Louies Connection

Louie's love for running is displayed early on in the book and its a theme that is carried on for many chapters until he goes into the Air Force however; in chapter 7 a connection between the two is made. Hillenbrand writes, "In the greenhouse below, Louie felt the buzzing inside himself, the same sensation he felt before races" (78). In this moment Louie is able to connect his love for running and the sensation he gets before a race to the sensation he gets before attacking with his plane. I think this is a pivotal part of the book and anyone who reads the book should recognize this and make this connection. It really displays how he can connect two things he really enjoys, especially since being in the Air Force has to fill his void until he is able to run competively again.

Planes

Previously in chapter 1, Hillenbrand states, "Only one thing scared him, when Louie was in late boyhood a pilot landed a plane near Torrance and took Louie up for a flight... but the speed and altitude frightened him. from that day on he wanted nothing to do with airplanes" (7). Its amazing how people can change over time, Louie who was petrified of planes for most of his life, but then grew up to become a member of the Air Force never looking back once after making the decision. However; after reading page 67 I questioned if Louie still liked the decision he made. The book reads," Both crews went to their planes, but at the last minute, Phil's crew was ordered back. The other crew took off, flew two miles, and crashed, killing the pilot and navigator" (Hillenbrand 67).  That could have been Louie in that plane, he could have been the one killed if his plane had no gotten called back. After reading this I questioned whether Louie was still satisfied with choosing the Air Force or if he was reliving his childhood of being scared of planes and wishing he had chosen a different branch of the Army. Do you think Louie thought about the possibilities of that being him in the plane crash? Or do you think it went right over his head and didn't concern him because he is such a dare devil?

Wake Attack

(Wake Island burning after American bomb attacks)

After the American victory at Wake Island, many of the crew members become convinced that the war will end shortly and that it will be easy to defeat the rest of the Japanese. Louie is not as convinced of an easy and early win. One member, however, "predicted that Japan might be finished within the  year, and Phil overheard men talking about going home" (Hillenbrand 81). Many of the members are taking  a positive outlook on their position in the war. These Americans have a notable amount of hope, but they are also mistaken for thinking that winning the war will be an easy tasks. Most of the men are ignorant of how difficult it will be to achieve that. While it is good that the men show signs of having an incredible amount of hope, I wonder if their hope will begin to fade away as the war drags on, and they realize that fighting in a war is not as easy as they originally expected? Do you think it is better to be more aware of the actual reality of the war like Louie or to build a massive amount of hope and optimism like some of the other members do? 

Separation Difficulties

It is sad how separation from family during times of war is hard on a lot of characters in the book. Phillips, for instance, struggles to deal with his long distance relationship. Cecy and Phillips had plans to get married. While training for the war, however, Phillip "drifted into a troubled dream. In it, he came home from the war only to find the Cecy had given up" (Hillenbrand 68). Louie also struggles with being apart from his family. Louie "just missed Pete" (Hillenbrand 69). Pete was a major part of Louie's life in the beginning of the book, especially his running career. Now Louie rarely sees his brother who he used to see daily. It must be difficult for Louie and Pete to deal with separation emotions when they need to be focused on the war and protecting their own lives.

Super Man

After the attack on Nauru the B24 bomber Louie was in struggled to make it back to Funafuti. At one point they were being attacked and circled by three Japanese Zero planes. Incredibly, they fended off and shot down all three before returning to base. When they got back they examined the plane and determined how successful their mission was. The author writes, "There were 594 holes. All of the Naura bombers has made it back, every one of them shot up, but none as badly as this" (Hillenbrand 102). I think it is amazing that there were 594 holes in the plane and countless other issues, yet the plane continued to fly and land safely. I find it even more amazing, however, that every plane survived the trip and made it back to Funafuti. Considering the number of Zeros there were in the air and the bullets comming at the planes during the bombing, I cannot believe that none of them were shot down.

