Analysis

This time, Hillenbrand treats Louie’s description of heavenly singing only briefly but with more empathy, emphasizing how it brings Louie new hope. Perhaps this otherworldly singing is simply another hallucination. Or perhaps real angels are taking the time to sing comfort and hope to Louie in his personal hell. Regardless, this is the last time Louie will experience any kind of near-miracle until the final days of the war.

Additionally, in this chapter, Hillenbrand begins to focus more deeply on the theme of dignity as essential to human life. “To be deprived of it is to be dehumanized,” she writes. Hillenbrand will return to this theme often.