Book 4 Reflection

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand:  5 Reasons Why Louis Zamperini is a Great Hero

                In the remarkably true story of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand we are told the life story of an amazing heroic figure.  Louis Zamperini went from a juvenile delinquent, to an Olympic runner, and eventually became part of the Air Force.  He crashed in Japanese territory and suffered through unimaginable hardships.  Pushing through the most dismal of circumstances, Louis Zamperini’s life is extremely fascinating and shows the reader the true definition of a hero. 

1:  A Poor Upbringing:

                One reason that Louie’s character is so heroic is that his life did not begin so heroically.  He was the son of two Italian immigrants and grew up in a very needy household.  The narrator describes the house as, “a one-room shack with no running water, an outhouse behind, and a roof that leaked so badly that they had to keep buckets on the beds”(5).  From this we can tell that Louie’s extraordinary life was not handed to him.  He truly had to strive to make it as an Olympic runner and managed to do so despite difficult circumstances. 

2:  Turning Life Around:

                Another exemplification that Louis is a true hero is that he changed the course of his life.  Up until Louie was a young teen he got into lots and lots of trouble. He stole, beat people up, and had failing grades.  With much help from his brother, but also with a lot of perseverance with himself, Louie changed his ways and became a much better person.  A quote that explains Zamperini before he changed his ways is, “He stole a neighbor’s coffee percolator tube, set up a sniper’s nest in a tree, crammed pepper- tree berries into his mouth, spat them through the tube, and sent the neighborhood girls running” (7).  As a young boy, Louie made questionable choices, but because he later became a more respectable person proves him to be an even better hero. 

3:  Amazing Ability:

                Louie also had a marvelous talent for running.  He did practice tons and tons, but even just naturally he was pretty much unstoppable.  For example, when we hear that Zamperini is going to the Berlin Olympics we are told, “Louie Zamperini was on his way to Germany to compete in the Olympics in an event that he had only contested four times.  He was the youngest distance runner to ever make the team”(28).  In this sentence we discover that Louie is going to compete at something that he has only done four times in his whole entire life.  That is a nearly impossible accomplishment that proves Zamperini just had raw, natural talent.  A character trait of most heroes is that they have a specific and unbeatable ability, of which Louie definitely possesses. 

4:  Going Through Dire Circumstances:

                When Louie is captured by the Japanese he goes through a gloomy chain of events.  Even though he had to go through so many terrible things Zamperini still got through it after all of his family members had given up hope of seeing him again.  An example of Louie’s hardships is, “Every few days, he had strange visits from a grinning sailor who would lean into the room and say, ‘Thump on the head for a biscuit?’ rap his knuckles on Louie’s head, hand him a biscuit, and amble away”(196.)  This quote illustrates a weird and uncomfortable situation that the soldier went through while he was captured.  Prevailing through hard times is another heroic characteristic that Louie definitely has.    

5:  Surviving Deadly Occurrences:

                The final characteristic of a hero is that they live through something that the average person wouldn’t be able to.  Zamperini lives through multiple things throughout his life that could have very easily turned deadly.  “The first weeks Louie spent in Naoetsu were almost lethally cold…The drinking water, which the POWs had to haul in on sleds, was yellow and reeked”(284).  This piece of evidence proves that Louie survived feats that were basially impossible.  So many people died during this time and the fact that Louie lives makes him hands down, a hero. 

                Wherever you look inside Unbroken there is evidence that Louis Zamperini is an outstanding human being.  On every page there are countless examples and countless reasons that illustrate how triumphant and heroic Louis is.  Because Louis persevered to do things the average person couldn’t do is the whole reason the book was even published.  If Louis Zamperini wasn’t a great hero we would’ve never heard his story.  And his story is definitely one that should be heard.