The Unbroken book was published on November 16, 2010. It consists of 473 pages with a biography written by an author know as Lauren Hillenbrand and is the best-selling book which is titled, Sea biscuit. Louis Zamperini survived a plane crash in the Pacific theater where he spent forty-seven (47) days drifting on a raft. Afterward, Louis also survived two years and a half as a prisoner of war in three cruel Japanese prisoners of war camps. The book is unbroken therefore alks about a world war II story of survival, resilience, and redemption.
The book is great evidence of the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. Louis character is a character that feels so real and the story about him will keep you guessing on what types of events will unfold on the next page. The book Unbroken is so touching that it makes sympathize with the character who is Zamperini. Lauren Hillenbrand wrote the book in a rich and intense narrative voice making the book enjoyable, (Hilenbrand 10-146, 153-354).
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand Summary
Louis Zamperini was a teenager who channeled his boldness into running, and that’s when he discovered his talent which took him to the Berlin Olympics. When the world war II began, Zamperini became an airman and in 1943, one afternoon in May, he boarded on a journey that led to a fated flight. On that evening, his air forces bombing plane disappeared into the Pacific Ocean after crashing, leaving behind only blood, oil, and gasoline. Zamperini survived the plan crash against all the odds. He struggled to pull himself aboard with a raft of life in an open ocean with hungry sharks, starvation, thirst and enemy aircraft. This marked the beginning among most astonishing treks of the world war II.
Zamperini was an American legend who was charismatic and cheerful. After the air crash, three survivors were later reduced to two that is Zamperini and his fellow airman. The two survivors drifted 2000 miles on a raft of life that was leaky and survived some Japanese air attacks. When Zamperini and the other survivor reach the sand, they are captured by the Japanese forces and put into the Japanese prisoner of war camps. Zamperini was beaten and humiliated in the prisoners camp by one particular guard known as Mitsuhiro Watanabe. Louis was made to run against the Japanese to prove their superiority.
Zamperini became worn out when he began suffering from dysentery and beriberi. He also suffered from other aspects like alcoholism, a situation that he found himself so addicted to stop. The injuries he got from the violent experience in his life made him not to run again, (Hilenbrand, 3). His life was hanging by a thread by the end of the war. Driven by the parameters of strength, Zamperini had the obligation to adapt to nervousness with imagination; suffering with hope, resolution and humor and cruelty with insurgence. Zamperini returned to the US in 1945 and was received as a hero and toyed with the idea of getting back on the tracks. He found out that he could not do that because his legs had been destroyed by the torture he endured in the hands of the Japanese, and he became revengeful wanting to go back to Japan and kill his tormentor who was the Japanese correctional officer nicknamed the Bird.
The character played by Mutsuhiro Watanabe is a dislikeable character because of his attributes. He is jealous of Louis’ Olympic status and beats him often out of hatred. The camp was Watanabe was posted, was bombed after two years and Louis alongside other prisoners are forced to move to another field known as Naoetsu prison camp, (Hilenbrand 10). The book Unbroken has a good ending that gives people hope. The book also has many moral teachings such as; being hopeful, perseverance, forgiveness and believing in God among other lessons. Louis Zamperini went through a lot of events in his life and despite all that he had the strength to keep on moving. His character is one with a great personality.
The book Unbroken is a very violent book. This makes it quite attractive to read because the setting of violence makes it entertaining to read. This is because of various attributes that make the flow of It talks about the torture that Zamperini experienced in the hands of his capturers in Omori and Naoetsu prisoners of war camp. The book by Lauren Hillenbrand is educative and it shows resilience and survival, (Hilenbrand 10-146, 153-354). It is to read the book Unbroken because of the interesting events that seem to unfold in every chapter. The book is recommendable to any reader who is fascinated by history and wants to learn about the world war II. Lauren wrote the book to remind people of the stories of heroism, life, death, cruelty as well as redemption. Unbroken tries to bring into light the stories of individuals whose misery has been overlooked, (Hilenbrand 10-146, 153-354).
Works Cited
Hilenbrand, Laura. Unbroken. New York: Random House Publishers, 2014. Print.
