Theme:
War is destructive both physically and mentally. POWs are treated very badly during wartime, especially in Japan. Even though Louie will be scarred mentally and physically forever, he is one of the lucky ones. In the book, 36,000 American POWs were taken by Japanese forces, and 12,000 of them died, resulting in almost a 50% death rate. Not to mention the mental trauma of seeing friends die while being unable to do anything. In comparison, only 1.4% of Americans held by the German army were killed. This is a significant number of lost lives, which has a profound impact on families. Setting aside the differences, these are still lost lives, and the killing of unarmed POWs is a war crime that should be prosecuted.
One famous example is Fred, an American soldier whose entire leg was sawed off by Japanese torturers, even though only his ankle was injured. During this period, Louie also experienced short-term PTSD from the regular beatings inflicted by The Bird. He developed alcoholism, abusive behavior, and a plan to murder The Bird. On page 137, The Bird ordered the officers to clean the toilet, a particularly degrading task. Another example of the cruelty of Japanese guards occurs on page 142, where The Bird beat Louie twice on the same spot that was injured, resulting in Louie becoming deaf in his left ear. On page 152, The Bird kept some of the POWs’ letters for months without sending them, torturing the feelings of the POWs. On page 186, a recording triggered Louie, bringing back his nightmares and showing how traumatized he is.
This illustrates that war is extremely destructive to human life and mental health. It also highlights how inhumane the Imperial Japanese Army was in its treatment of POWs from allied nations.
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