How Does Louis Zamperini's Character Change

The American politician, diplomat, and activist Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built”. In the Biography Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand, the main character, Louis Zamperini, sets a great example to represent this quote. Louis shows his confidence by once the “bad kid”, soon Louie realizes he needs to change his ways with the help of his brother, Pete. As a soldier in World War II, he faced many challenges with his crew and within himself. Over time Louis learned a lot and when he returned from war, his character changed dramatically.

In the beginning of Hillenbrand’s book, she described Louie as a delinquent, Louie stole things from liquor to souvenirs. Hillenbrand wrote “ At five, he started smoking , picking up discarded cigarette butts while walking to kindergarten” (5). These actions Louie executed shows
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Louies family was thrilled to see him. To Louies family it seemed as if he carried very little emotion from being in the prison camps. Hillenbrand wrote, “They spoke easily, as they always had. No one asked about prison camp. Louie volunteered a little about it, and to everyone’s relief, it seemed to carry little emotion for him”(342). Soon Louie became so traumatized by the events of War World II, he became an alcoholic. Once Louie’s friends and family realized how bad his drinking habit was they begged him to stop, but their words were not convincing enough. Then one day Louie turned to God and stopped drinking. Hillenbrand wrote “ When they entered the apartment, Louie went straight to his cache of liquor. It was the time of night when they usually took hold of him, but for the first time in years, Louie had no desire to drink”(383). Because of Grahams’ sermon and Louies promise to God that he made while he was stuck in the ocean, Louie gave up