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Propaganda In Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand

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Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is a biography that tells the tale of young Louis Zamperini, who became a prisoner of war during World War 2 and survived to tell his tale. As a prisoner of war, Louis was almost forced into doing propaganda for the Japanese, who were holding him captive. Propaganda is defined as the “information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etcetera (Dictionary.com).” Propaganda played a crucial role during World War 2, with many countries using them to display many different messages, sometimes using influential figures similar to Louis. Widely spread throughout the war, propaganda was used in many different ways and for many different reasons. Since the media is extremely influential, propaganda was seen mainly in art, cartoons, songs, and movies. …show more content…

For example, Walt Disney used characters like Donald Duck for propaganda against Germany. The Japanese did not have any major influential characters but they did have people that could really hurt American hearts – prisoners of war. To increase the influence of their propaganda, the Japanese tried to use some of their well-known prisoners of war to make radio broadcasts, chockfull of propaganda. The Japanese wanted to utilize these well-known prisoners of war to relay messages that could possibly change an American’s morale or opinion on the war or their country. If a well-known prisoner were to give a message to the Americans that was against the government, the Japanese thought it would shine a bad light on their government. For example, the Japanese broadcast company tried to force Louis to make a message like that just because he was an Olympian, “A famous American Olympian, he’d reasoned, would be especially valuable (page 260).” Louis’ role was especially crucial for Japanese propaganda since he was

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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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In the memoir Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand and Louie Zamperini show that having a determined mindset can help get through the horrors of POW camps. The POW camp Louie was in was terrible. He would get beaten everyday for no reason and be forced to do hard labor. The author uses words such as “broken”, “fractured, and “shattered” and paired them with the word “POW” to show that the Japanese soldiers had no mercy against the American soldiers. Throughout the POW camp terrible things happen to Louie and he is forced to see horrible events.

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“As of January, 1953, one third of Pacific POWs were categorised as 50 to 100 percent disabled, nearly 8 years after the war’s end.” (Hillbrand 355). Unbroken written by Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of Louis Zamperini. Louie was a bad, stubborn child through his childhood. He had stolen, smoked, and drank.

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“Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man 's soul in his body long past the point when the body should have surrendered it” (Hillenbrand 189). In the novel Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis “Louie” Zamperini goes through several life-threatening experiences. After being a troublemaker as a child, and an Olympic athlete, Louie straps up his boots and becomes a bombardier for the Army Air Corps. After a traumatizing crash and a forty-six day survival at sea, Louie is taken captive by Japanese officials.

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Propaganda was utilized throughout American history to shape citizens' views and encourage them to retaliate against a country with differing beliefs. Propaganda would be shown through posters, newspapers, comics, cartoons, etc. The United States would use scare tactics toward Americans. They would broadcast or illustrate what the world would look like if communist rulings were to engulf America and other vulnerable countries. Posters would show American flags going up in flames.

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Part III, The War in Japanese Eyes, allows the reader to receive a Japanese perspective and also grasp how devastating the results of war were. Chapter 8, “The Pure Self,” Dower explains the Japanese traditions and culture, along with the humiliation and discrimination the Japanese received. The Japanese believed their culture was unique, and spent this period of time during the war focusing on themselves and their race. Whereas yellow was the color of illness and treason and the Japanese were usually referred to as yellow, the color white symbolized purity which stood for the American race. On the contrary, the Americans were also known as demonic.

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Someone’s most important traits aren’t usually seen till something brings it out. War causes many to experience traumatic mental, and physical abuse. In these dire moments what stays the same or changes is what truly defines someone. During World War II, Louie Zamperini was originally deployed as a bombardier, only to be captured as a POW to the Japanese. In the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, she explored his journey and struggle for survival, showing that war affects people in different ways.

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As Helen Keller once quoted, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken tells the life story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini. Through his troubles as a child, emerged a strong-willed Olympic runner, who later became a military aviator. He was lost at sea and then captured by the Japanese as a prisoner of war. He endured years of abuse and suffering but still managed to stay true to who he was.

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“Propaganda is a monologue that is not looking for an answer, but an echo,” (W. H. Auden). World War II, like many other wars, was influenced by myriad of different variables. One variable that echoed throughout America was propaganda. Propaganda was a major influence in the rally for overall support in America during World War II. The propaganda’s intentions in World War II can be broken down into three major categories: war efforts, Anti-German and Anti-Japanese backing, and homefront endeavors.

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Propaganda is the spreading of ideas, rumors and other information to injure or help a person or an institution. One can see this concept in the book Animal Farm, a tale written in 1945 by author George Orwell. Orwell illustrates the use of propaganda in the Russian Revolution by utilizing animals as the main characters. In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the animals use elements of propaganda like scare tactics, scapegoating and disinformation to influence the other animals on the farm.

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Propaganda is used in the book Animal Farm to convince the animals to believe certain ideals. Squealer makes the animals think a certain way, and thus, manipulates the animals. In much the same way, the modern world uses propaganda to achieve nearly, if not the same, goals. In modern times, propaganda is utilized to achieve three goals: to deceive people, to justify wars, and to destroy the credibility of a person or nation. In George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm, Squealer uses propaganda negatively to influence inhabitants of the farm, which is parallel to today with how propaganda deceives people, justifies war, and destroys credibility of a person or nation.

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A leading 19th century psychologist named William James stated this about propaganda: "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it”. Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. This is evident in the televised premature ending of the Montag’s chase and in the symbolism of 451 by the government in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. However, in our world propaganda has been used to unite a country through targeted mass persuasion. This is seen in two classic U.S propaganda posters that encourage U.S citizens to join the army: “I want you”(index 1) and “Remember Dec. 7th” (index 2).

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