Louis Zamperini was admirable to me from the moment I begun the novel “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. From the start of the novel, his mischief and his title as a “one boy insurgency” (44) intrigued me. As the novel progressed, his treatment of other characters is what begun to stand out to me. While on a raft with two other man, he consistently puts their lives before his own, even failing to get mad at his companion Mac when he awoke to find all of their food gone and in Mac’s stomach. He gives Mac some of the minuscule water he has and is always trying to stimulate Mac’s brain to stop him from going crazy. Although his efforts to save Mac don’t end up working, from the moment that Louis takes over control of their raft to the moment they land on Japanese soil, he doesn’t let the others down. His determination as a runner showed through and is the reason him and Phil survived, and therefore I greatly approve of his treatment of other people.
I also agree with you about Louis’ treatment of others. Throughout the novel, Louis is very selfless. A lot of times when people are in life or death situations, they focus on what has to be done to keep themselves alive, and this selfishness is greatly accepted because people know that it is what needs to be done. However, even in the worst moments, Louis does not revert to thinking of himself like the moment you pointed out on the raft. Another situation that largely stuck out to me that depicts Louis selflessness is when Harris was reunited with Louis after being transferred from Ofuna to the Omori POW camp. Harris had been beaten many times in Ofuna and the Omori POW doctor said that Harris was dying. That day, the storehouse was opened and Red Cross Boxes were handed out. Louis, who was already majorly malnourished from living on a raft for over a month and receiving little food in the camps gave his box to Harris: “Giving the box to Harris was, Louie would say, the hardest and easiest thing he ever did. Harris rallied.” (272)
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