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Dehumanization In Unbroken

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Overcoming Dehumanization “Louie watched the sky and hoped the Americans would come before the Bird killed him” (181). This is one of the many examples of how the way POWs were treated in these camps influenced many lives negatively. Like many other Prisoners of War, Louie Zamperini survived several difficult conditions. He had to resist several attempts of dehumanization. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses both internal and external conflict to show that war has profound and varied effects on individuals. First of all, the theme, war has profound and varied effects on individuals, is shown in Louie before captivity through his optimism in survival. Before captivity, Louie’s optimism of surviving was shown throughout many of the intelligent …show more content…

Even though war affected Louie negatively, his resilience and agency assisted him as well as his optimism in resisting dehumanization during captivity. Louie had to resist several attempts of making him feel invisible and making him feel like he was less than human by being resilient, optimistic, and having agency, along with many other POWs. First of all, Louie resisted the Bird’s several attempts to break him down emotionally. This is shown in the text, when the author stated, “The Bird demanded that Louie looked him in the eyes; Louie wouldn’t do it. The Bird tried to knock Louie down; Louie wouldn’t fall. Other prisoners told him to give in or the Bird would beat him to death. Louie couldn’t do it” (181). This shows how although Louie was tortured by the Bird, who attempted to make him feel invisible and dehumanized, he never let him win. Next, Louie stole food from the guards to make him feel like he was doing something. This is shown when the author explained how, “Eventually, he was so frantic to eat that he broke into the kitchen and stole chestnuts reserved for the guards, an act that could’ve gotten him killed” (165). This was important to his survival, because not only was he having something to eat, but emotionally he felt that he wasn’t playing the ‘rules of Japan’s game’. Lastly, to resist attempts of dehumanization, Louie never let any of the guards see his true depression. This is shown

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During World War II, a period of complete violence and outbreak between nations, there are many heroes that have endured through harsh brutalities. In Laura Hillenbrand’s monumental book Unbroken, she writes about the real life story of Louie Zamperini. As a young child, Louie was very mischievous and dangerous.” Hillenbrand states,” He hit one kid so hard that he broke his nose. He upended another boy and stuffed paper towels in his mouth… Louie beat one kid so badly, leaving him unconscious in a ditch, that he was afraid he’s killed him (pg 10).”

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671 Words | 3 Pages

As a boy who frequently found himself running away from the police, Louie’s perseverance defined him even in childhood. Louie stated, “‘...and then I ran like mad.’ He was often

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The bird was sick for a while with a very high fever and stomach problems but bad luck for the guards. The bird was able to pull through and survive. Another cost of war infections and diseases. In the camp POWS would go through infections and sickness from starvation.

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1011 Words | 5 Pages

Louie says, “He cannot break me” (Hillenbrand 113). By saying this Louie resisted the attempts of the Bird trying to make him feel invisible. Even thought Louie was already resisting the Bird, Louie and the other POWs resisted even more, “...They threw dirt in gas tanks” (Hillenbrand 179) Louie and the other POWs did this because they were being treated like slaves in the coal mine. Although not as harsh as what the POWs went through, the POWs threw dirt into the gas tank so that the Japanese could learn not to mess with the POWs because they will fight back.

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895 Words | 4 Pages

This shows louie’s determination for freedom. Louie was willing to kill the bird even though it would’nt of gotten him actually free from the camp it would let him be free from the torture and the fear of death the bird made him endure during his time at the

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632 Words | 3 Pages

While incorporating the life of Louie Zamperini and the events that occurred during World War II, the author uses an objective voice and provides frequent analysis of the characters’ mindset. The novel also consists of short anecdotes that are used to provide the reader with insight of a particular situation. Because the book is written in third person, the novel reads more like a news article than a narrative, adding to Hillenbrand’s unique style. The hopeful, sanguine tone that is utilized, such as “faith” and “dignity” elaborates on the optimistic theme that is consistent throughout the

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Shortly after being captured, Zamperini is taken to a POW camp where he is abused physically and mentally. Throughout the novel the readers learn that the hardships of war effect Louie, causing the loss of his dignity. After Louie was captured by the Japanese, he was taken to a POW camp ,Ofuna, they began to deprive Louie of human essentials such as food and water. To make matters worse, they started to conduct experiments on him and his comrade Phil, “The doctor pushed more solution into his vein, and the spinning worsened.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

Louie had planned on talking to the guards as well as the Bird. For the first time since the war had ended, Louie returned to Japan in 1950. Louie went to observe the guards who tortured him. Louie walked up and down the rows and looked at all 850 men, but one person who Louie did not see was the Bird. The Bird was the one who had made Louie believe he was a lesser human.

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Louie trained so hard that he rubbed the skin right off one of his toes, leaving his sock bloody. "(Hillenbrand) Perseverance kept him alive in times of need, like being stuck at sea for 47 days. Or other times like being stuck in a Japanese war prisoner camp, and being harassed by "the bird" because of his competitive attitude. This same perseverance helped Louie survive the war and make it home alive after all the suffering he went

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1034 Words | 5 Pages

Without the redemption in Louie’s life, he would not have been able to call his life unbroken. One day after hearing a passing by pastor preach he felt convicted deeply. So, “That morning, he believed, he was a new creation” (Hillenbrand, 2012, P. 376). Like Louie, many other post POWs have had incredible stories, yet when the war was over, they fell into becoming a victim to the bottle. However, after many hard months, Louie was no longer drowning in his bitterness and grief.

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482 Words | 2 Pages

Even though, everyone had heard of him, Louie was notorious for stealing (8-9). Because of his raucousness and heritage , Louie became a candidate for an increasingly popular procedure called eugenics. Page 12 explains that “eugenics was forced sterilization, a surgical procedure that rendered patients unable to have children.” The thought of being an ‘unfit’ member of society scarred Louie tremendously. After a failed runaway attempt “Louie went upstairs, dropped into bed, and whispered his surrender to Pete.

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974 Words | 4 Pages

Although, I feel Louie would have been justified in killing The Bird, I do not feel like it would have been a moral act the Louie was capable of. For a man to have endured so much pain to forgive, shows tremendous strength and bravery. I also don’t feel that Louie would have ever found true peace if he would have killed The Bird. The thought that he would have been guilty of committing the same abuse that he witnessed daily would have put him over the edge.

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874 Words | 4 Pages

Louie started a camp for boys named “Victory Boys camp”. He would take boys who had been in prison or juvenile school and be a mentor and attempt to put them down the right path for their life. He also spoke of the free gift God gives to everyone of eternal life. “He went easy on Christianity, but laid it before them as an option. Some were convinced, some not, but either way, boys who arrived at Victory as ruffians often left it renewed and reformed.”

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761 Words | 4 Pages

War Combat, loyalty, enmity, bloodshed, and duty, all words that fit under the category of war. The novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini a strong willed man raised in Torrance, California. He started as a young troublemaker until he discovered his passion for running in high school. That very passion led him to compete in the Olympics. Later he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, a brave decision that would change his life.

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799 Words | 4 Pages

Louie didn’t want the Bird to see him in pain because he wanted to take control and turn the power around. He needed to be resilient and stay mentally strong. Later, for stealing, the Bird had made every man in the camp punch Louie and a few others in the

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