the life of Louis Zamperini, while also telling the story in an entertaining way. Hillenbrand demonstrated the main idea throughout the book by using rhetorical devices such as diction, syntax, imagery, and tone. Hillenbrand’s use of these rhetorical devices contribute to the book Unbroken by emphasizing the main character, Louis “Louie” Zamperini’s, life before, during, and after becoming a prisoner of war.
During World War II, invisibility was more than just not being seen. Soldier or civilian, they were both made invisible literally and figuratively; most times even both. In the book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, we are introduced to Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner who is drafted into World War II. On a rescue mission, the plane he works on runs out of fuel and the engines malfunction, causing the plane to crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Three survive the crash, including Louie.
Overcoming Dehumanization “Louie watched the sky and hoped the Americans would come before the Bird killed him” (181). This is one of the many examples of how the way POWs were treated in these camps influenced many lives negatively. Like many other Prisoners of War, Louie Zamperini survived several difficult conditions. He had to resist several attempts of dehumanization. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses both internal and external conflict to show that war has profound and varied effects on individuals.
Louie Zamperini and Commander John Fitzgerald show strength and resolution in the face of adversity. For example, when Louie’s plane crashed and the men were on the raft, Laura Hillenbrand wrote, “Louie was determined to keep himself and the others lucid”(114). During their journey on the rafts, Louie tried to keep Phil, Mac and himself hopeful in a seemingly hopeless situation. He tried to distract them from hunger and troubling thoughts by singing songs and talking about comforting memories of the past. Commander John Fitzgerald demonstrated his fortitude in Ofuna.
