Unbroken Theme

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War creates heroes and stories, separates the weak minded from the strong minded, and is the hallmark of realizations and regrets. These milestones all appear in Laura Hillenbrand’s book, Unbroken. A story of suffering, redemption, and survival, the main character, Louie Zamperini, is swept out of the prime of his Olympic running career and plopped into the middle of World War II. There he finds himself a bombardier, stranded at sea, and eventually a POW to the Japanese. Although everything around him falls apart, Louie remains steadfastly unbroken. Louie’s remarkable resilience enables the willpower within him to survive. In such a dire and bleak situation, cheery thoughts would be the last thing on anyone’s mind, that is except Louie Zamperini. Following a deadly plane crash and left with a raft, minimal provisions, and two companions- Phil and Mac, Louie began his 47 day drift over the open ocean. Scared as he was, Louie never gave up hope and insisted the others do the same. “Louie was determined that no matter what happened to their bodies, their minds would stay under their control. Within a few days of the crash, Louie began peppering the other two with questions on every conceivable subject” (Hillenbrand 152). Even in such depressing circumstances, Louie was willing himself and others on. As timed moved on, they never stopped thinking about the future, picturing themselves in it. “As they imagined themselves …show more content…
For Louie that dream was as simple yet as difficult as surviving. This daunting task seemed nearly hopeless at many points during his journey, but his willpower remained. His victory over his torment shows how undeniable persistence wins out over the toughest battles. Nothing can be overcome without effort. Without Louie’s endurance to live, he never would have survived the plane crash, stumbled off the raft, or walked out of the POW
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