Sloan 1

Chris. Sloan
Mr. Price
English 11
Period 6
December 12th, 2013
Unbroken Summary
Louie Silvie Zamperini was born in Orlean, New York on January 26th, 1917. Louie's family,
Italian immigrants, moved to Torrance California in 1919 because of Louie's pneumonia, a type of lung
infection. When the family arrived in Torrance they werent exactly welcomed with open arms. The
locals were quite racist and were often disrespectful to the Italian Immigrants.
Louie was a complete misfit and often got himself into trouble around town. The local law
enforcement knew him by name and Louie often got into trouble with the law. Louie's family was
extremely poor, he was often picked on and bullied as a result. He quickly turned from the bullied to
the bully after his father taught him to box. He would often steal from other people and instigate fights
with other boys in the neighborhood.
Things started to improve for Louie after his brother convinced him to try out for the track and
field team. Louie quickly realized that he had a knack for track and with the help of his brother Pete he
started to get noticed for his running skills. He sets multiple records for high school track and field,
most notably the record for the fastest high school mile in the country at the time, a lightening fast
4:21.3 mile. He went on to compete in the 1936 Berlin olympics and got a respectable 7th place.
When World War II erupted in 1939 Louie was drafted into the Air Force. Louie was a member
of the 372nd squadron and was a crew member of a B-24 plane by the name of Superman. He quickly
became best friends with the pilot Russell Allen Phillips. Louie along with the 372nd squadron went on
many successful missions and were enjoying their new life in the Air Force. Things however took a

turn for the worse when the engine in Louie's plane failed, leaving him stranded at sea for 47 days. He
floated ashore at the Marshal Islands and was captured by the Japanese and was sent to a prison camp.
Prison camp was living hell for Louie. He was very defiant which quickly earned the attention
of the camp guards. One guard in particular, known as The Bird made sure that Louie suffered as
much as possible in the form of beatings and hard manual labor. After what seemed like eternity to
Louie he was released from the camp as World War II drew to a close.
When he arrived back to the States Louie moved back to California where he grew up. He was
seen as a hero by people around him for his involvement in the war and the suffering he endured. The
years of imprisonment took its toll however. Louie suffered from severe PTSD throughout the rest of
his life and had constant flash backs to his days as a POW. He decided he wanted to make a difference
for boys like himself and he decided to open a camp for troubled boys. The name of this camp was
Victory Boys Camp. Louis Zamperini is still alive and well today at the age of 96.

Sloan 2
Chris Sloan
Mr. Price
English 10
Period 6
December 12th, 2013
Unbroken Analysis
Unbroken, is a powerful story about a rebellious misfit by the name of Louis Silvie
Zamperini who turns his life around with the help and motivation of his brother Pete.
Unfortunately his life takes a dramatic turn when he is drafted into the Air Force and ends up
as a POW in a Japanese prisoner camp. This gripping and powerful story shows that you can
overcome anything if you put your mind to it.
I had several first impressions of this book. This was my first time reading a book
written by this author so I really had no idea what to expect. Im glad to report that this book
lived up to the hype of the person who recommended it to me. He couldn't say enough good
things about it, which is one of the reasons I decided to read it for my book report. It also
motivated me to read it all the way through because he told me that it had a few surprise
twists, and he wasn't kidding. I think the book had a number of valuable messages in it, like
never giving up and the importance of dedication. I also found the book enjoyable and easy to
read since it was published recently and the vocabulary it used was easy to understand.
This book would fall under the category of Nonfiction prose. This is the case because
the book is based off of true events that actually happened. More specifically this book would
be classified as a nonfiction piece of American literature due to its focus on World War II.
The book makes use of multiple literary techniques to tell the story. The literary
techniques used in this book include metaphor,onomatopoeia,simile, and theme. Metaphors

are used multiple times throughout the book. A good example of a metaphor used in the book
is when Louie refers to the B-24 as a The flying coffin. Onomatopoeia are also used quite
often. For example, when Louie is describing the aircraft he talks about the growl of the
heavy aircraft. Similes are also used often in the book. A good example of this is when Louie
talks about how sharkskin is about as easy to cut as a coat of mail. Last but not least, the
book has a theme. The theme that is seen throughout the book is that you should never give
up, no matter the cost. The effective use of literary techniques in the book make the book
more enjoyable and interesting for the reader.
This book has taught me a number of valuable lessons. This book has a ton of
important messages about determination and dedication. It really showed me the effect
determination and dedication can have on you life. It showed that if you put your mind to
something you can succeed. Analyzing it has definitely increased my enjoyment. By analyzing
the story you really start to understand the message the author is trying to send to the reader.
If I were writing a review for this book I would definitely give it an A. The story is just so
powerful and so inspirational that I would absolutely recommend it to anyone. It Is also a page
turner. The suspense in some of the chapters is so insane it was extremely hard to put the
book down. While I haven't read any of the authors other books, this book has made me very
interested in the authors other work. The writing in the book is phenomenal and the story is so
well put together.
All in all,Unbroken is an amazing piece of literature. It contains many valuable
messages about determination and dedication. It encourages the reader to never give up, just
like Louie did. Unbroken is without a doubt an extraordinary book and has a very memorable
and powerful tory.