Lauren Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken, tells the inspiring story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini. Although a majority of the story takes place in World War II, it teaches lessons that are still relevant today. The theme of perseverance is present through different times in Louie’s life from the horrors he faced during World War II, to the memories that haunted him after the war. Forgiveness is also a prevalent theme that contributes to the inspiration of this story. Additionally, Lauren Hillenbrand’s descriptive writing adds to the emotion of the story. Overall, this is a very powerful story that shows the reader that they can overcome any obstacles they face in life. Unbroken is about Louie Zamperini and other POWs in World War II.
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Hillenbrand uses many different examples of forgiveness to show that redemption is always possible. For example, the people Torrance, the town where Louie lived, were able to forgive Louie for stealing things and causing trouble. Once Louie becomes an Olympic athlete, the people of Torrance are proud of Louie for representing their town instead of being angry at him for causing trouble. Additionally, Louie and Phil are able to forgive Mac when the plane crashes. On the first night at sea Mac eats all the food on the raft, but he later redeemed himself when he helps Louie and Phil fix holes in the raft. Hillenbrand also shows that forgiveness has a positive impact on our lives, and holding onto hatred will only cause more pain and negativity. Forgiveness helped Louie leave the war behind him at the end of the story. When Louie gets back from the war he wants revenge on Watanabe. After listening to Billy Graham Louie realized that feeling hatred towards Watanabe allows him to still control his life. Once Louie forgives Watanabe he stops having nightmares about the war. The story ends with Louie carrying the Olympic torch through Naoetsu, showing that he was able to leave the past behind him and live a happy, peaceful life. Forgiveness is an inspiring theme in this …show more content…
To start off, the author’s use of different perspectives makes the story more interesting to read. By explaining how Louie’s family feels when he is at war or using quotes from other POWs, Hillenbrand adds more emotion and information to her book. The author also included statistics in the book. Although the statistics made the book boring at some times, they added information that helped the reader understand the story better. Additionally, while describing Louie’s life in POW camps, Hillenbrand often emphasized how different his life was before the plane crash. The quote “Louie looked down at his body. Legs that had sprang through a 4:12 mile over bright sand on that last morning on Kualoa were now useless. The vibrant, generous body that he had trained with such vigilance had shrunken until only the bones remained, draped in yellow skin, crawling with parasites.” (182), shows how much Louie lost and makes the reader feel sorry for him. The description in the quote also emphasized how much Louie’s life has changed. The author uses words such as “bright” and “vibrant” to describe Louie’s life before the plane crash, which shows life after the crash was very dark and dismal. The descriptive writing makes the story more emotional and
Hillenbrand uses many different examples of forgiveness to show that redemption is always possible. For example, the people Torrance, the town where Louie lived, were able to forgive Louie for stealing things and causing trouble. Once Louie becomes an Olympic athlete, the people of Torrance are proud of Louie for representing their town instead of being angry at him for causing trouble. Additionally, Louie and Phil are able to forgive Mac when the plane crashes. On the first night at sea Mac eats all the food on the raft, but he later redeemed himself when he helps Louie and Phil fix holes in the raft. Hillenbrand also shows that forgiveness has a positive impact on our lives, and holding onto hatred will only cause more pain and negativity. Forgiveness helped Louie leave the war behind him at the end of the story. When Louie gets back from the war he wants revenge on Watanabe. After listening to Billy Graham Louie realized that feeling hatred towards Watanabe allows him to still control his life. Once Louie forgives Watanabe he stops having nightmares about the war. The story ends with Louie carrying the Olympic torch through Naoetsu, showing that he was able to leave the past behind him and live a happy, peaceful life. Forgiveness is an inspiring theme in this …show more content…
To start off, the author’s use of different perspectives makes the story more interesting to read. By explaining how Louie’s family feels when he is at war or using quotes from other POWs, Hillenbrand adds more emotion and information to her book. The author also included statistics in the book. Although the statistics made the book boring at some times, they added information that helped the reader understand the story better. Additionally, while describing Louie’s life in POW camps, Hillenbrand often emphasized how different his life was before the plane crash. The quote “Louie looked down at his body. Legs that had sprang through a 4:12 mile over bright sand on that last morning on Kualoa were now useless. The vibrant, generous body that he had trained with such vigilance had shrunken until only the bones remained, draped in yellow skin, crawling with parasites.” (182), shows how much Louie lost and makes the reader feel sorry for him. The description in the quote also emphasized how much Louie’s life has changed. The author uses words such as “bright” and “vibrant” to describe Louie’s life before the plane crash, which shows life after the crash was very dark and dismal. The descriptive writing makes the story more emotional and