Louie Zamperini and Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe: Character Comparison
Like snowflakes, all people are extremely unique. Therefore, it can be assumed that we all have a different outlook on the world and will handle what the universe throws at us in our own way. In the young adult novel, Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand conveys this theme, war and trauma can have profound and varied effects on different people experiencing it in a similar way. She does this by showing the reader extremes at opposite ends of the spectrum: Louie Zamperini and Mutsuhiro Watanabe.
The Watanabe name was equated with prosperous military men, so naturally, success was foreseen in Mutsuhiro’s future once he enlisted in the Japanese Army (173). Even though everyone had high expectations for him, “when he applied to become an officer, he was rejected” (173). This seemingly minuscule failure made him a living nightmare for those who were near, especially high ranking prisoners of war. The Bird, as the captives named him, “beat POWs every day, fracturing their windpipes, rupturing their eardrums, shattering their teeth,
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Even though, everyone had heard of him, Louie was notorious for stealing (8-9). Because of his raucousness and heritage , Louie became a candidate for an increasingly popular procedure called eugenics. Page 12 explains that “eugenics was forced sterilization, a surgical procedure that rendered patients unable to have children.” The thought of being an ‘unfit’ member of society scarred Louie tremendously. After a failed runaway attempt “Louie went upstairs, dropped into bed, and whispered his surrender to Pete. He was going to be a runner and he was going to go all out” (16). At this point Louie could use his legs and resilience for something productive. In the face of fear and the pressure of his older brother, Louie excelled at running; using his stress to achieve something
Louie Zamperini went through more pain and suffering than most people will ever endure in their entire life. In the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis Zamperini was an Olympic runner. He was drafted during World War II . During the war, his plane crashed in the middle of the ocean and he was stranded with little resources to survive. This book follows his incredible story battling starvation and abuse in Prisoner of War camps (POW).
As Helen Keller once quoted, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken tells the life story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini. Through his troubles as a child, emerged a strong-willed Olympic runner, who later became a military aviator. He was lost at sea and then captured by the Japanese as a prisoner of war. He endured years of abuse and suffering but still managed to stay true to who he was.
Unbroken The author wrote this story to inform the reader of the life of Louis Zamperini, while also telling the story in an entertaining way. Hillenbrand demonstrated the main idea throughout the book by using rhetorical devices such as diction, syntax, imagery, and tone. Hillenbrand’s use of these rhetorical devices contribute to the book Unbroken by emphasizing the main character, Louis “Louie” Zamperini’s, life before, during, and after becoming a prisoner of war.
Unbroken Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Unbroken, wrote the book about Louis Zamperini’s fight to survive though tortured, beaten, and a barrage of gunfire. After surviving a plane crash in the middle of the ocean, where he spent forty-seven days slowly dying of intense hunger and thirst, the book shows Louis Zamperini’s quick wit and will to survive despite being tormented as a Japanese POW (prisoner of war). The author uses rhetorical devices such as syntax, diction, imagery, and tone to amplify certain moments, Hillenbrand uses imagery to convey the scene and appeal to the reader’s senses and uses precise diction to elaborate on certain scenarios. She uses tone to convey the characters’ attitudes and to give the feel of certain moment.
Unbroken is the best word that can be used to describe Louie Zamperini. In the book Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, there are three other adjectives that can be used to describe Louie Zamperini, the main character. These adjectives are determined, compassionate, and defiant. These attributes can be proven through not only Louie’s actions, but his thoughts as well. These are the three different characteristics of Louie.
Louie went through many hardships during, and after the prison camp. Through the whole time, though, Louie was resilient and strong. He was making a positive situation out of a negative one. Louie’s experiences show how humanity can learn from their difficult experiences and use that knowledge to help others
Unbroken, is a story about Louis Zamperini who has has survived many war battles. Louis has gone to war and survived, then was called back to keep fighting; however, this time, their plane crashed, and he landed in the middle of the ocean on a raft he had with him. Throughout all of this, Louis was brave and resilient to be able to stay alive in the ocean for 40 days. In Unbroken, by Hillenbrand, Louis had fought to stay alive after a rough patch in his life, and shows the audience that overcoming obstacles makes people better and stronger in the end.
The American politician, diplomat, and activist Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built”. In the Biography Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand, the main character, Louis Zamperini, sets a great example to represent this quote. Louis shows his confidence by once the “bad kid”, soon Louie realizes he needs to change his ways with the help of his brother, Pete. As a soldier in World War II, he faced many challenges with his crew and within himself. Over time
I truly think of this book as a story about war, survival, and
By being beaten and enslaved through no fault of his own, this was a very trying time for him. Louie shows his agency by reminding himself constantly that he can be stronger than Watanabe and not bend to his will. He shows this with the quote “All he knew was a single thought: he cannot break me”(Hillenbrand 213). Louie’s rebellious side was also shown in his time in the camps, forming a meeting with other officers to capture and kill Watanabe. He shows his rebellious side against Watanabe as well when he, within the previously mentioned group,
“Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man 's soul in his body long past the point when the body should have surrendered it” (Hillenbrand 189). In the novel Unbroken, written by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis “Louie” Zamperini goes through several life-threatening experiences. After being a troublemaker as a child, and an Olympic athlete, Louie straps up his boots and becomes a bombardier for the Army Air Corps. After a traumatizing crash and a forty-six day survival at sea, Louie is taken captive by Japanese officials.
War Combat, loyalty, enmity, bloodshed, and duty, all words that fit under the category of war. The novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini a strong willed man raised in Torrance, California. He started as a young troublemaker until he discovered his passion for running in high school. That very passion led him to compete in the Olympics. Later he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, a brave decision that would change his life.
Kiowa, Ted Lavender, and Jimmy Cross are three very different people who were brought together to fight for a common purpose. They not only carried their own belongings, but each other too. This story shows how war can affect people and tells of the burdens that weigh soldiers down for a
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” demonstrates the personal growth of the dynamic protagonist Louise Mallard, after hearing news of her husband’s death. The third-person narrator telling the story uses deep insight into Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts and emotions as she sorts through her feelings after her sister informs her of her husband’s death. During a Character analysis of Louise Mallard, a reader will understand that the delicate Mrs. Mallard transforms her grief into excitement over her newly discovered freedom that leads to her death. As Mrs. Mallard sorts through her grief she realizes the importance of this freedom and the strength that she will be able to do it alone.
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