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The Perseverance Of Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand

1065 Words5 Pages

The Perseverance of Louie Zamperini Acclaimed writer, Laura Hillenbrand, in her biography, Unbroken, provides an elegantly written account of the amazing events that occurred in Louie Zamperini's life. Writing to an audience of readers who may know little about his life, Hillenbrand offers a tribute to Louie and the immense strength he had, revealing the power of positivity and perseverance. She creates an interesting mood change in a scene where both men are slowly dying in order to express to us readers that Louie survived because he wouldn't allow himself think otherwise. While telling us of a true event, she achieves her purpose by painting clear images complemented with rich diction; by deliberately using contrasting moods; and by creating …show more content…

Instead, she portrays a dreary scene with her use of grim diction in order to give a sense of the torture experienced by the men while lost at sea. She describes the men, their “sun-scorched eyes” (261), and skin “patterned with salt sores” (261) to create a pessimistic tone. Words such as “petulant” and “ominous” paired with words like “birdlike,” “hollow,” and “stark” (261) used to describe the men are effective in giving us readers a feel of the discouraging situation. Hillenbrand opens with this use of strong diction in order to instill a mood of hopelessness in us as we start to realize just how disheartening of a situation that Louie and Phil are in …show more content…

As she continues this passage, though, her tone is changed in order to effectively show a contrast between the situation and how Louie decides to handle it. The next morning, Louie and Phil wake to a “strange stillness” (261). While her use of alliteration may imply the snake sound, it can also create a feeling of danger. We as readers start to wonder what on earth could happen to them next. Their raft is now sitting “virtually motionless” (261), giving the implication that they are sitting ducks to whatever is about to happen to them, amplifying the dark tone. This darkness, used to complement the hopeless mood established earlier, is then sharply contrasted as she starts to paint beautiful pictures of the world around

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All readers can connect with the pain of staring into a bright glare, so it is an effective use of symbolizing the pain of war, as more people can connect to it. It is unbearable to lose a child, but similar in the Zamperini’s struggles to look at the camera, they will struggle to believe Louie 's death. This persistence to believe in Louie 's survival is an added example of how determination can help people through tough times. As it was their belief that kept the Zamperini family strong and looking on. Overall, Hillenbrand reminds the reader that behind every soldier is a loving family an that determination is a

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