Persuasive Essay On Unbroken By Dave Hillenbrand

Imagine being stuck in a cage, getting poked at by sticks, starved, beaten, and humiliated. Finally, getting stripped of the last thing you have: your dignity. Hillenbrand states, “Without dignity, identity is erased.” Unbroken is about a stubborn young Louie Zamberini, determined not to break under pressure. In the later part of Hillenbrand’s novel, Louie is captured by the Japanese and lives for over two years in hellish prisoner camps. When the war is finally over, Louie, once known as “The Torrance Tornado,” an Olympic runner, comes out of the liberated camps a different person. After years of dealing with alcoholism and flashbacks of war, Louie gets introduced to Christianity, realizing just how fortunate he has been through his life’s

The Japanese prison guards try to strip Louie of his dignity in many ways, most commonly, physical abuse. A common torture method used in the POW camps was putting a 100 pound wooden beam on the prisoners shoulders in attention and standing up until you collapse. A beating would soon follow if the prisoner lowers the beam. When the Bird had coerced Louie to this task, Louie grimaced, knowing that it would be a painful day. Along with this specific torture method, the Japanese also used many other methods like whipping, beating, starving, and drowning. In other words, the camp was a living Hell☺. In a physical war like this, Louie had to stick to his wits and do what he believed is morally best. Even though the Japanese torture methods humiliated and made the prisoners go insane, Louie still tried to keep his identity and remain calm. When Louie had not eaten in days, he still decided cannibalism was not an option. Louie told himself that this war was not going to change who he was. Another example of what Louie did to stay strong was creating an escape plan. Making an escape plan was not only a way to survive, but to keep his mind off the struggles of living in a POW camp. One of the most important physical identities that Louie portrays himself, as is an elite runner. When the Japanese find out that Louie is an Olympic

They humiliated, dehumanized, and mocked him. The prisoners were also not called by their names, wore the same clothes, and typically had shaved heads. By taking their physical traits away from them, it made them feel as if they were not humans at all. They also did not let the prisoners look or talk to each other. This dehumanization makes the prisoner’s feel depressed and more like objects than people. Even though the Japanese had many cruel acts that dehumanized and mocked them, the prisoners had many ways to stay human and keep their identity. One thing that Louie and the POW prisoners did to communicate with each other was that they would write notes on toilet paper and tap in Morse code on the walls. This is negligible of them to do because it not only gave them a way to communicate with their friends but also gave them a way to feel in control and defy the Japanese and there rules. Another way that Louie and his fellow POW prisoners made fun of and Japanese was that they made nicknames for each of the officers and roasted them without them knowing. The author also remarks comical things that the POW prisoners did/said: “Every time we bowed down to the Japanese emperor we would fart” (Hillenbrand 287). The prisoners had the teenager mindset of their parents like you-think-you-are-the-boss-of-me-but-you-actually-aren’t☺. Conclusively, the Japanese camps had many ways to strip the prisoners from their