Unbroken Book Report

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.

Combat, loyalty, enmity, bloodshed, and duty, all words that fit under the category of war. The novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini a strong willed man raised in Torrance, California. He started as a young troublemaker until he discovered his passion for running in high school. That very passion led him to compete in the Olympics. Later he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, a brave decision that would change his life. War and its affinities have various emotional effects on different individuals, whether facing adversity within the war or when experiencing the psychological aftermath.

Hillenbrand is known as one of the best authors in the world, has written bestselling books such as Unbroken and Seabiscuit. Unbroken is a 2010 book of non-fiction describing the story of Resilience, Survival, and Redemption during the WWII. In other words, Unbroken is termed as the biography of Louis Zamperini, a WWII hero and a former star of Olympic who endured a plane crack in the Pacific. The book describes how he drifted on a raft for 47 days and lasted two years of imprisonment in the Japanese camps. This paper will describe the contexts and the analysis of the “Unbroken” book.

“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 when the body should have surrendered it” (Hillenbrand 189). In the novel Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis “Louie” Zamperini goes through several life-threatening experiences. After being a troublemaker as a child, and an Olympic athlete, Louie straps up his boots and becomes a bombardier for the Army Air Corps. After a traumatizing crash and a forty-six day survival at sea, Louie is taken captive by Japanese officials. Shortly after being captured, Zamperini is taken to a POW camp where he is abused physically and mentally. Throughout the novel the readers learn that the hardships of war effect Louie, causing the loss of his dignity.

All in all, the life of Louie Zamperini portrayed in the novel Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, clearly illustrates Louie as being determined, compassionate, and defiant. These attributes are what made him such an incorrigible child, a prodigious athlete and what kept him alive in his journey through World War II. These personality traits and the story of Louie’s life are the true meanings of the word

Louie Zamperini was a remarkable man, soldier, and survivor. Growing up a slipshod child in California, Louie learned to push himself on the track. The “Torrance Tornado” was destined for the Olympics. His career was abruptly stopped in 1940 when Adolf Hitler and his regime destroyed the Olympic stadium in Finland. With his dream diminished, he became a bombardier for the U.S. Army during World War II. His plane, The Green Hornet, crashed while on a search mission to find a downed crew surviving for 46 days on a raft, he and another pilot were discovered by Japanese. Then and there, Louie’s journey with excruciating lows and euphoric highs, had begun. In the novel, Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses Louie’s traumatizing experiences to convey that if one taps into their resilience, they can survive anything.

Have you ever thought of how it would be to have a plane crash and be deserted for more than 40 days? Well neither did Louie Zamperini, until it happened. Louis Zamperini never thought that he would be lost at seas but when his B-24 crashed down in the pacific that's just what happened. Though his whole life he has been all sorts of things, rebellious, determined, courageous, and more. Louie Zamperini, from the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand shows the characteristic traits of rebellious and determined through the thing that he does in this book.

One day in 1943, an Army Air Force Bomber crashes into the Pacific Ocean, leaving Louis and some of his crew trapped in the Pacific. Louis had to deal with surviving on only a life raft above crazy sharks and little food. Surviving nearly three months in the ocean and near death, Louis was captured by the Japanese, a main enemy of the United States’ during the war. Louie had to deal with the very cruel Japanese generals as a prisoner of war. Louis’ biggest problem was dealing with an Japanese general nicknamed “The Bird”. After nearly two years of dealing with the cruelty of Japan, the war ended and the prisoners of war were free. Even though after Louis got married and had a family, he still had flashbacks and depression from World War II. Eventually, Louie got closer to God and became a

The film Unbroken honors Louie Zamperini’s ability to persevere the utmost cruel situations. Unbroken was a fairly accurate representation of Louie Zamperini’s life and his survival during World War II, with only minor alterations such as timing. Overall, the director, Angelina Jolie, was not able to capture every detail accurately, yet the details altered only reinforced Louie Zamperini’s extraordinary story of resilience and perseverance.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is an astonishing story that starts off with Louie Zamperini, an Olympian who bravely fights in World War II, when his plane crashes into the ocean and miraculously survives with 2 other people. When all hope was lost, they spotted land and paddled towards it. As they went closer, it turned out to be a Japanese ship. They were taken to a POW (Prisoners of War) camp and suffered tremendously by the hand of a man nicknamed “The Bird” and only survived by the grace of God. When the war was over and Louie went home, he suffered Post Traumatic Stress and flashbacks. He “resolved” it with drinking but sobered up when he found God. After that, he dedicated the rest of his life to God and helping others. Louie, the one who fought in the war, was starved, and beaten, was the one who outlived everyone, dieing in 2014 at the age of 97. His life was truly a miracle.

In the beginning of Hillenbrand's biography Unbroken, Louie showed a substantial amount of eagerness as a young and reckless delinquent. A daring child, Louie always found trouble; stealing food, drinking alcohol, pulling pranks, he did it all. As Louie matures, he began to grow out of his childish acts, and his running career would begin; “Louie hated running, but the

“A lot of times I find that people who are blessed with the most talent don't ever develop that attitude, and the ones who aren't blessed in that way are the most competitive and have the biggest heart.” In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, the competitive spirit of Louis Zamperini is demonstrated when, against all odds Louis goes, from being a thief as a kid to competing in the Olympics in Berlin. Tragically as a young adult during World War II his bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean Louis’s future started to head for the worst as he was stranded for 47 days. Needless to say it was Louis's own competitive spirit that allowed him to live to tell this unforgettable story.

Louie was in multiple POW camps during the war after his crash in the pacific. The first camp was located on a native island called Kwajalein. “Louie had been on Kwajalein for about a week when his cell door was thrown open and two guards pulled him out. He was flush with fear, thinking that he was being taken to the sword” however “Louie wasn’t here to be executed. He was here to be interrogated.” (Page 183)

It is widely stated that veterans are heroes for what they have done. War is nearly never necessary, and killing for whatever cause should not be considered positive. While it is true that veterans have defended our country, most wars in which our country partook were for our country’s gain, and not a defense of our country, but instead an expansion of its resources and land. Our country and its soldiers have taken unnecessary and harsh actions during wars. Enduring the suffering brought about by war takes courage and perseverance, but does it show heroism? In the novel Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis Zamperini survives for over two years, stranded at sea and then moving between various POW camps. He shows the strength to not give away American secrets. However, I would not say that these actions made him a hero. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, has a more accurate depiction of war. In Slaughterhouse-Five, war is shown to damage soldiers’ mental states. While Unbroken shows that soldiers are damaged, it depicts them as heroes. War

Louie functioned as a bombardier who took pride in his duty. He was a true patriot. The love for his country is exemplified by the way fulfilled his duties with total dedication, and competence. Other characters that sets Louie apart is his optimism , courage,and fearlessness as a warrior. Throughout the entire story, Louie knew he could get away with anything(He felt invincible) The book describes the true story of the overwhelming odds ,and terror of war that Louie must face with his fellow soldiers Mac, and Phil.