69 pages • 2 hours read
Laura HillenbrandUnbroken
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Key Figures
Louie Zamperini
Hillenbrand presents the story of Louie Zamperini with a focus on his unique qualities and how these serve him throughout his life. As a child, he is described as resourceful, quick-witted, and creative. Although he demonstrated these qualities while being a public nuisance, the challenges that he faced were not a deterrent to his behavior; rather, he was “thrilled by the crashing of boundaries” (6). Eventually, Louie’s resourcefulness, wit, and creativity enabled him to survive his most difficult life experiences.
Early in the book, Hillenbrand parallels Zamperini’s child self with the man he became during World War II: “When history carried [Louie] into war, [his] resilient optimism would define him” (7). When Louie had yet to see conflict while enlisted in the Air Corps, his cheeriness manifested as practical jokes. When his life took a dramatic turn after the crash of the Green Hornet, his “resilient optimism” and his psychological strength kept him alive. His survival instinct strengthened as the living conditions and his mistreatment worsened during his imprisonment; Louie’s steely determination to live manifested as sheer defiance against his captors.
Despite Louie’s resilience, he was willing to seek help and acknowledge a dependence on others. Early on in the story, he “surrendered” to his brother, Pete, when his life was heading down the wrong path; at the possibility of dying of thirst, Louie pleaded to God to bring him out alive. He understood that at times, he could not survive on pure self-reliance.
Pete Zamperini
Louie’s big brother had a tremendously positive influence on his life, helping Louie turn things around at a crucial point. Pete was charming and well-liked as a youth. It was Pete’s faith in Louie and his belief that Louie could become something remarkable that encouraged Louie to change his path and, eventually, to become successful in his running career.
When Louie returned from his imprisonment in Japan, Pete was the first family member Louie saw, and the two spent time alone together for a few days before Louie returned home to his parents and sisters. Later in life, Louie was right beside Pete when Pete was dying, and Louie told him “of the cascade of good things that had followed Pete’s acts of devotion” (389). Louie’s best qualities – his resilience, strength, and belief in himself – had been nourished by Pete’s love for him.
Russell Allan Phillips (Phil)
Louie’s best friend was Phil, the pilot of the Superman crew. In many ways, Phil was Louie’s opposite; Phil had a “quiet steadiness” about him and shared a peaceful, spiritual devotion about which most of the other men did not know. Louie described him as “the kindest person he’d ever met” (58). This unlikely pair became very close friends, and together, they survived forty-six days at sea on the life raft. They took good care of each other: Louie nursed Phil’s head injury, and Phil sang church hymns to keep their hope alive. Both men told detailed stories to each other in order to keep their minds sharp.
When Phil and Louie were imprisoned, the two tried to keep each other in their sights to see how the other was doing. Even though they were separated during their time together in Ofuna, Louie knew that Phil was able to return home after the war’s end.
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