Louie Zamperini's Short Story

After so many horrific circumstances, Louie became resilient. Resilience was the key to his survival. If he would not have thought of ways to feed himself throughout both vastly different circumstances such as being stranded in the middle of the ocean and being a prisoner of war, he would have starved to death. Rather than giving up, he used his resources from each unique situation, and kept himself alive by thinking outside the box. One of his ideas was catching wild birds and fish while he was stranded in the open ocean, and stealing food at the prisoner of war camp while he was a prisoner there. Finding specific ways to get the necessities for human life, to fit each situation, is the reason Louie Zamperini survived the war and being a prisoner of

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.

As indicated by Laura Hillenbrand in Unbroken, ¨A month earlier, twenty-six-year-old Zamperini had been one of the greatest runners in the world, expected by many to be the first to break the four-minute mile, one of the most celebrated barriers in sport. Now his Olympian’s body had wasted to less than one hundred pounds and his famous legs could no longer lift him. Almost everyone outside of his family had given him up for dead¨ Louis’s life had gone to pieces all in two or three months. He was tormented, stranded, and broken. He was broken until he was saved and it make him come to a realization of his life. No individual ought to be abandoned or regarded as the way he seemed to

After conquering horrific tragedies during World War Two, Louie Zamperini commented, “I didn’t know it then, but my persistence, perseverance, and unwillingness to accept defeat when things looked all but hopeless were part of the very character traits I would need to make it through World War II alive.” (Hillenbrand, FIGURE OUT IF AND WHERE IT IS IN THE BOOK.) In Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken, he showed absolute determination to survive insurmountable obstacles. Throughout his life and everything he endured, he was determined he was going to make it through. In fact, Louie decided he would be whatever he put his mind to. If he was going to run, then by golly he was going to run, and if he wanted to make it out of a POW camp, then

In Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, Louie Zamperini experienced many situations that were both lucky and unlucky. These events helped shape him into who he is and prove that sometimes luck prevails. The Green Hornet crash, the rescue from the sea, and the aftermath of the war are all examples of lucky and unlucky instances that Louie Zamperini faced that left him “unbroken”.

Later in Louie's life he joins the Army Aircorps. All was well for louie, until he was sent on a rescue mission. During the mission Louie's plane goes down. Later a horrific journey on a raft in the ocean he is captured by the japanese, and becomes a POW. Many incidents in Unbroken reveal that Louie is hopeful, Intelligent, and determined.

The Brave and Forgiving Louie Zamperini survived on a raft in the middle of the ocean, for 47 days, with a finite supply of water, and no food! Louie was born in 1917, and was a troublemaker from the beginning. Louie’s older brother, Pete, encouraged Louie to run. Eventually Louie was on his way to the Olympics in Japan. However, fate had different plans for Louie, instead of Louie going to the Olympics, he was stranded on a raft for 47 days in the middle of the Ocean, and was sent to brutal POW camps for 2 1/2 years.

Survival of the Resilient American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was quoted as saying, “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on” (Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes). In the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand a boy named Louie Zamperini goes to the Olympics for the 5k. His life soon changes though when Japan attacks pearl harbor. Louie is drafted into the air corps. His plane goes down in the pacific and he is captured by the Japanese and becomes a POW.

Louie Zamperini floated on the ocean for 47 days, and was held prisoner in Japanese POW camps for 2 years. When Louie was a child he was very rebellious. The more Louie grew the more trouble he got in. One day when Louie was running from a teacher his brother, Pete, noticed how fast Louie was. Pete helped Louie become a runner, where Louie would go to the Olympics. Louie could run 2 miles in just over 4 minutes but one day Louie was drafted and had to go to Hawaii where Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, starting WWII. On a fateful day, Louie’s plane crashed leaving him stranded in the ocean with two other men, Mac and Phil, but sadly, one had died, Mac. Louie and Phil were rescued 47 days later, but by the wrong country. Japan took them

Misfortune can take the form of numerous things. It could be financial problems, a death of a close family member, or a natural disaster. How a person reacts to these trials and tribulations is what builds character. Woody Guthrie responded to his own misfortunes with confidence and a determination to keep moving forward. Even though he was penniless and treated poorly by the local Californians, he kept moving forward and became successful. Psalms 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (ESV, Psalms 23:4) This verse demonstrates how determination and trusting God were essential in the survival of the Okies. The Okies did not give up. Even though they were treated unfairly and lost much to the dust storm, they did not lose faith. By looking at what the Okies went through, there is a valuable spiritual lesson to learned. Facing a natural disaster can be a part of life but having faith in God’s plans is

Louie was able to survive by not losing his self worth by being rebellious and not telling the Japanese any information that was true which could affect the United States. A great example of this is on page 143 and 144 when it says “It was all a lie. The “bases” Louie identified were the fake airfields he’d seen when tooling around Hawaii with Phil.” This explains that Louie was being restless by sharing false information with the Japanese who could have eventually harmed the U.S. In addition the captives and Louie had to survive by stealing food and other materials that they needed to supply their body and their self needs. One quote that talks about it is on page 181 it says “Deaths from illness and malnutrition were once commonplace, but after stealing school was created, only two POWs died, one from a burst appendix.” This shows that a lot of the prisoners of war were able to sneak food from the Japanese and then hide the supplies for a later time which was needed for their survival. Equally important was when Louie could have gotten killed by the Bird for not following directions. An example is “The Bird demanded that Louie look him in the eyes; Louie wouldn’t do it. The Bird tried to knock Louie down; Louie wouldn’t fall” (181). Instead of Louie giving up, he saw there was light at the end of the tunnel to survive. He stood there

Louie Zamperini was a troubled boy who grew up to become a forgiving and persistent man. When Louie was a child, he would run from his problems, but soon his brother, Pete, noticed his potential. Louie ran for the track team and was accepted into the Olympics. The Olympics were canceled and he decided to join the air force. When on the plane, it went down and he was now stranded at sea with two other men. They were rescued many days later, and imprisoned by the Japanese soldiers. They went from camp to camp, abused almost all the time. This book, Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, contains the very true information about Louie Zamperini and his life journey. Throughout it you can see that Louie

In this quote, regarding the Zamperini family upon hearing the news that Louie had gone missing, the emotions of the family are taken into consideration. This specific quote gives the point of view of the Zamperini family regarding the war and introduces the value of family in society during this time. In Unbroken, Louie’s family shares the emotions that they were going through while Louie was away at war. This is important because it provides the point of view of the families of soldiers during World War II. This quote shows that the war was a burden to Louise in that it was so stressful it gave her an actual rash. Sylvia would often go back to Louie’s old high school at night and cry over her missing brother. The family saw the war as a source

According to the great retired olympian track athlete Gail Devers, “Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can’t stay down. We can’t allow life to beat us down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn’t think we could be that strong.” In Unbroken, a biography written by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis Zamperini illustrates Devers’ words with his resilience, springing back after his World War II bomber crashed and enemy forces captured him. In the end Louis’ ability to make due with every hellish situation life threw at him that influenced Hillenbrand’s aspired survival story.

However that wasn’t the worst part. They see what they believe to be a U.S rescue plane. Instantly, Louie shots the first flare, although the plane kept going, soon it returned: “Four times the Japanese strafed them, sending Louie into the water to kick and punch at the sharks until the bomber had passed” (163). Showing great strength and bravery Louie did they only thing he could do to survive even though it made his risk of death worse.