Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption follows the story of Louie Zamperini, a rebellious child who grew up to become one of the fastest runners of the 1930s. He competed as an Olympic track runner in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The future was looking bright for Zamperini before World War II began, which resulted in the Olympics being cancelled and Louie being drafted into the Army Air Forces as a bombardier. Midway through 1943, his B-24 crash landed in the Pacific Ocean. For weeks, Louie and two other men drifted westward across a seemingly endless ocean, accompanied by a pack of sharks and surviving on scraps of bird and fish meat and the occasional rainfall. Eventually, he arrived in Japanese…
“A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain.” (Hillenbrand p.34) Louie Zamperini was a young and rising track star. He was dreaming about the Olympics,but that didn’t go as planned. It is 1943 in May Louie Zamperini’s plane had crashed in the pacific ocean during WW||. Ahead was thousands of miles of ocean with attacking sharks,thirst,and starvation/. He was caught by someone not very pleasant. But do it go away? Find out by reading unbroken By:Laura Hillenbrand. Unbroken has 298 fascinating pages that is a biography written in third [erso. Unbroken is about Louie’s interesting and sacrificing life.…
In a time of war, countries can react accordingly, doing things that can be viewed as in-human. During WWII, both American POWs and Japanese-American internees, experienced this. From the book, Unbroken, and the article, “George Takei on Internment, Allegiance and ‘Gaman’”, both American POWs and Japanese-American internees got their dignity taken away from them during tough times.…
In the movie Unbroken directed by Angelina Jolie, there are many obvious differences from the actual factual events that took place. A lot of important details about Louis Zamperini’s life were left out in the movie. There are many reasons for this, which are arguably very important. The three biggest things that were left out of the movie are, the realization that Louis came to about his faith in God, Japanese guards actually treated Louis very well when he first was captured, and Louis actually came face to face with Adolf Hitler. All three of these things were left out of the movie for specific reasons, which Hollywood thought would boost ratings and amount of viewers.…
After graduating from Flushing High in Queens, NY, Peter worked as a cab driver and a short order cook to put himself through college. He attended 2 years at Queens College before his conscience would not allow him to continue to participate in a system where privileged college students were spared the draft while working class men were off fighting, so he upped his draft to serve in the Korean war. After his honorable discharge, Peter completed his BA in English and history, and continued on to to earn his ???????at the University Of Chicago Law School and opened a private law practice on Long Island. He then moved to Vermont to be a Legal Aid attorney and to write a book, which was never written, never ceasing his work as a civil rights activist. After refusing to be re-licensed on the Vt Bar, due to the unconstitutionality of the licensing process, Peter worked as a Vista Volunteer trainer, a teacher, truck driver, pre-school bus driver, and alcohol rehab counselor for the Vt Veteran’s Association. He was arrested numerous times, protecting our constitutional rights. One person wrote of Peter, ”When you look up the word "Mensch" in the dictionary, you find a picture of…
The U.S. Olympian three time gold medalists for U.S.A Gail Devers once said, “Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can't allow life to beat us down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn’t think we could be that strong”. In Laura Hillenbrand's nonfiction book Unbroken, Louis Zamperini demonstrated determination throughout his life to overcome difficulties in track all the way to surviving his Word War II bomber crashing into the Pacific Ocean where he was stranded for 47 day. Overall, Louis's own ambition is what Hillenbrand highlighted throughout this book to tell his truly remarkable story.…
The argument an author makes is not the easiest thing to pick out, particularly when the book is written about the life of someone else. I believe Hillenbrand’s main argument is that people can change their behaviors based on current situations and the environment they are in. Louie Zamperini grew up as a trouble maker. He thieved from neighbors’ kitchens and generally caused mayhem wherever he went. When propaganda regarding eugenics started to surface and a child from his neighborhood was declared to be feeble-minded, Louie resolved to clean up his act and make himself a better person. As Louie grew up, he transformed into an All-American track star and eventually a hero in the United States Air Force. Before becoming the hero Louie Zamperini is now known as, he struggled with his transformation from hoodlum to trackstar to hero. After the threat of being declared feeble-minded, Louie had realized that the hoodlum everyone knew, was not who he wanted to be. “The person that Louie had become was not, he knew, his authentic self. He made hesitant efforts to connect to others” (Hillenbrand 12). Louie Zamperini had reached the age that everyone hits. He had reached the age where he was beginning to realize what type of person he wanted to be and how he wanted to be remembered. Louie changed for the better. I believe that Hillenbrand used the book and Louie’s transformation to stress her feelings on the subject. Anyone who knew Louie prior to reading Hillenbrand’s book would have agreed that he stayed strong even in the worst of circumstances.…
The strength and endurance of the human spirit has never been better portrayed as it is in Tracy Kidder’s Strength in What Remains. Kidder’s telling of Deo’s story is an impressive one. Deo is a great example of a responsible steward. His stewardship is displayed in his fight for actual survival, his determination to become better educated, his love for his home and family, and his willingness to give back to a society that nearly killed him multiple times.…
Louis Zamperini is a World War Two veteran and the main character of Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling novel, Unbroken. Louis was born on January 26, 1917. As a child, he was constantly on the go and causing trouble. It did not matter how many times he was caught, he always went back to wreaking havoc on the streets of Torrance,…
