TOW #16 - IRB

Getting through the rest of Unbroken was a bit harder than I expected over the past few weeks because of midterms and other tests, as well as this weekend's blizzard. To make the situation worse, the second half of Unbroken was far less exciting than the first in my opinion. While Louie's camp was liberated and he was sent home at the end of World War II, gets married, and has a religious awakening, there was a considerably smaller amount of action. Nevertheless, the second half of Unbroken is undoubtedly the more important one. During his time in the concentration camps, he is constantly beaten by the relentless Watanabe, the concentration camp warden. However, during one of his punishments in which he had to hold a heavy wooden beam over his head, Louie is victorious in this psychological battle between him and Watanabe by refusing to be proven weak. This climactic point substantiates the title, Unbroken, by showing his mental and physical resilience, even after everything he went through. On several occasions, Laura Hillenbrand, the author, explains that the key to survival through such difficult times is through the preservation of human dignity. She illustrates with Louie’s story that the men that had maintained their humanity and dignity, despite horrific inhumane treatment, were the ones that had a much stronger chance of survival. Long after the body was physically capable of staying alive, Louie, along with other men, managed to survive through little rebellious acts, which kept their spirits unbroken and thus, their individuality intact. Louie acquired a journal and pencil from another captive of Yokohama, and he admitted that “this small declaration of self a great deal” to him (204). Mac, the third crash survivor on the life raft, did not survive at sea, despite eating all of the survival chocolate. He remained sullen and quiet, and at times, gave up hope. His example strengthens Hillenbrand’s thesis, that a fighting spirit that remains unbroken can survive anything.