Unbroken

“Confident that he was clever, resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament, he was almost incapable of discouragement. When history carried him into war, this resilient optimism would define him.” 

This passage introduces the reader to Louie Zamberini, the subject of Hillenbrand’s biographical work Unbroken. Though Louie’s early life can be characterized by boundary-pushing and illegal behavior, the qualities that enabled him to get away with his youthful peccadillos served him well when he was an adult looking to survive the trials of World War II.

“A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain.”

As Louie trained to become an athlete of significant renown, his body endured pain. He realized that the exchange was, for him, worthwhile. His early acceptance of the pain linked with success foreshadows his ability to succeed later in life and endure great pain in order to be rewarded with survival.

“Life was cheap in war.” 

Early in their military career, Louie and his fellow airmen learned that many fatalities resulted merely from training exercises. Later, while prisoners at POW camps, Louie understood that fatalities were also commonplace in this particular context. When the war ends after the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is confirmed: during wartime, individual lives mean very little and death takes place in significant numbers everywhere.