Wes found himself at Valley Forge after doing poorly in school and him hitting his sister pushed his mother over the edge to send him there. At first Wes did everything he could to escape from there. On his final attempt Sergeant Austin told Wes the direction the train station was in. Wes left only to discover it was a trap and, his chain of command took him in. They gave Wes a phone call home which was forbidden to new plebs. Once this was over Wes became invested in Valley Forge and near the end of his time there, he said “Three years ago I’d been one of the insubordinate kids first entering the gates of Valley Forge. In an ironic turn, I was now one of the ones in charge of them” (Moore 115). That commitment he invested payed off Wes was a ranked member of Valley Forge, served in the Marines, and went to school at John Hopkins University and Oxford University. Wes also invested commitment into the Job Corps with his friend Levy. Wes wanted to turn his life around and support his families with an honest living so he left the drug trade and joined the Job Corps with Levy. Wes finished top of his class in General Education Development training. Once finished with the GED training he chose carpentry as his vocational specialty. While working on a project for his carpenter training Wes said “The house was more than just a project to complete. It was a daily reminder of why he was there. These past months had been the most important and enjoyable in Wes’s life” (Moore 143). This goes to show that when anyone puts forward effort and commitment they can find happiness. Putting forth commitment is important and affects the outcome of that person's life, but it will not always result in a good outcome without…
Louis Zamperini and Sebastian’s attitude and beliefs were provoked by the others whom they affiliated with and it represented what characteristics both of them held within. Primarily, Sebastian made the decision to associate with Antonio and it evoked the contradictory beliefs that were within Sebastian. “I am more serious than my custom. You must be so too if heed me, which to do trebles thee o’er.” (II.i.185-187) Sebastian developed the urge to murder his own brother because of his initial decision to accompany Antonio and that displayed how disloyal and rebellious Sebastian truly was. Moreover, during the timeframe of the holocaust, Louis Zamperini faced excruciating pain and torture from the captors who had held him captive in Japan, but the other American captives were able to sustain his mental stability. “Though all three men faced the same hardship, their differing perceptions of it appeared to be shaping their fates. Louie and Phil's hope displaced their fear and inspired them to work toward their survival, and each success renewed their physical and emotional vigor.” (Hillenbrand 155) Louis Zamperini and his companion Phil were able to help each other restore the prosperity and strength that resided in both of them, and it truly portrayed the motivational strength that persisted in both of them. Conclusively, the decision of…
One may try to identify with Staples because he has overcome his childhood and went down the right path. He writes “I grew up one of the good boys, had perhaps a half-dozen fistfights” (Staples 106). He continues to say that he has buried some friends, had family in prison, and other people that used to live down the same block go down the wrong road. He is a college graduate, a person who made it through against all odds and so he believes that he should not be one to fear. Yet, it is going to continue to happen and one must cope with humanity.…
Chester Nez was born in Chichiltah in the Navajo Nation walking from 15-20 miles to the grass for their sheep. But you didn’t hear any complains from the Navajo, they have their own little peaceful time. It was about collaborating and sharing. Even though it was a daily routine for them, the population of the livestock grew bigger. In that being said, the federal government than past on a livestock-reduction policy because the sheep were destroying the land by overgrazing. He remembered his Grandma cried that night because more than half of her sheep were dead. When he turned 18, the Marines came to his school. Pearl Harbour had been attacked, the Americans needed more men. The U.S. Marines were looking for a noteworthy type of guy. They got the answer, it had to be the Navajo Indians. Chester Nez was one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers and those 29 original Code Talker were informed of their mission to make an unbreakable code. They devised a code that was the only unbroken code in modern warfare. A connection between Louie Zamperini and Chester Nez is that they both had an unexpected mission. For example Louie is an Olympian, his goal is to break record and wins medal. Chester Nez is just an ordinary Navajo Indians and he faces hardship about his culture and heritage outside of his home. Everythings for them came too fast for them to realize about their past. A question I have for Chester is “Did he see the sheep burned up in the trenches, if he did. How would he describe about what happen at that time. At the Presentation there was a simple powerful saying he says that I would never thought anyone would say. The question was What is one of your most memorable moment you have, “ One of my most memorable moment was herding sheep. said Nez” This tell me that he really care about his grandma’s sheep and that it was a big part of his life. Another question I would as him is, Did he learned anything he thought he would never learned when he went to war?”…
As we all grow older, we start to see and develop health-related factors that affect us biologically, psychologically and socioculturally. When we interviewed Jack Miller we saw how his experiences have impacted his psychosocial development. He has had biological changes, such as having his stress levels going up and down due to personal problems that he has gone through during his life. He also had psychological changes that were due to his experience during the civil rights movement. And lastly, he had social changes such as having ups and downs in his relationship with his family. As we debated over what environmental factors he can change in order to improve his daily life we concluded that it would be best if he were to live in a town…
He told them Adverse Childhood Experiences are a leading determination of the health, social well being and economy of a nation (Waters). According to researchers the American people who live in the “rough” neighborhoods are mentally and physically getting their future taken away, and now that researchers and people have this information as a nation we can help stop these struggling children who are the future of our nation. Post Traumatic stress disorder is a psychological illness in which people remember, relive, or dream of a traumatic experience (post). Children in school suffer from Post Tramatic Stress disorder due to events occurring in their own backyard. Many children in our community area so fortunate, they live under constant threat, unordinary exposed to strong frequent, prolonged and destructive trauma-say an abusive parent or violent neighborhood (Waters). Some thirty-seven percent of those surveyed had witnessed a stabbing or shooting (Waters). Memphis suffers from the violence we constantly see on the news everyday, and to think that children don’t get affected by seeing a tramatic event is nosense. Their developing cognitive nervous immune and endocrine systems get overheated and become less…