An Analysis Of Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken

Chapters 1–5 introduce an average boy who would become a remarkable man. Born in 1917, Louie Zamperini was the child of Italian immigrants. Growing up in Torrance amidst poverty and anti-Italian bias, Louie got in the habit of running outside the law. He started smoking when he was 5 years old and drinking when he was 8. He stole anything he wanted—mostly food, money, and whatever else he could find. He ran small scams and vandalized property. Pete, Louie’s older brother, became concerned.

Hillenbrand and the author of the text about Mine’ Okubo explain how perseverance and resilience are essential for surviving difficult times. Throughout both texts, the authors use several methods to develop this central idea.

The article, Unbroken: what makes some people more resilient than others, uses the example of Louis Zamperini as shown in the movie, Unbroken, to examine the role of resilience in the ability to recover after a traumatic event. Written by David Cox for The Guardian, the article discusses current research on resilience, and explains how it can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many people experience a severe trauma in their lives, but only a few go on to develop PTSD. For a long time, the focus has been on what makes people more susceptible to developing PTSD. A newer approach to studying stress disorders, as the article establishes, is the study of resilience. Using the example of Louis Zamperini, the article describes an interdisciplinary approach to studying resilience including biological, social, and lifestyle factors.

The American industrialist Henry Ford once said, “ Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes of bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character , and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.” In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, the fearless Louis Zamperini epitomized Ford’s words when, he survived imprisonment for over 2 years only after his World War II bomber crashed into the middle of the Pacific . Thankfully Louie’s fearlessness helped him return home and share his story with the world.

In the biography, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, a young boy named Louis Zamperini’s life revolved around running and training for the Olympics. Running had a huge impact on his life and ended up changing how he would act. In his early days, Louis was an irresponsible and rebellious kid. Running would later force him to buckle down and focus on running and training. Many people influenced Louis, but only one made the biggest impact on his life. That person is Pete Zamperini, Louis’ older brother.

As a young boy, Louie Zamperini is a major troublemaker in his hometown of Torrance, California. He steals food and runs away. Pete, his older brother, helps Louie by training him and help develop his love for running after getting into trouble one too many times. Louie trains non-stop and breaks many school and state records. He gets so good that he is able to try out to be a 5000 meter olympian. Louie makes it to the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. Unfortunately, his running career suddenly ends as World War Two begins. Louie enlists in the air corps, and he becomes a bombardier. He and his crew bond through training and battles and going to an island where his crewmates help him keep up his training by driving next to him in a car to keep

Louie kept fighting and believing in himself throughout the movie which portrays the archetype of warrior. In the beginning of the movie, Louie was qualified into the Olympics in Tokyo. When Louie was running a race, someone hit his shoe with their shoe spike. He slowed down because he was hurt, but his brother encouraged him to keep going in which Louie ran the fastest lap in history. Louie was taken down when he was competing, in which he lost faith. But his brother, Peter, helped in believe in himself to keep going and keep fighting so that he can do great things. Louie believed in himself and kept fighting which shows that Louie is a warrior. Again, Louie was taken down, but not by someone else. Towards the middle of the movie, when Louie was running against a Jap soldier at the prisoner camp to prove his Olympic ability (was organized by The Bird, a commander who was jealous of Louie), he fell down because he was so weak but he got back up to finish. Louie was tired and exhausted. He was weak. But Louie knew that he couldn’t give up know, he had to keep fighting. He got back up to show his strength, to show that he won’t stop and this identifies a warrior. Lastly, Louie showed his strength towards the end of the movie. At the

Being held captive during a time of War can be traumatic and torturess or silent and subtle. It can take an effect on the person experiencing it in very complex ways. Overcoming traumatic events in POW camps can be extremely difficult. If they return home they can struggle with a wide range of illnesses like PTSD and traumatic war flashbacks. Louie Zamperini was unfortunately that person. He was taken in as a prisoner of war during WWII by the Japanese. He relied on his inner strength and self worth to get him through traumatic beatings, and dehumanization over a period of years. In the novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, it shows the detailed struggle of Louie Zamperini’s experience and how he regained strength.

In the biography Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, a troubled adolescent boy named Louis Zamperini revolves his life around his running career. Starting at such a young age, running had many impacts on Louie’s life. The high demand of training kept Louie distracted from making unintelligent choices he had previously been making. Running changed the young teenager he was and the man he was going to become.

Laura Murphy is a member of the Lake Braddock Secondary School Parent-Teacher-Student Association in Fairfax Station, Virginia. Murphy is advocating for students at the high school to not read a particular novel. The novel that she is challenging happens to be the Pulitzer Prize winner Beloved by Toni Morrison. Murphy is not only challenging the book, but is also wanting to ban Beloved. In regards to future literature, “new polices are adopted for books assigned” that might have objectionable content.

Louie Zamperini learned perseverance which stuck with him throughout his life. After training day after day, Louie learned the hardships that came with running. Also, he came to find out that not all his competitors were as kind and pleasant as he had thought. In June 1938, he ran in the NCAA Championships, where “the

Louie was always getting in trouble in and out of school. Louie wasn’t aware of what smoking and drinking was doing to him, but his brother Pete was. On page 15, when the author explains why Pete got Louie into running, Pete said that he did it so Louie would stay out of trouble. The fact that Pete was able to get Louie into running was pretty amazing, considering what Louie had already gone through. Louie found a love for running, and stuck with it after wanting to quit multiple times. What Pete did for his brother probably saved his life, and I’m sure Louie probably knows that as well. Once Louie really started to get into running, he never wanted to do anything but run, and his goal was to make it to the Olympics. On page 17, “ When Louie set out to see what training

Initially, Zamperini was not fond of running, infact, Hillenbrand states, “Louie hated running, but the applause was intoxicating, and the prospect of more was just enough incentive to keep him marginally compliant” (chapter 2). It is explained that Zamperini didn’t like to run, but only ran for the joy of victory. With this quote alone we can infer that he would do whatever it took to win those races. As a matter of fact, later on in the book it is shown that he, indeed, did do whatever it took to win, “Louie trained so hard that he rubbed the skin right off of his toes and his socks were bloody” (chapter 3). This is showing he will do as much as he can to come out on top. With all of his hardwork and perseverance he finally did achieve his goal. Louie Zamperini went to the Olympics to race in the 5000-meter distant event. Even though he came in eighth, he had one of the fastest time on the last lap, 56 seconds. After working so hard to become what he has always dreamed, his battle was nowhere near

In Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand we plunge in to the life and battles of Louie Zamperini’s life. In his voyage through childhood, adolescence, soldier life, World War II, and his later years we see many traits of his identity. His friendships, his competitiveness, his resourcefulness, his honesty etc.… All of these great characteristics, but the ones that resonates with me the most and makes me admire him are his determination and with that his persistence. That determination that helped him continue and power through many hardships, this is what truly makes him admirable in my eyes. Through Hillenbrand’s writing this trait is well developed.

Louis Zamperini, a well-known World War II soldier whose story is told in Laura Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken, struggled in youth to become the man he is known for today. Struggling with societal rules and thievery, Louie turned his life around by adopting running in his early years of high school. Giving Louie something to strive and live for, running turned into the most important thing in Louie’s life and had a profound effect for years to come. Soon competing in the Olympics, Louie’s life diverged from disobedience to make both him and his family proud. Running, including in high school, the Olympics, and post-war, played a momentous role in Zamperini’s life by molding him into a famous and heroic man that played a quintessential role