Rhetorical Techniques Used In Unbroken

Well-known nonfiction author Laura Hillenbrand, in her best-selling biography, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, describes the chilling reality faced by those living in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. As the title suggests, this is not the typical World War II tale of hardship that ends in liberation; rather, it follows the main character, Louis “Louie” Zamperini, through his childhood, Olympic performances, and military career leading up to his captivity, as well as his later marriage and many years of healing. Hillenbrand's purpose is to impress upon her readers the scale of this tragedy as well as remind them of the horror that so many nameless soldiers endured. She adopts an emotional yet straightforward tone in order to get readers to sympathize with the characters and truly understand what they went through. To do so, she manages to make the unique story of one man represent the thousands of others going through the same tragedy.

The American industrialist Henry Ford once said, “ Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes of bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character , and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.” In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, the fearless Louis Zamperini epitomized Ford’s words when, he survived imprisonment for over 2 years only after his World War II bomber crashed into the middle of the Pacific . Thankfully Louie’s fearlessness helped him return home and share his story with the world.

World War II had a lasting impression on not only the countries but on the soldiers and people as well. POWs and internees had to experience things that would make a grown man cringe in fear. In the stories ”Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, and “Manzanar” by Jenne Houston Wakatsuki, tells the tragic story of how these men are stripped away of their human rights. As they try to struggle their way out of insanity, their stories will forever echo in history to show the outcome of war.

Beginning my love of reading an early age, I was never the type of child who was drawn to fictional stories. As an 8 year-old child in West Virginia, I was recognized by the local library for my love of biographies, autobiographies and recollections of world events. This love has continued throughout my adult life, desiring to read novels such as “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young” by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore rather than watch the major motion picture “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson. Even though the motion picture received multiple awards, when reading the recollection of Mr. Moore’s accounts, the feeling of loss, distress, anxiety and fear can be felt in each word that he has written while reliving this horrendous war.

Even when the weight of the world is coming down and doubt is setting in, there still are powers to help carry on. Louie Zamperini, a famous Olympic athlete, was dragged down to a low level when he was captured by Japanese forces and suffered under horrendous conditions in the many POW camps he stayed at. Throughout all of life’s trials, he survived, due to his strong resilience and agency. He wanted to live, and even though he may have wanted to give up, he had plenty of things to live for. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses both internal and external conflict to show the theme that people can stand up against enemies even when the odds seem stacked up against them.

Laura Hillenbrand’s biography titled Unbroken recounts the life of Louie Zamperini and major events that occurred throughout it. Hillenbrand’s purpose was to emphasize the inspirational story of heroic Zamperini as he qualified and participated in the Olympics, as well as describe the endless struggle of pain in the plane crash and in the Japanese POW camps. She also portrays the importance of dignity and resilience and how without it, the chances of surviving the cruel events Louie experienced during World War II would have been minimal.

Hillenbrand tells the life of Zamperini’s humble beginning in Southern California from being a dangerous young kid and becoming an Italian-American Olympic runner, with help and encourage of his brother Pete Zamperini. After the Olympics, Zamperini join the Army Air Forces, where he became a pilot. He went on to fly on several combat missions, until 1943, when Zamperini’s B-24 bomber crashed into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Him and two members survived, the pilot Russell Phillips, the tail gunner, Francis McNamara. McNamara died on their 33rd day at the sea, and on the 47th day Japanese sailors picked up Zamperini and Phillips. Over two-and-a-half years Zamperini was a P.O.W. until he was rescue by Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After his rescue he became and alcoholic, until he had the strength to forgive what he had suffer.

Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand tells the story of a boy named Louis Zamperini. Who in spite of great challenges, manages to rise to the occasion during a time of war. My late grandfather, Robert J. Randle fought in that very same war. Although he is not able to tell me himself what the war was like and what he had done, I was able to find evidence of his most prestigious accomplishments. Much like Louis, Robert was unmoving in the face of adversity.

To begin, the elements of tone and mood work together to reveal and support the message of survival and struggle. In the novel, Chiger uses descriptive details and her thoughts and attitudes toward the situation that she was placed into set the tone. She describes and explains the agony, hatred, and hopelessness she and others felt in the sewers, revealing her bitterness for the sewers and the Nazis. Chiger also uses mood to present her messages by creating different moods around different characters, making some optimistic and hopeful while making others pessimistic and morose. “This was a reflection of their personalities: my father was gregarious and personable; Weiss was gruff and miserable” (Chiger 107). This is relatable because some people may have disparate attitudes toward a negative situation, and each person may have a different demeanor or mood in response to it. Chiger conveys her themes of struggle and survival through tone and mood, and makes it somewhat relatable.

What would you have done if you were stranded on a raft with two other men for 44 days with provisions to last less than 3 days? This is one of the easiest things Louie Zamperini had to endure in “Unbroken”, by Laura Hillenbrand. The most important thing to be learned from the life of Louis Zamperini is to never crack under pressure, because of his survival on a raft, how he withstood the cruelty of the bird, and how he survived through the torture of Japanese POW camps.

Former major league baseball player Tommy Lasorda once said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, Louie Zamperini demonstrates this quote with his determination to survive the challenges he faced before, during, and after the war. This determination helped Louie face and overcome the challenges presented to him during the war.

Unbroken: The many faces of Louie Zamperini A man faces hunger, dehydration, diseases, and worst of all the loss of his family. In the novel, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie Zamperini faces monstrous situations as he tries to survive in inhumane conditions during Word War II. During his adventure, he displays many traits that shape the path of the story.

When Louie was young, he was a rebel, stealing liquor, and being the towns arch nemesis. Now Louie is a man, competing in the Olympics, and fighting for his country and even for his own life. Louie hadn’t listened to the police or anyone that tried to help him growing up. He had always broken laws, stolen from people, and drank liquor under bleachers trying to disguise it as milk. Every Time Louie had been caught by the police and had been brought home to his parents, Louie’s dad would hit him with a belt hoping that would teach him not to do it again. Unbroken, the book written by Laura Hillenbrand, focuses on parts of Louie Zamperini’s life who was a risk taker, and optimistic.

Winston Churchill once said,”success consists of going from failure without loss of enthusiasm.”Louie Zamperini, an outstanding olympian and WWll hero, keeps enthusiasm throughout his struggles and that is possibly what saved him. Louie Zamperini is portrayed in the novel Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, first as a young boy who smokes cigarettes, drinks, and takes his frustration out by fighting. In his twenties he goes to war, then returns a different man. Through his many years of suffering, it was hard but he became a better man for it.Louie Zamperini goes through a great deal of suffering in WWII which leads to him redeeming himself.

Unbroken by Laura Hilenbraud is the biography of Louis Zamperini, the book shows the limits to what a man will endure to survive against all odds to come home to his family. During World War two POW camps were used on both sides and at the time the vast Empire of Japan had signed the Geneva Conventions limiting the treatment of enemy combatants, many to all camps were subjected to inhumane conditions that the men who had to endure the atrocity’s fought every day to keep their dignity. Over the course of history, camps were used to hold enemy combatants who have surrendered.