TOW #4

         The first words Laura Hillenbrand writes in the book Unbroken pull the reader in. Before the book even began, her dedication was adressed to "The wounded and the lost" (Hillenbrand). Immediately I was intruiged. Next came the preface, which jumped right into the middle of the story, telling readers how Zamperini had been stranded among miles of ocean for 27 days. The second page of the preface had me on the edge of my seat, for she wrote how they were finally discovered by a plane, after almost a month of barely surviving, only to find it was an enemy plane, who began to shoot at them. That was how the preface ended. The next page was Part I, talking about Louie Zamperini's childhood. By including such an intruiging preface, I was eager to read on. This is a stretagy the author uses throughout her book. By including a large amount of suspense in Unbroken, Hillenbrand engages readers and demonstrates that people can overcome the hardest obstacles in life and achieve greatness. Because she uses so much excitement and suspese, Unbroken reaches a very large audience. It is not limited to only people who enjoy war stories, because this biography is much more than that. It tells the personal struggles of an individual, and the crazy events in his life. It can appeal to anyone who is old enough to understand the language.
         Louie Zamperini, the person Unbroken is based around, is a main demonstration of someone who was able to overcome obstacles to reach greatness. The beginning parts of the book focus on his childhood, before he was even part of World War II. As a young child, Louie was the face of misbehavior. He continuously robbed stores and people's homes for food, got in fights with other kids, and made trouble at school. This went on for years, with his parent's and teacher's numerous attempts to tame him having no affect. Most people began to give up hope for Louie, expecting him to grow up a failure. However one day, his older brother Pete, marched into the principles office and demanded his brother an opportunity on a sports team. He said he believed that Louie would stop his behavior if he began to recieve positive reenforcement rather than the negative punishments he had been recieving his whole life. Pete convinced Louie to join the track team. The first race Louie ran, he came in last, and shamefully tried to quit the team. But Pete urged him to continue, making him train countless hours a day. Soon, Louie was the best high school track star there was, breaking records left and right. It wasn't long until he was racing for a spot on the olympic team. Hillenbrand writes, "With heads thrown back, legs pumping out of sync, Louie and Lash dove fo the tape. With just a few yards remaining, Lash began inching up, drawing even. The two runners, legs rubbery with exhaustion, flung themselves past the judges in a dinish so cloes, Louie later said, "you couldn't put a hair between us'" (Hillenbrand 26). The suspense she created in this sentence not only kept the readers engaged and curious to see who won the race, but showed how far Louie had come. 20 pages earlier, Louie was a trouble maker with no hope for a future. Now he was one of the most beloved members of his town, and was head to head in a race with Lash, the best runner in the nation. Not to mention that Lash was 26 while Louie was a mere 19. Hillenbrand utilizes the use of suspense in her writing in order to create a sense of desperation in Louie, and to show how he can overcome obstacles. Although I have not finished the book yet, it seems very clear that this style of writing will be consistent throughout the book.

Zamperini and Lash in the final qualifying race for the Olympics