Unbroken Quotes

The American baseball player and coach John Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen”. In the nonfiction novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis Zamperini demonstrates his cleverness when he pulled himself out of countless life-threatening situations, such as devising a plan to capture sharks, that would prove to be the end for most others. Louie made the most out of what little resources he had and paid attention to the details that would help him in the future. Even in the grips of death, Louie used his quick wit to bring himself back to the land of the living and keep himself going.

During the first few chapters of the book, Louie both acted like and was seen as a criminal because of his delinquent nature, and because he used his cleverness in a destructive manner. Although his cleverness was used to swiftly and effectively steal, the objects he stole were
Louie later described his ordeals through a single, well thought sentence, “”If I knew I had to go through those experiences again,’ he finally said, ‘I’d kill myself’” (328). Even though his struggles during the war had left it’s mark, coming home wasn’t any easier and caused his wit to soon leave him in a drunken and abusive state. Later Louie redeems himself and his cleverness soon returns to him. In Louie’s later years Pete recognizes that his brother’s cleverness still served him just as well by telling a few onlookers, “‘Why the h*** are you trying to help him?’” (392).

After reading the biography of Louie Zamperini’s life by Laura Hillenbrand, it’s obvious Louie’s ingenuity carried him through many obstacles. His cleverness to conquer insurmountable challenges proved to audiences that an ordinary man can transform into the hero of his own