Unbroken: a word Webster's Dictionary defines as “not broken; whole; intact”. However, Laura Hillenbrand uses it to represent someone's fiery spirit and determination. Unbroken is a Non-fiction Historical Novel about an Olympic runner named Louis Zamperini and his experiences from World War 2 and being a prisoner of war in Japan. Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken should be included in the Sophomore curriculum because of her use of themes of perseverance and change in people, historical context related to World War 2, and her use of artistry in repetition and foreshadowing. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand alludes to several themes throughout the novel, one of which is that people can change. Throughout the book the reader sees Louis (Louie) go through …show more content…
The historical context of World War 2 is relevant to today’s sophomores because it is imperative to know what happened so history does not repeat itself and as our future leaders, they need to be educated on the topic. Laura Hillenbrand has a dedication to her craft and artistry in her use of repetition and foreshadowing in Unbroken. Hillenbrand uses repetition in the form of talking about the same topic or person several times throughout the novel. For example, during the first part of Unbroken, the reader sees Louie meet Jimmie who has a “quiet, anodyne presence” (Hillenbrand 41) the audience later goes on to see Jimmie being an interrogator for one of the camps where Louie was at in Japan. Jimmie’s character is interesting to learn about, shortly after the reader meets him they find out that the FBI is launching an investigation into him for potentially being a Japanese spy. Hillenbrand uses repetition during the scene where Louie and his crew are on the raft. She frequently brings back past events from before the raft, such as reminiscing about their childhood. After Brooks died, Louie and Phil often sang Christmas songs to stay
In the events of September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 world war 2 erupted and up came a man his name was Louis Zamperini. During Louie's life as a young adult, he decided to join the army to defend his country. Then during one of his missions on the way to the bomb site two, two of the four engines on their b-24 malfunctioned sending them plummeting into the ocean. In the book Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses the life experiences of Louie Zamperini to show the traits of optimistic and resourceful.
If Louie was never rebellious, his life would probably have been completely different. Recurrent, in the book Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses the life experiences of Louie Zamperini to show the traits of optimistic and rebellious. The optimistic trait helps the reader understand Louie as a person by showing how hopeful and confident he is.
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
“The commandant announced that we had already covered 42 miles since we left. It was a long time since we had passed beyond the limits of fatigue. Our legs were moving mechanically, in spite of us, without us” (Wiesel 83). Elie was forced to run at two in the morning on a regular basis, and if anyone slowed down or stopped they were immediately shot or beat. Elie was mentally fit and told himself that he wouldn’t give up, however, his father was slower and a lot older, making it much harder for him to be quick on his feet. In Unbroken, the quickness that Louie showed as a child and while growing up, helped him prepare for the future of being quick on his feet as well as being mentally and physically strong. “The same attributes that had made [Louie] the boy terror of Torrance were keeping him alive in the greatest struggle of his life” (Hillenbrand 34). In many of the conditions that Louie faced on a daily basis, only someone with his faith still holding together and can persevere through the struggles in his life is going to make it out
In the book, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, it follows a Olympian named Louie Zamperini, and his journey. Louie Zamperini was born in Olean, New York, his family later then moved to Torrance, California. Louie is: rebellious, resourceful, among many other things. Louie is who he is because of how he grew up, and the obstacles he overcame. Louie Zamperini shows rebellious and resourceful characteristic traits through his actions.
Laura Hillenbrand’s novel Unbroken incorporates the improbable life of the main character, Louie Zamperini. She introduces both the inspiring and powerful journey that Louie encounters in his life as he grows up. Hillenbrand looks to and successfully does catch the versatility of the human soul. Zamperini’s story including his involvement in World War II gives a persuasive stage in which the author demonstrates numerous qualities of Louie. Leaving readers to appreciate his courage, quality, grit and above all else, his bravery. “Confident that he was clever resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament, [Louie] was almost incapable of discouragement. When history carried him into war, this resilient optimism would define him.” Louie
In the novel Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses both internal and external conflict to show the theme people can stand up against enemies even when the odds seemed stacked up against them. Whether it be simply defending himself or lying, Louie found a way to get through prison camp alive. After the war, this left him leaving the camp feeling euphoric. Louie’s experiences really show that no matter what situation someone is in, they can stand
I enjoyed reading Unbroken which is a book that showed the struggles of a grueling air warfare between United States and Japan. Throughout the book, Laura Hillenbrand, author of Unbroken gripped the reader’s attention through the details of gut-wrenching conflicts. By showing the art of survival through the character, Louis Zamperini, Hillenbrand demonstrates the theme of resilience through persistency, intelligent choice making, and willingness to live.
