Unbroken Essay

Over 2,600,000 civilians and militants died in Japan alone during World War II. One survivor named Louie Zamperini experienced unimaginable horrors, and faced death daily in a POW camp in Japan. He survived by refusing to let his captors deprive him of his humanity and make him “invisible.” Louie’s life could have been very different if he had never been captured. His experiences shaped him as a person and eventually made him a better man. In the book Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand illuminates the theme that war and conflict have profound and varied effects on different individuals.
Many prisoners of World War II were made to feel mentally invisible by their imprisoners. While in a POW camp, a man named Mutsuhiro Watanabe, more commonly known
as “the Bird,” tried to make Louie feel invisible. On page 213 of Unbroken, Hillenbrand talks about how the Bird chastised Louie by forcing him to pick up a “a heavy wooden beam, some six feet long.” Despite how frail he was, Louie used all the strength he had left and held the beam, even though he knew he would be punished for succeeding. This relates to the theme because the struggles he is facing due to war are causing him to rebel and resist his captors. If he were to not resist, he may have given up and died. Another good example comes from page 145. When Louie was asked who he thought would win the war he responded defiantly saying “America.” The guards tried to make Louie give up on his country, his identity, but he resisted and held onto the last bit of himself that he had left. This can also be seen in chapter 2o. It says that “Louie knew what would happen if he won, but the cheering aroused his defiance” (158). This is referring to how the Bird forced him to race against a “guard. Louie was well aware that he would be beaten for winning, but knew that if he lost on purpose he would let his captors win. Louie’s captors used psychological and physical abuse to dehumanize prisoners and emotionally isolate them, but many, especially Louie, would not give in.
Louie was not only made to feel emotionally invisible, but also physically.
One way he was made to feel invisible, was when the guards “refused to register him with the red cross,” (160). Causing his family and the US government to believe him dead. Another way he was made invisible was when he learned that he was not taken to a POW camp, but a secret interrogation camp. It says that, “high value captives were held in solitary confinement, starved, and tortured so they'd give up military secrets” (147). Louie was forced to accept the fact that his family would not know that he was alive, but he still managed to hold onto the idea that he would be freed and reunited with his family. Another way the guards made the prisoners, specifically Phil, feel invisible was by burning letters from their loved ones. On page 159 it states that the Japanese, “never mailed it” This is talking about how Phil sent a letter to his fiancé, but later found it in the garbage half burnt. Although Phil knew he would not be able to contact her, he vowed that if he survived, he would deliver it in person. By burning these letters, the Japanese took away the one thing that kept the prisoners connected to their families and what was happening in the war, making them invisible to the rest of the world. Prisoners of World War II were isolated from the rest of the world and affected by their invisibility in profound
ways.
In conclusion, the theme that war and conflict have profound and varied effects on different individuals from the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is shown by displaying the main character Louie Zamperini's resilience and agency and how the war affects him. Louie and many other victims of World War II were made to feel isolated and alone, but managed to hold onto their hope, and survive. Louie Zamperini is the perfect example of someone who war has affected forever. Despite facing many hardships, Louie went on to live a successful life. War affects everyone different, but the one thing that often stays the same is how it changes them for forever.