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Book Report On Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand

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In the biography, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, the protagonist, Louie Zamperini was exposed to a horrifying experience of being in a Japanese POW camp. A POW camp is a containment area meant to hold enemy combatants in time of war. These camps were all run differently, but in the prisoners in Japanese camps were badly mistreated. Louie was in multiple POW camps during the war after his crash in the pacific. The first camp was located on a native island called Kwajalein. “Louie had been on Kwajalein for about a week when his cell door was thrown open and two guards pulled him out. He was flush with fear, thinking that he was being taken to the sword” however “Louie wasn’t here to be executed. He was here to be interrogated.” (Page 183) …show more content…

This is the camp that he meets Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a.k.a. the bird, a monster that will haunt him for a large majority of his life, even after the war. “Down the line the corporal strode, pausing before each man, raking his eyes over him, and barking, “Name!” When he reached Louie, he stopped. Louie gave his name. The corporal’s eyes narrowed. Decades after the war, men who had looked into those eyes would be unable to shake the memory of what they saw in them. Louie dropped his eyes. There was a rush in the air, the corporal’s arm swinging, then a fist thudding into Louie’s head. Louie staggered. “Why you no look in my eye?” the corporal shouted. Louie steadied himself. He held his face taut as he raised his eyes to the corporal’s face. Again came the whirling arm, the jarring blow into his skull, his stumbling legs trying to hold him upright. “You no look at me!” This man, thought Tinker, is a psychopath.” Most Japanese camps were not investigated or checked during the war that they were following the Geneva Accords. This was an agreement between the fighting countries in the war that they would provide the prisoners with humane treatment. The Japanese disregarded this agreement. The Prison guards or leaders were not punished for the mistreatment until after the war was over. Some even still went unpunished; Mitsuhiro was one of these people. Mutsuhiro was promoted to a sergeant and was

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The American religious leader and author Thomas Monson once said, “Good timber does not come with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees”. In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, the eager Louis Zamperini put Monson’s words into action when, against all odds, he turned his life around and becoming not only one of the greatest track athletes but also a survivor of Japanese POW camps during World War II. It was Louie’s eagerness to become stronger than he had thought possible that lead Hillenbrand to share his remarkable story.

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He goes through harsh treatment that no normal human being would be able to survive. After Louie’s war life, he comes home to a long road of mental problems with post-war trauma. Louie is overcome with an abundance of emotions throughout the war. Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken

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Author, Laura Hillenbrand was quoted for, “Without dignity, identity is erased” (Hillenbrand 189). Louie Zamperini, olympic runner and WWII hero, went through the stripping of his identity and survived to tell the tale. The novel Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, is the story of Zamperini’s life, of his running adventures to fighting for survival during WWII, and returning home an unfamiliar man. Suffering through imprisonment has left Zamperini with a loss of identity, which was countered with a faith in God.

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When Louie heard about the fate of the Bird, “ Something shifted sweetly inside him. It was forgiveness, beautiful and effortless and complete. For Louie Zamperini, the war was over” (Hillenbrand 386). Louie no longer had the Bird haunting over him. Before Louie had left Japan, Louie had done something that the captors where completely surprised by “[they] watched him come to them, his hands extended, a radiant smile on his face” (Hillenbrand 387).

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Unbroken is an exceptionally matchless tale that takes the reader on a journey through Lieutenant Louie Zamperini’s engrossing life story. Author Laura Hillenbrand captures every aspect of Zamperini’s life from his early years as a juvenile delinquent, to his advancement as an Olympic runner, and to later on his incarceration in a Japanese camp as a POW. Unbroken has several prevalent themes which are survival, resilience, and redemption. Despite his many hardships Louie remained driven and determined. “If you’re going through hell keep on going” isn’t a direct quote used in Unbroken but it can be attributed to Louie because he was able to withstand all odds and come out unbroken.

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