Literacy Analysis of Unbroken In the staggering novel Unbroken a biography about Louis Zamperini, there are several examples that show how the characters, symbols, and themes all face adversity and hardships throughout the novel. For example, character Cynthia Applewhite, The Graf Zeppelin (German airplane) and the theme Dignify perfectly demonstrates how Unbroken is an unforgettable and remarkable story. Cynthia Applewhite became an independent and a very beautiful woman who falls in love with Louis and marries him after the war. As a devoted wife, Cynthia pledged to earn money one way or another. Soon Louie began to drink heavily and become abusive. She argued to have divorced, but going to a Christian revival meeting changed that. While still being treated horribly, she made Louie go to a sermon with her and it resulted in Louie to let the lord in and have a rebirth (Florman Int). With her patience and commitment, it helped Louie out of his descending spiral of depression. The Graf Zeppelin Symbolizes how even though it is on a mission of peace. It descriptively shows a black hole, and how it blotted out many lives, having much destruction to the world. “Passengers gazing from the windows saw only ship’s shadow, following along the clouds like a huge shark swimming alongside,” (NPR org). …show more content…
This quote from the novel demonstrates how Louie struggles to preserve his dignity. During the war, Louie faced harsh times where he had psychological wounds from getting beat by the Japanese. Being captives and a POW (Prisoner of War), Louie learned how to cope with being treated as a subhuman or trash. By using small acts of resistance against the guards and rebelling, like stealing anything he can find mostly food, mocking the guards behind their back, and trying to escape showing them he was still not scared. Those acts tested/reclaimed what little dignity he had left from what the guards tried to take (Florman