Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand: Character Analysis

Walter Anderson, an American painter and writer once said, “Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quantity of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.” Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, describes how Louie Zamperini’s intelligence helped him through many hardships while stranded at sea and in the POW camps during World War II. Remarkably, Louie’s critical thinking skills kept him alive and well during times when he thought his life was over.

Described as a delinquent at the beginning of his life, Louie spent most of his time stealing items from people’s’

He was drafted into the war and joined the army as a bombardier. The B-24 “Green Hornet” was the name of the plane assigned to Louie later on in the war along with his close friend, Phil. On May 27, 1943, the ”Green Hornet” crashed into the Pacific. Mac, another crew member, Phil, and Louie were the only survivors. Phil was injured with two cuts on the side of his head: “Remembering what he had learned in Boy Scouts and his Honolulu first aid course, Louie ran his fingers down Phil’s throat until he felt a pulse, the carotid artery. He showed Mac the spot and told him to press down. He pulled off his muslin top shirt and T-shirt and pulled Phil’s shirts off as well. Louie dipped Phil’s T-shirt in the water, folded it into a compress, and pressed it to the wounds” (132). For 47 days, Louie and Phil drifted at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, sharks, and Japanese bombers. Unfortunately, Mac did not survive. As their bodies deteriorated, however, their minds stayed strong: “Given how badly the men’s bodies were faring, it would seem likely that their minds, too, would begin to fail. But more than five weeks into their ordeal, both Louie and Phil were enjoying remarkable precision of mind, and were convinced that they were growing sharper every day” (173). Through his outstanding actions towards Phil and through his mind’s keenness, Louie’s intelligence flourished. Finally, after many weeks at

By doing this, he made wise decisions protecting him from being tortured and interrogated by the camp officials. Finally after two years of living in POW camps, Louie’s misery was over. He arrived home to his family and he was ecstatic: “This, this little home,” he said, “was worth all of it” (341). Louie’s arrival spread excitement throughout his household and town. Tears of joy came from his family as they saw their boy for the first time in two years. As Louie settled back into his normal life, he discovered the war had not only damaged him physically, but also mentally. Certain words or phrases he heard made him feel as if he remained in the camps. Many times he would yell and scream trying to block out the horrifying memories. His family worried about him, wondering if he would ever be the same person he used to be. Time went on and Louie continued to have flashbacks of the past. Alcoholism soon took over his life, enabling him to forget about the chaos happening in his life. Drinking became a hobby for Louie, a necessary reliability to live through a difficult day. However, reality set in and Louie realized that alcohol did not resolve his problems, therefore he turned to God for help. Billy Graham, a man who preached to many people about God, came to town. Louie went to listen to him. The words Bill spoke at first did not phase Louie, yet he continued to