The Story Of Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand

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“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand is a capturing, inspiring, and unforgettable tale. Hillenbrand excels in narrative storytelling, expressing feelings and experiences that are difficult to capture in this style of writing. In this book, Hillenbrand provides a balance between facts and the story itself; she portrays the story by stopping at intervals and going more into depth about different facts that will help the reader to understand. The combination of the two create a story that’s both informative and emotionally capturing. Hillenbrand seizes the readers emotions through the use of morals and themes. “I was raised to face any challenge.” This statement, made by Louis Zamperini, sums up his journey perfectly. As a young child, Louis was a cunning miscreant. Eventually channeling his defiance into running, Zamperini began his career as a runner. Zamperini became a very famous long distance runner, even competing in the olympics one year. When World War 2 began, Louis joined the air corps as a bombardier. One mission brought a terrible fate upon the airman; after a fatal plane crash Louis and two other survivors took to a raft that was without food, without water, and surrounded around the clock by sharks. Louis had just survived this impossible task only to be captured by the Japanese Navy. Louis narrowly escaped death several times in several different prisoner camps, including a camp with a particularly brutal guard nicknamed “the bird”. Zamperini was eventually rescued and sent home at the conclusion of the war. His incredible survival of these brutal and vicious camps lead to a very strong case of PTSD, which lead to a severe drinking problem and caused his wife to temporarily leave him, taking their child with her. Eventuall... ... middle of paper ... ... forgive his captors and abusers. Louis forgave the same people that almost caused his death. This incredible act is a lesson that we could all learn from. In conclusion, this captivating tale taught many life lessons, including the freedom of forgiveness, and the importance of dignity on survival. Hillenbrand captured the reader’s emotions through the use of morals and themes. The book itself, although initially difficult to spark an interest in, is truly remarkable both in the words written by Hillenbrand, and by the story provided by Zamperini. It is, on one hand, informative enough to teach readers about World War 2, and on the other hand, interesting enough to capture the attention of even those that don’t enjoy reading. This capturing, inspiring, and unforgettable tale reminds us that perseverance can lead us through anything, and help us to remain “unbroken”.

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