The story of Louis Zamperini in Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken tells the struggle of the Olympic athlete from being lost at sea for almost two months to being a prisoner of war in multiple camps of Japan. The pain that Louie experienced was not all physical. The veteran’s exposure to mental abuse matched equally (possibly even more) to the amounts of beatings he got on a daily basis. After the war Louis suffered from PTSD which eventually lead him into alcoholism. Even though alcoholism is a serious disease, Louis Zamperini quotes that there is one thing worse than alcoholism, hatred.
Louis dislikes majority of the guards at his camps but he especially despised his main abuser Mutsuhiro Watanabe (or as the prisoners call him, the Bird). The Bird is one of the main prisoner officers who finds a sickening pleasure in beating all the prisoners, but he has a special eye for Louis. Out of all his prisoners he strives to torture Louis the most. He makes him clean poop out of animal cages with his bare hands, beats him violently on a regular basis and he even made over 200 prisoners punch him in the face until it was almost swollen shut. It is very clear the Bird has an obsession with Louis and the concept of hurting him.
After his homecoming, Louis struggles with the past memories he has of the Bird. He has nightmares about him. Even one …show more content…
Alcoholism is a disease. Hate is a personal choice.” Louis discovering God is what saved him from a life of misery. He learned the phrase, ”Forgive your enemies and pray for them.”(Epilogue pg 405) Louis has a right to hate the guards from his POW camps and he has the right to hate the Bird but he refused to let hate keep destroying him and to cover-up a deeper type of emotion. Louis is reported being “Infectiously, incorrigibly cheerful” (Unbroken 392) and he heroically inspires new people everyday even after his death. He is truly
Louis dislikes majority of the guards at his camps but he especially despised his main abuser Mutsuhiro Watanabe (or as the prisoners call him, the Bird). The Bird is one of the main prisoner officers who finds a sickening pleasure in beating all the prisoners, but he has a special eye for Louis. Out of all his prisoners he strives to torture Louis the most. He makes him clean poop out of animal cages with his bare hands, beats him violently on a regular basis and he even made over 200 prisoners punch him in the face until it was almost swollen shut. It is very clear the Bird has an obsession with Louis and the concept of hurting him.
After his homecoming, Louis struggles with the past memories he has of the Bird. He has nightmares about him. Even one …show more content…
Alcoholism is a disease. Hate is a personal choice.” Louis discovering God is what saved him from a life of misery. He learned the phrase, ”Forgive your enemies and pray for them.”(Epilogue pg 405) Louis has a right to hate the guards from his POW camps and he has the right to hate the Bird but he refused to let hate keep destroying him and to cover-up a deeper type of emotion. Louis is reported being “Infectiously, incorrigibly cheerful” (Unbroken 392) and he heroically inspires new people everyday even after his death. He is truly