Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken

In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand argues that the allied servicemen and prisoners of war in World War II contributed immeasurable sacrifices for humanity. Hillenbrand’s biography about Louie Zamperini provides an authentic portrayal of a soldier and prisoner of war (POW) during World War II. The New York Times bestseller novel focuses on the importance in family bonds and friendship throughout the struggle. Likewise, optimism and hope serve as vital coping mechanisms in warfare circumstances. Hillenbrand explores the effects of physical and mental conditioning for self improvement and during times of inhuman cruelty. The author elaborates on PTSD and life after the war for Zamperini until he finds absolution. Overall, Unbroken is an empowering informational text, telling Louie’s story against the major world events of the twentieth century.
Laura Hillenbrand reveals the extremes of Louie’s life from 1918 to 1950 using historic details of the story. Hillenbrand writes using a third person narrator. This perspective is beneficial for writing a biography, allowing further information to be obtained from research. Third person is a
notable style of writing, which yields fresh and creative attributes. Hillenbrand enhances the experiences of Zamperini, making each moment a focal point to expand on.
Unbroken is essentially an endless list of the heroic, devastating trials Louie and his friends in the POW camp overcame and sacrificed for the U.S. and her allies. From the start of the Green Hornet crashing into the Pacific up in May 1943 until the release of the Pacific POW’s in August 1945, Hillenbrand did not attempt to censor explicit incidents. Laura used stories from several POW’s during WWII who experienced atrocious brutality and brought to light how much citizens owe to those who endured in combat.
The most crucial stance the author of Unbroken makes is her stance on post war life. Hillenbrand expands on her own by us of statistical research. Specifically, she explains the severity of Pacific POW’s. She states that the physical injuries were lasting, debilitating, and sometimes deadly (Hillenbrand 346). As well, most all POW’s had emotional injuries. Laura notes that nearly forty years after the war, 85 percent suffered from PTSD (347). The author expresses that most war veterans’ lives were ruined. Veterans experience indescribable terrors that ordinary citizens would never know, Laura acknowledges (349).
Hillenbrand’s story comes off with intent. Intent to help society understand the life of a POW and the aftermath of war. The hope and redemption of Louie Zamperini’s story is unique in itself. Hillenbrand wrote his story justly and gave the full extent to the public. Zamperini does not only overcome the odds of WWII with courage, but also overcame severe PTSD as a veteran due to forgiveness and God.
Laura Hillenbrand wrote a convincing novel filled with reasoning to back up her thesis.
She discusses all of the dramatic events that occurred throughout Louie Zamperini’s lifetime. From elaborate mishap in his youth, to becoming the best runner in his school district, his state and finally one of America’s best runners that went to the Olympics in Berlin to meet Hitler. Then, he was enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps for combat in WWII, survived a plane crash across the Pacific, survived as a prisoner of war and even surpassed marriage problems, financial problems, alcoholism, and other postwar trials. All of these incidents were vital to be mentioned. If the reader had not known every nook and cranny of Zamperini’s life, the reader would not understand how valiantly Louie and his fellow servicemen and POW’s fought for our
country.
The author of Unbroken originally set out to inspire others the way Zamperini’s story inspired her. She stated, in an interview with New York Times, that Louie’s story gave her courage and hope in the midst of a debilitating illness (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).
He is a man who survived the seemingly unsurvivable, and I think all of us can look at his life and look at the things that he got through, and then look back at our own troubles and think, 'you know, if he got through that, why can't I get through this? (Hillenbrand)
As a reader, the authenticity of her reasoning to write about Louie is inspirational in itself. It is a good quality to have in an author. Hillenbrand, through her 406 page length novel, did not go overboard with her vocabulary. While reading Unbroken there were no instances in which a dictionary or web search were needed. In all, it was an interesting and easy book to read because of that. If common readers cannot comprehend it, there is a sense of lost momentum. Hillenbrand strived to tell an inspirational story to the public and she does so with ease. However, Hillenbrand does have a few faults in her writing. Some of the aspects of her writings she cannot control because it is a non fiction novel, not a fiction novel. For example, the list of characters was lengthy. Over time, the characters became nearly indistinguishable as the list extended. The characters in the book are one-dimensional, hardly any are given more than a introduction into the next scene or event. Although, you could argue that Louie’s life was fast-paced during his struggles. The characters began to be obscured. Aside from Louie, his family, Phil and Louie’s prison guard The Bird.
Additionally, another fault in the novel Unbroken were the everlasting scenes of The Bird. Every encounter with Louie and The Bird seemed to be documented to the furthest extent; every one of The Bird’s moments were written about in utmost detail. It is insensitive to say that these seemingly endless chapters of brutality became boring, but they did lack a narrative hook to keep the reader’s attention, especially in the middle of the book. It is a heart evoking story in all but there is a line to be drawn where explanation is needed and no longer brutal examples.
Lastly, readers can argue how accurate these stories are. As 50 years or so have gone by… how accurate could Louie recall every detail after half a century? Some soldiers, as Hillenbrand states in Unbroken, forget the war entirely. The reader could suppose that a lot of filler is put into the book only to string the narrative along. Consequently, falsification to amplify the story to entertain the popular audience.