Analysis

The most unique aspect of Louie’s vision of “singing in the clouds” is the way in which Hillenbrand retells this sequence of events. Up to this point and later in the biography, Hillenbrand freely colors events with her opinions about them. For example, when she relates statistics about the war, moments in battle, problems with government bureaucracies, and the cruel taskmasters in the POW camps, she expresses her opinions in no uncertain terms.

Writing about Louie’s vision, though, Hillenbrand-as-the-biographer draws back, aloof. This whole sequence reads more like a recitation of data than the intimate storytelling style she’s displayed up to this point. Is Louie’s vision a hallucination brought on by deprivation? Is it an actual, angelic appearance sent to strengthen the castaways’ faith? Hillenbrand clearly doesn’t want to make a judgment one way or the other. This is an interesting departure for her, and effective, because it forces the reader to make the judgment that Hillenbrand won’t make.