Green Hornet's Crash

When the Green Hornet crashes in the middle of the ocean during their search and rescue mission, Louie is trapped inside the plane and is quickly drowning. The author states, "He thought: This is death... Inexplicably, the wires were gone, as was the raft. He was floating inside the fuselage, which was bearing him toward the ocean floor, some seventeen hundred feet down" (Hillenbrand 120). I cannot imagine what Louie is going through at his point. He as seen hundred of people die around him during the war and now he believes it is his turn. It also says, "The air was gone from his lungs, and he was now gulping reflexively, swallowing salt water. He tasted blood, gasoline, and oil" (Hillenbrand 120). Even though I have never experienced the feeling of drowning or being in any sort of crash, I believe the combination of both probably caused Louie the worst pain he ever felt. He already passed out and has been unable to breath and how he is forced to sallow the salt water and fuel around him. This makes me wonder what the other ten men were going through as the plane crashed.

German Olympics

While Louie is racing in the 5,000-meter run at the German Olympics the book states that Hitler was watching the race and the two met afterwards. It states, "He heard a gathering roar and realized that the crowd had caught sight of his rally and was shouting him on. Even Hitler, who had been controlling himself in concert with the athletes, was watching him" (Hillenbrand 34). I could not imagine being in Louie's position and looking back at his time in Germany, now knowing all of the pain and number deaths Hitler caused. For Louie to have met such an infamous man prior to the start of World War II is amazing. Louie was able to experience Germany prior to the war and I can not imagine what the atmosphere must have been like. It is crazy to think that Louie met Hitler in Germany, then went on to be a solider against him in World War II.

Leading Up to Louie's Behavior

I feel Louie acted so rebellious was because of how he did not fit in. He was the odd kid, who never fit in with the others. He was held back a grade and soon bullies were drawn to him, "Bullies, drawn by his oddity and hoping to goad him into uttering Italian curses, pelted him with rocks, taunted him, punched him, and kicked him" (Hillenbrand 9). This made him tough. He just took it. He wouldn't cry or go tell on anyone. He just took it. I think this shows what kind of a person Louie is. He is a boy who won't show his pain. I think it will come in handy in the future. In the mean time, I think it is one reason why he began to act poorly. He soon learned to defend himself. That is where he took a turn. He soon became the bully, "He socked a girl. He pushed a teacher. He pelted a policeman with rotten tomatoes. Kids who crossed him wound up with fat lips, and bullies learned to give him a wide berth" (Hillenbrand 9). I feel like Louie was tired of letting it happen to him, he went to the extreme of doing it to others. If he wasn't bullied as a kid, he might have had different teenage years.

In part I chapter one on page 10, the first paragraph talks about how much Louie resembles his mother Louise. I found it very interesting how they both have such similar personalities and names and wondered if this was a coincidence or not, like if Louie was named after his mother. But I also questioned this because the book does talk about how Pete is also mischievous but just doesn't get caught, "' Pete never got caught," said Sylvia. "Louie always got caught"'( Hillenbrand 8). This made me wonder if Pete also retained  his mischievous ways from his mother.

Louis' use of of running begins to change as he evolves as a character. In the very beginning, Louis is constantly running from the mischief he gets himself into. After getting in trouble "he was often chased by people he had robbed" (Hillenbrand 6). Louis, however, turns running into a positive aspect of his life. Instead of running from trouble, he now runs with a purpose. He runs with the hopes of breaking records, succeeding in the Olympics, and for the pure love of the sport. The change in Louis' use of running is due to the admirable example and encouragement of his brother Pete. Even in the final round of the Olympics he finds himself thinking of advice his brother had given him. Pete had once told him that "a lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain" (35). Louis runs the fastest lap, breaking the former record because of his brother's encouragement. Do you think Louis owes all his success to his brother? How would Louis running career have been different if his brother was not a part of his life? And will Louis' use of running continue to change?