Unbroken Research Paper

Unbroken; A Story of Perseverance
In life everyone is going to have to go through struggles and trials, however in times of suffering, having a strong support system and faith can help get through anything. The book is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The book is about an Olympic athlete named Louie Zamperini, that joined the military. Louie is captured, and tortured by the Japanese after his military plane crashed. Louie and his fellow prisoners are then tasked with trying to survive the Japanese POW camps. What are the underlying themes of Unbroken? In Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand three themes that stand out in the story are faith, suffering, and friendship.
Suffering is a big part what Louie Zamperini went through in the POW camps. In the book Unbroken there is a great deal of suffering that happens in the book, especially with Louie. In this scene Laura Hillenbrand describes Louie’s situation as, “Five more minutes passed, then ten. Louie’s arms went numb”(Hillenbrand 213). This example shows a small part of the suffering that Louie went through. This is where Louie encounters suffering is when Louie gets

punched two hundred and twenty times in the face. The prison guard “The Bird” made all the prisoners line up and then they all punched Louie in the face for getting in trouble, “Louie’s face was so beaten up that it took a long time for him to recover”(Hillenbrand 209). This quote works because it shows the suffering that Louie went through because of “The Bird”. In life there will be suffering rather you like it or not. With suffering, you will also have faith.
Louie has encountered faith throughout his lifetime. Faith is needed in your lifetime. When Louie was on the raft after the plane crash, Louie started praying to God. Louie was praying about how if God helped him out with water, he would owe his life to him, “If God would quench their thirst, he vowed, he’d dedicate his life to him”(Hillenbrand 117). This example shows that Louie believed he needed faith to survive. It shows how thinks. Another example where Louie encounters a scene of faith is when Louie believed that the Americans would come and save them at the POW camp. Louie thought, “that praying to God would bring them freedom”(Hillenbrand 209). It shows that Louie has faith in God. Louie believes that faith is needed in tough times. Even though Louie was going through a tough time he still had faith in God. Even in times of suffering, a foundation of faith can lead to strong friendships.
No matter how hard times can get, you will be a lot better off with friendships.

When Mac, Phil, and Louie are stranded at sea, there is a moment where Louie about gets attacked by a shark, but Mac saved his life, “One of the sharks jumped up again, then the other. Louie and Mac clubbed at them, ”(Hillenbrand 125). If Mac had not clubbed the shark Louie could be dead, and that shows great friendship. Louie and Phil both showed great friendship by, “Louie catching a bird and killing it, and feeding it to Mac when he was too weak to eat on his own”(Hillenbrand 128). They could have been selfish and ate the bird themselves because they knew that Mac was dying, but they did not. Louie and Phil showed great friendship when they knew Mac was going to die by giving him food. Having good friendships while going through tough times can make it a lot more

bearable.
There are going to be a lot of tough times in your lifetime, but having faith, good friendships can get you through difficult times. Themes that you may encounter are suffering, faith, and friendships. First Louie had a lot of suffering through a big chunk of his life. Second Louie had faith while going through tough times. Finally the friendships Louie had to help him through the tough times. In life there are going to be a lot of difficult situations, but having faith, and friendships can hopefully help the situation.