UNBROKEN
A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
By Laura Hillenbrand
Table Of Contents
Topic Page #
Introduction 3-4
Themes 5-7
Writing Style 8-10
Book Talk 11-13
Book Summary 14-16
Questions 17
Works Cited 18-19
Introduction
Laura Hillenbrand was born in 1967. She began writing in 1988 about thoroughbred racing. After starting her writing career, she became a contributing writer/editor for Equus magazine. Laura won the Eclipse Award for her article on Seabiscuit in American Heritage in 1988.She then made her article into a book, which made The New York Times best-seller list in the first week of its release. Hillenbrand suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She wrote Seabiscuit: An American Legend while attending Kenyon College and suffering from CFS. She recovered, however, after turning in the final manuscript for her book, her sickness took over again. With her writing career finished, she became a consultant for the Universal Pictures movie based on her book.
This book tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a child thief turned track star, Olympian, airman, castaway, and prisoner of war. He was born to Italian immigrants Anthony Zamperini and Louise Dossi. Louie was heading down a dangerous road, he was stealing and fighting, until his brother Pete Zamperini encouraged him to join the track team. Louie was great at track, he was winning every race, and eventually he competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Louie had plans to go to the 1940 Olympics, but the Olympics were canceled due to WWII and Louie was drafted into the U.S Air Force. During one of his flights in the Green Hornet, his plane was shot down, only him and two other men survived. They spent 47 days in a life boat in the Pacific Ocean, fighting sharks, starvation, and dehydration, before they were captured by the Japanese navy. This book emphasizes the importance of determination, the will to survive against impossible odds, and support from family and friends. Themes Perseverance- The famous quote “If you’re going through hell, keep on going” by Winston Churchill might as well have been said to Louie Zamperini whose picture should come up every time someone Googles perseverance. If Laura Hillenbrand wrote "Louie went through hell," she would have been exaggerating over a lot, but she still would have been extremely right. In Unbroken we see Louie go through the hardest time in his life. He fought sharks while stranded in the ocean, survived horrible living conditions in POW camps, and even faced PTSD after the war. He never gave up, he looked at the person who made his life a living hell and though “I will not be broken”. Friendship-. Teamwork is an essential part of war. The people who survive wars are the ones who work together both physically and mentally, the teams that can communicate with each other without talking, as if they can read each other’s mind, and who are teammates on the battlefield and brothers in the barracks. In Unbroken, Louie's friendships aren't just fun, they help him survive just as he helped them survive in many occasions. For example Phil. There was so many times that Phil wanted to give up but Louie kept lightening his spirit and pushing him with a hope to one day, see their loved ones again. Competition-War is like a competition. Different countries fight each other for …show more content…
Shortly after he began his service he went on a search for a missing crew on the Green Hornet. The plane went down and him and the other two survivors drifted for 40 days. They ate whatever they could find, sometimes a fish or a bird and only drank rainwater. One of the survivors had died before they could find land. Louie and the other Survivor ,which was the planes pilot, finally reached land but were captured by the Japanese navy. The Japanese army did not inform America about these two captured soldiers which caused the American military to claim that they had all died. Even though they were declared dead Louie's family refused to believe that he would not return, they even kept buying him Christmas
A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
By Laura Hillenbrand
Table Of Contents
Topic Page #
Introduction 3-4
Themes 5-7
Writing Style 8-10
Book Talk 11-13
Book Summary 14-16
Questions 17
Works Cited 18-19
Introduction
Laura Hillenbrand was born in 1967. She began writing in 1988 about thoroughbred racing. After starting her writing career, she became a contributing writer/editor for Equus magazine. Laura won the Eclipse Award for her article on Seabiscuit in American Heritage in 1988.She then made her article into a book, which made The New York Times best-seller list in the first week of its release. Hillenbrand suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She wrote Seabiscuit: An American Legend while attending Kenyon College and suffering from CFS. She recovered, however, after turning in the final manuscript for her book, her sickness took over again. With her writing career finished, she became a consultant for the Universal Pictures movie based on her book.
This book tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a child thief turned track star, Olympian, airman, castaway, and prisoner of war. He was born to Italian immigrants Anthony Zamperini and Louise Dossi. Louie was heading down a dangerous road, he was stealing and fighting, until his brother Pete Zamperini encouraged him to join the track team. Louie was great at track, he was winning every race, and eventually he competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Louie had plans to go to the 1940 Olympics, but the Olympics were canceled due to WWII and Louie was drafted into the U.S Air Force. During one of his flights in the Green Hornet, his plane was shot down, only him and two other men survived. They spent 47 days in a life boat in the Pacific Ocean, fighting sharks, starvation, and dehydration, before they were captured by the Japanese navy. This book emphasizes the importance of determination, the will to survive against impossible odds, and support from family and friends. Themes Perseverance- The famous quote “If you’re going through hell, keep on going” by Winston Churchill might as well have been said to Louie Zamperini whose picture should come up every time someone Googles perseverance. If Laura Hillenbrand wrote "Louie went through hell," she would have been exaggerating over a lot, but she still would have been extremely right. In Unbroken we see Louie go through the hardest time in his life. He fought sharks while stranded in the ocean, survived horrible living conditions in POW camps, and even faced PTSD after the war. He never gave up, he looked at the person who made his life a living hell and though “I will not be broken”. Friendship-. Teamwork is an essential part of war. The people who survive wars are the ones who work together both physically and mentally, the teams that can communicate with each other without talking, as if they can read each other’s mind, and who are teammates on the battlefield and brothers in the barracks. In Unbroken, Louie's friendships aren't just fun, they help him survive just as he helped them survive in many occasions. For example Phil. There was so many times that Phil wanted to give up but Louie kept lightening his spirit and pushing him with a hope to one day, see their loved ones again. Competition-War is like a competition. Different countries fight each other for …show more content…
Shortly after he began his service he went on a search for a missing crew on the Green Hornet. The plane went down and him and the other two survivors drifted for 40 days. They ate whatever they could find, sometimes a fish or a bird and only drank rainwater. One of the survivors had died before they could find land. Louie and the other Survivor ,which was the planes pilot, finally reached land but were captured by the Japanese navy. The Japanese army did not inform America about these two captured soldiers which caused the American military to claim that they had all died. Even though they were declared dead Louie's family refused to believe that he would not return, they even kept buying him Christmas