Several stories into the novel, in the section, “How to tell a true war story”, O’Brien begins to warn readers of the lies and exaggerations that may occur when veterans tell war stories.
He remembers the times before the war. When he used to drive around the same lake with his friends from high school. He recalls the girl he once dated, Sally Kramer, and the carefree fun they used to have. That was before the war, before he won seven medals, and before he almost won the Silver Star. Now Sally Kramer was Sally Gustafson, married with her own house set on that lake. He thought of what he would say to her if she were to listen to what he would like to say. He thought of how she would react to what was said, as if things were as they had once been before he had gone off to war. He thought of his best friend Max who had drowned in the lake before the war. Imagining what Max would have said if he was there to listen to Norman tell the tales he would like to tell. He would have told about how he almost won the Silver Star. Norman would have told this to his father too, if his father hadn't been so into baseball. There is so much he would have said...
After World War II, Louie Zamperini writes a letter to Mutsuhiro Watanabe, also known as “the Bird” saying that, “The post-war nightmares caused my life to crumble, but thanks to a confrontation with God through the evangelist Billy Graham, I committed my life to Christ. Love has replaced the hate I had for you. Christ said, ‘Forgive your enemies and pray for them.”’ This is demonstrated in the novel, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This tells an emotional story about Louie Zamperini's experiences as an Olympic athlete, World War II veteran, and an American POW. After his Olympic dreams are crushed when he gets drafted at age 24, he experienced things most people cannot even imagine, when he returns he makes
In both Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrators are stuck in situations where the emotional burden takes over their psyche. Each protagonist suffers a mental disjunction from reality. The narrator in “The Things They Carried” recounts first-person events that took place during the Vietnam War. O’Brien tells of the various missions his company takes part in, as well as depicting the deaths of his fellow team members. The multiple deaths in O’Brien’s tenure begin to weigh heavily on his mind in his post-war adjustment as he struggles to adapt to life back home after his best friend’s death.
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried has readers and critics alike scratching their heads with wonder about the meaning of “story-truth” and “happening-truth.” Although, he served in the Vietnam War from 1968 until 1970, he fabricates the events of the war throughout The Things They Carried. At the same time, he insists that the truth lies at the heart of the emotion in the story, an idea that many readers question. Furthermore, it is pointless for the reader to attempt to sort through the stories and differentiate between the “story-truth” and “happening-truth,” because it is nearly impossible. This tactic is one of O’Brien’s more ingenious writing methods. He does not want the reader to know the difference between the two because in his opinion that fact is irrelevant. O’Brien obviously thinks outside the box and has everyone questioning reality. However, this fact is truly ironic, because the point is not to care what type of “truth” it is, but to instead feel the raw beauty of the emotion and to accept it as the truth. While trying to define “story-truth” and “happening-truth,” a couple chapters in particular focus on the idea of truth, “How to Tell a True War Story,” “The Man I Killed” and “Good Form.” O’Brien believes that the most important thing for a reader is to experience the emotion of the story, be it “story-truth” or “happening-truth,” as long as the real emotion is conveyed and understood by the reader, then it is as true as it could possibly be.
In the novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, I realized how traumatic post-war life is. Louis Zamperini suffered a lot in post-war life and changed my perspective on how people came out of war. Initially, I knew that PTSD was severe, but I wasn’t aware of the degree to which it can change someone. Zamperini suffered from PTSD and had resentment towards “The Bird”, the captor who tortured him mercilessly. The book asserts: “Men sleepwalked, acting out prison camp traumas, and woke screaming or lashing out.
In the third chapter “Spin”, O’Brien recalls many memories he experienced during his time in the Vietnam War that involved people and his fellow soldiers, including “I remember Mitchell Sanders smiling as he told me that story. Most of it he made up, I’m sure, but even so it gave me a quick truth-goose.”(34). This personal anecdote is significant because it plays into the theme of truth in storytelling, and it conveys that sometimes war stories are known to be made up, however, these false stories that feel real are still told “Because it’s all relative. ”(34). O’Brien feels this way because he says that “Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.