Looking back at the book the most disturbing and horrifying, yet most interesting part for me was when Louie was deemed responsible for the thieves that stole a fish from the bucket, even though the other men confessed and he had nothing to do with it. I think this part of the book stuck out the most to me because I found the extreme hatred by the Japanese hard to believe, and the passage itself hard to read. The book states, "His punishment: Each enlisted man would punch each officer and thief in the face, as hard as possible... The beating went on for some two hours, the Bird watching with fierce and erotic pleasure" (Hillenbrand 290). Basically, each man in the barracks was forced to punish Louie and the other men in the face as hard as they could or else face a beating. Then at the end the officers clubbed each man twice in the back of the head. Wade estimated that they men were hit some 220 times. After reading a NY Post article I realized that the number of blows could have been a bit exaggerated. The number however, was still extremely large and the reason behind it still makes no sense, which is why I found it to be the most interesting passage for me. So now I'd like to know... What was your favorite passage or part of the book? What did you find to be the most unbelievable?
Link to the NY Post Article: http://nypost.com/2014/12/21/is-all-of-the-powerful-tale-unbroken-really-true/
That passage stood out to me as well. It also made me feel bad for the enlisted man who were against Bird's command.The enlisted men who refused Bird's command were beaten and forced to punch the chosen men until Bird was satisfied. The parts of the book I found most unbelievable and disturbing were the parts that talked about the weight loss and food rations the POW were given. The rations were continually decreased. The men were "so thin and sick" (Hillenbrand 296). Despite their horrible physical state caused by the lack of food, the POW were stilled worked and beaten to their breaking point. As the war continued on, the men became even thinner. Even some of the Japanese civilians were starved from the lack of food. The link below has a picture from the book of American POWs after they were released. It is disturbing to see how unhealthy they look because of the poor treatment they received in the camps and the inadequate rations they were given.
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