Pete Zamperini Character Analysis in Unbroken

Louie’s older brother, Pete is always responsible and mature. As a boy, Pete was wise beyond his years, guiding Louie out of his youthful rebellion, focusing Louie towards the running careers that would ultimately bring Louie to the 1936 Olympics. During the war, Pete’s unshakable optimism makes him believe that his younger brother is still alive.

Pete Zamperini Quotes in Unbroken

The Unbroken quotes below are all either spoken by Pete Zamperini or refer to Pete Zamperini. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Random House edition of Unbroken published in 2010.

He found himself thinking of Pete, and of something that he had said as they had sat on their bed years earlier: A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain. Louie thought: Let go.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 35

Explanation and Analysis:

Pete Zamperini Character Timeline in Unbroken

The timeline below shows where the character Pete Zamperini appears in Unbroken. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...darkness of an August 1929 morning, Louis “Louie” Zamperini, then twelve-years-old, and his older brother Pete watch the German airship, the Graf Zeppelin, pass over their house. The size of two... (full context)

Pete Zamperini, Louie’s older brother by two years, was everything Louie was not. Pete treated adults... (full context)

Hoping sports will channel Louie’s energies into a more socially acceptable activity, Pete convinces him to join the track team. Louie only agrees so that he can impress... (full context)

...else live in absolute poverty. His parents welcome him home and he begins training with Pete in earnest. (full context)

Also falling behind, Louie remembers advice that Pete gave to him as a boy: a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of... (full context)

...bombardier. After graduating from training, he drives to Torrance to say goodbye to his family. Pete, a navy chief petty officer in San Diego, comes home to see his brother off.... (full context)

Training naval recruits in San Diego, Pete feels the stress of not knowing about Louie’s situation wearing on him and he travels... (full context)

...paper to ask them not to print the notice. In the Zamperini household, Anthony and Pete make plans during family meals to search the islands of the Pacific after the war,... (full context)

...likely alive. Hearing this news, Louise and Sylvia dissolve into tears and shouts of joy. Pete calls Louie’s friend Payton Jordon and shouts into the phone: “Payt! He’s alive!” (full context)

Louie travels to a military hospital in San Diego where he meets Pete, who looks gaunt and haggard from the stress of worrying about Louie for all these... (full context)