Pathos is arguably the most used rhetoric form in Hillenbrand's Unbroken. Examples of emotional appeal can be seen in every chapter. Even the Wall Street Journal agrees, they say, "Extraordinarily moving... a powerfully drawn survival epic." Throughout Unbroken, many emotions are evoked, mainly disgust and hope.
Disgust and Horror
"Watanabe beat POWs every day, fracturing their windpipes, rupturing their eardrums, shattering their teeth, tearing one man's ear half off, leaving me unconscious."
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This quote superbly demonstrates the horrid conditions and intentions of Watanabe. This makes the audience feeling disgust towards Watanabe. Readers understand that no one should be treated the way that POWs were during this time. A profound disapproval is felt in the audience towards Watanabe and his actions.
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"And then, all at once, the ocean erupted. There was a deafening noise, and the rafts began hopping and shuddering under the cast-aways. The gunners were firing at them. Louie, Phil and Mac clawed for the raft walls and threw themselves overboard. They swam under the rafts and huddled there, watching bullets tear through the rafts and cut bright slits in the water around them. Then the firing stopped." (Pages 161-162)
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This quote evokes pure horror into the reader. Readers are on the edge of their seats while reading this event take place. Imagine being under a raft being shot by enemy soldiers, would you not fear for your life? This event could be horrifying and traumatic to anyone. Hillenbrand makes sure to emphasize the details in the scene to make the audience feel scared for them.
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"one of the POWs had scraped a message: 98 US P.W. 5-10-43 These murders were the first applications of what would come to be known as the 'kill all' rule." (Page 204)
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This quote brings the feeling of disgust to the audience. The "kill all" rule implied that all Prisoners of War (POWs) would be executed if they lost the war, which they did. This repulsive move by the Japanese invokes disgust towards Japanese in the audience.
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Hope
"At POW Camp 10-D, on the far side of the mountains by Hiroshima, prisoner Ferron Cummins felt a concussion roll down from the hills, and the air warmed strangely. He looked up. A fantastically huge, roiling cloud, glowing bluish gray, swaggered over the city. It was more than three miles tall. Below it, Hiroshima was boiling." (Page 306)
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Hillenbrand's description of Hiroshima in Cummins' eyes makes the audience have hope for the protagonist they have been following for the duration of the book. Most readers of the book have an understanding of the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Readers can usually infer that the war is now over. This causes the readers to have hope for Louie and the POWs because Japan has lost the war. Louie could soon be free.
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"Though Phil was constantly wondering how long this would go on, it had not yet occurred to him that they might die. The same was true for Louie. Though the both knew that they were in an extremely serious situation, both had the ability to warn fear away from their thoughts, focusing instead on how to survive and reassuring themselves that things would work out."
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This quote from the book from Louie and Phil's perspective shows the audience the never-ending theme of hope. It is inspirational towards the reader to have hope for these two men. It shows how they were able to have hope in the most treacherous of times. Louie and Phil persevere through the bad thoughts to arise with hope. The audience, at this point in the book, has somewhat of an attachment to the characters and to see that the characters still resonate good thoughts, it gives the readers hope for the future of these men.
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Background Picture borrowed from Yahoo Entertainment. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/unbroken-japan-miyavi-controversy-more-than-two-104918821282.html