Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand: A Brief Analysis

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.

Well-known nonfiction author Laura Hillenbrand, in her best-selling biography, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, describes the chilling reality faced by those living in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. As the title suggests, this is not the typical World War II tale of hardship that ends in liberation; rather, it follows the main character, Louis “Louie” Zamperini, through his childhood, Olympic performances, and military career leading up to his captivity, as well as his later marriage and many years of healing. Hillenbrand's purpose is to impress upon her readers the scale of this tragedy as well as remind them of the horror that so many nameless soldiers endured. She adopts an emotional yet straightforward tone in order to get readers to sympathize with the characters and truly understand what they went through. To do so, she manages to make the unique story of one man represent the thousands of others going through the same tragedy.

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.

During the second World War, an olympic record holder, Louie Zamperini, was one of the few men that got shot down into the ocean and was stranded for 47 days on a lonely, little raft. The great American hero we all have heard of didn’t start out like you would have thought. He was a young scoundrel who was influenced by his brother to run for something better than away from is problems. After years of running and going to the German Olympics to set the best lap run in the 5,000 meters, Louie had gone into the Air Force and had gotten into trouble at a Japanese POW camp after a crash. The book Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, expresses Louie’s life exceptionally well, especially

Laura Hillenbrand’s biography titled Unbroken recounts the life of Louie Zamperini and major events that occurred throughout it. Hillenbrand’s purpose was to emphasize the inspirational story of heroic Zamperini as he qualified and participated in the Olympics, as well as describe the endless struggle of pain in the plane crash and in the Japanese POW camps. She also portrays the importance of dignity and resilience and how without it, the chances of surviving the cruel events Louie experienced during World War II would have been minimal.

Hillenbrand tells the life of Zamperini’s humble beginning in Southern California from being a dangerous young kid and becoming an Italian-American Olympic runner, with help and encourage of his brother Pete Zamperini. After the Olympics, Zamperini join the Army Air Forces, where he became a pilot. He went on to fly on several combat missions, until 1943, when Zamperini’s B-24 bomber crashed into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Him and two members survived, the pilot Russell Phillips, the tail gunner, Francis McNamara. McNamara died on their 33rd day at the sea, and on the 47th day Japanese sailors picked up Zamperini and Phillips. Over two-and-a-half years Zamperini was a P.O.W. until he was rescue by Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After his rescue he became and alcoholic, until he had the strength to forgive what he had suffer.

The book “Unbroken” was a seemingly impossible tale of triumph and survival of an Olympic runner and WWII veteran named Louis Zamperini. He constantly had to overcome adversity in his early years, for he was an immigrant from Italy and a trouble maker before his brother Pete steered him into running track. This immediately turned him around as he did well enough to in running to break all sorts if local records, which were accomplished while his competitors were trying to sabotage his runs. This qualified him for the 1936 Olympic in Berlin, where he met Hitler. He still had running aspirations but felt he had no choice other than fighting in the world due to the fact that the 1940 Olympics were

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

Louie Zamperini, some of you may know the legend filled name, but some others don’t. Who is this man? Well, he’s a man who fought in World War II, a man who, at the age of nineteen, was invited to compete in the Olympics, but what he’s most known for, is his journey of being a captive and his ‘unbroken’ spirit. Louie as a young boy, was a renowned troublemaker in his hometown, however with the encouragement from his brother, he trained his hardest to become a competitive runner. His work paid off, after a race in Berlin against Lash, he was invited to compete in the Olympics as the youngest runner to make the team. However, just as he was training to make the next Olympics, all was lost as America was at war, and he joined the Army Air Corps. His amazing journey was put together by Laura Hillenbrand, in the book Unbroken. A book that shows us the strong and defiant

There is a saying that says, “Things happen for a reason.” This applies to Louie Zamperini who was a boy who got into mischief when he was a child. His brother Pete noticed a talent in Louie and decided to guide him into becoming a runner and help keep him out of trouble. Louie discovered his gift as he started achieving and winning races. Louie was an amazing runner and became an Olympian in Berlin. Louie was in High School when he got the opportunity to run the Olympian race. Throughout his life journey he continued to discover things about himself and others. Unfortunately, Louie’s life did not continue to be glorious for long. While in the service, Louie and his crew were out to search and try to rescue a fallen plane and as they flew

Unbroken was written in 2010 by Laura Hillenbrand and later adapted into a movie in 2014. It is a story about a young Olympian named Louis “Louie” Zamperini, who made it into the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He later gets drafted into the Air Force and fought in World War II; only to get stranded in the ocean and captured by the Japanese. The book and the movie both cover the same main topics and are over the same events, but they aren’t both the same. The book goes into more detail than the movie in many instances; however, sometimes the movie shows a more detailed and powerful scene when compared to the book.

The Japanese say you have three faces. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone. It is the truest reflection of who you are. This face is often shown in the most trying moments of people's lives. While on a mission, Louie Zamperini crashed into the ocean with Mac in a rescue mission. Mac died on the high seas, and Louie went on to be captured by the Japanese, became a POW throughout the war and went to multiple camps. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses the characters Mac and Louie to express the theme; people often discover their true natures in their darkest moments.

Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, tells the inspiring story of World War II POW Louis Zamperini and how he went from being an Olympic runner to a survivor of the inhumane Japanese internment camps. Louis grew up a rebellious child and trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went. After gaining his brother’s attention, Louis began his running career, which eventually led him to the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he gained popularity. While commissioned to the United States Air Force, Louis’ plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean where he and two other men, one who died, were floating on a raft for 47 days before being captured by the Japanese. In the hands of the Japanese, Louie endured painful, cruel treatment that included beatings and starvation, much of which came

Louie Zamperini was born on January 26, 1917. Louie soon became the neighborhood trouble maker. He quickly began learning how to steal food and money along with manipulating panks for whosoever should walk into his trap. Reaching his high school years, Louie’s older brother, Pete, found a way to keep Louie out of trouble. Pete, seeing Louie running away from his scams, realized Louie’s talent for running. Louie was soon signed up for his high school track team. Louie excelled, and he soon began winning every race he entered. In 1934, Zamperini set the national high school record for a mile run, and was named the “Torrance Tornado.”

A significant passage, from chapter five, “Into War,” in the novel, Unbroken, by Author Laura Hillenbrand, suggests that Louie’s friend, Jimmie Sasaki, is a Japanese spy. These revealing tidbits, implicating espionage, are the tip of the iceberg, which advance the narrative’s entrance into World War II. Consequently, Mr. Sasaki unsuspectingly negotiates himself in situations that yield strategic positioning. More specifically, Jimmie’s mission appears to entail gathering key information for a calculated release to leading Japanese authorities. These activities are, in addition to, a Torrance Police Captain’s prior account noted in the records, alleging Jimmie’s broadcasting to Japan by way of a high-powered radio transmission. At last, inasmuch