How Is Louis Zamperini The Charming Olympian From Unbroken

Louis Zamperini, the charming olympian from Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, spent his entire life overcoming nonstop challenges. Since this book is the telling of a true story, Zamperini, is not just a character but a real person. He grew up in Torrance, California and was often a cause of trouble. His younger sister, Sylvia, recalled that it seemed as if the police were always dragging young Louis to their house by his collar after his many shenanigans. His older brother Pete helped him turn his life around during his freshman year of high school. This is where he cultivated his track skills. At the young age of 19 he qualified for the 1936 olympics in Berlin. Going home knowing that the next olympics would be the best time for him to go for

When he started running, the only reason he stuck with it was because of his brother. With only five years experience he miraculously made it to the 1936 olympics. Trying to make it there however proved to be more difficult than he had hoped. His regular race was the mile, or the olympic equivalent, the 1500 meters. He could not get into that race so he decided to run the 5,000 meter, a distance he had never ran before. Being so young, many thought young Zamperini would not be able to hold his own against crowd favorite, Don Lash. He trained for the olympic qualifiers with everything he had, and tied with Lash, making it to the Olympics. To this day he is the youngest person to qualify for nationals in the 5,000 meters. Without his hardwork and dedication, he would have never been able to reach his impossible

This represents the resilience he had in finding a way to survive on the raft, as well as after. When on the raft with his two companions, Mac and Phil, Mac would often act certain that they were going to die. On the first night, Mac eats the entire bar of chocolate that was supposed to last until they were rescued. As it became clear that rescue teams had stopped searching for them, they knew they needed another food supply. This is solved when an albatross lands on their raft, mistaking them for dead. Louis is able to grasp the bird and kill it. Unable to eat the meat themselves, the smell prevented them from getting it past their mouths, they use it for bait. Fish is how they survive all the time that they