Unbroken Theme

After the plane crashed, it was not long until Louie and Phil noticed that Mac had eaten all the chocolate that was supposed to help them survive. “The realization that Mac had eaten their only food rolled hard over Louie. He knew they could die without it, but he quelled the thought”(107). This explains how Louie forgave Mac for eating the chocolate even though it made life harder. When they was stranded at sea with no water and no food, he prayed to the Lord to quench their thirst. “They bowed their heads together as Louie prayed. If God would quench their thirst, he vowed, he’d dedicate his life to him”(117). In order to dedicate his life to God, he would have to forgive himself for the wrong that he’d committed as a boy and as a man. When Louie was rescued from the POW camp, all he wanted was revenge on “The Bird”, but after attending a Billy Graham convention, he’d changed his mind on all of it. “But thoughts of murder no longer had a home in him”(217). He had finally let go of the hate he had toward “The Bird” and forgave him. It might have been difficult for Louie to get past the horrible things that had happened in his life, but he was the forgiving man that Hillenbrand described him to be in the

He lived in a tiny prisoner of war camp by the Japanese for two years being fed very little and often unfit things to eat in general. Harsh labor was forced upon him and the other prisoners which broke them down the very last bit. An old friend that Zamperini met during his time at the olympics ended up being on of the prisoner guards at his prisoner of war camp. He treated Louie awfully, beating him, scolding him and forcing pain upon him in multiple ways. However, Zamperini, being the strong, independent, and determined person that he is he persevered past him not matter what challenges he was thrown into. The Bird, was what Zamperini and the other men in the prisoner camps named his old friend that he met at the Olympics, he treated Zamperini awfully and made him hold a wooden beam over his head and if he dropped then he would be shot. In the novel the author writes about his experience while holding the beam “Louie locked his eyes on the Bird’s face, radiating hatred.”, he showed perseverance and determination in this quote because even though he was being threatened with his life he would not accept defeat from his enemies (Hillenbrand 301). When Zamperini was finally released home after World War II finally ended he was relieved yet still had horrible nightmares from his time spent on the prisoner camp island, Kwajalein. He was unable to overcome his fears

Pg 366 “The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come when they make their tormenters suffer. In seeking the Birds death to free him, Louie had chained himself once again, to his tyrant.”

Time ticked on, and still Louie remained in the same position, conscious and yet not, the beam over his head, his eyes on the Bird’s face, enduring long past when his strength should have given out. “Something went on inside of me,” he said later.

From when they first met to the end of the war, The Bird gave Louie just about the worst treatment possible. Louie, somehow never let the beatings get to him and cause him to lose dignity. When Louie was beaten he always got right back up. Louie knew that The Bird’s beating would get progressively worse until Louie finally showed weakness. Zamperini never showed his weakness though, and he paid the price of receiving horrible, violent

To start off, we will start to talk about Who is the caged bird and why. I think that according to the story, “The Long Walk Home”

What This Says About the Book: First, Louie forgave the Bird, next, Louie felt compassion for the Bird. But now, Louie has returned to where he suffered through the worst possible emotional and physical pain, and did not feel any of it return to him. It turns out that Louie’s “moment of pain” really did result in “a lifetime of glory.” It was nice to see the main theme introduced in the beginning of the book be concluded in the end.

Everyone encounters obstacles in life that they feel like they can't overcome. People that have 'resilience' can take these challenges head on, stay calm in any situation, and use their problem-solving skills to take advantage of the situation and get themselves out of it. In a section of "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand, a biography of war hero Louie Zamperini, Zamperini is adrift at sea after his bomber crashed in the ocean. He is left with just the remains of the plane and two others, Phil and Mac. Louie Zamperini's key characteristics of resilience and the differences between all three men allow them to overcome adversity, and Louie and Phil make it out alive.

Some believe that birds help express spiritual freedom and psychological liberation with the different colors of birds that are associated with various meanings; specifically the yellow bird means you should keep your guard up. In the novel, The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, John Bartle becomes guarded and isolated because of his internal battles created by his experiences from war. Bartle struggles with the lack of control he has over the events that happen to him in during his time in the military. He fights with his helplessness when he tries to transition to his lifestyle at home. He also cannot control how he changes as a person. When we think of war we think of the physical damage we see on the exterior but what we cannot see is the psychological damage in the interior of a person.

In the biography Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the story of an extraordinary man is unmasked. Louie Zamperini a World War II survivor who inspired others with his utmost resilience and redemption. In the poem If by Rudyard Kipling, it does not depict one individual from a crowd. It can used to represent anyone, who has shown the smallest amount of perseverance despite defeat. All things considered, in both Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and If by Rudyard Kipling, the themes of sanity, defeat, and self dignity are present.

Probably the most notable use of birds occurs when after ten years, Sula returns to the Bottom accompanied by a “plague of robins”(89). The word plague indicates that the birds represent a wave of sickness that Sula brings alongside her. The citizens of the Bottom recognize the birds as a sign of evil, but choose to accept its wickedness rather than try to rid of the robins. “But they let it run it’s course, fulfill itself, and never invented ways to either alter it, to annihilate it or to prevent its happening again. So also were they with people” (90). Here, Morrison is comparing the townspeople’s feelings both towards the evilness of the robins and towards the evilness of Sula. They welcome Sula’s return to the Bottom the same way they they welcome the birds. Sula’s personal experiences with wickedness are also acknowledged through the robins as Sula

Hillenbrand, L. (2010). Unbroken: A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption. New York: Random House.

During Louie’s time at the POW camp, one guard, called the Bird, was out to get him. Louie showed resilience in this trouble by speaking up to avoid getting himself and others hurt.

They thought it was over, that he was finished and done with, but failure was not an option for the “Brown Bomber”. “Champion of the world” is an excerpt from the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; written by Maya Angelou. This chapter/essay takes place in the late 1930s, before African Americans started their movement for equal civil rights. Maya Angelou was born in 1928, living through these times of civil inequalities, Angelou shares her personal experiences in this chapter. Angelou descriptive imagery, diction, and detail to recall her vivid memories of Joe Louis fighting as a symbol of hope for the black community. The apparent fear of Joe losing the fight demonstrates the desperation of the African American community to rise above the racism and inequality of the time.

his ego in his attempt to rescue the bird. The repetition of ‘I can’t get out’ over and over helps