Analysis

The postwar life of The Bird is interesting in that it doesn’t provide satisfying closure or any lasting judgment of the human embodiment of the figurative devil who wrecked Louie Zamperini’s life. The Bird escapes justice, living a quiet and simple life in rural Japan. He’s named a war criminal but avoids being captured—even once when in the same room as his pursuers. And events conspire to protect him as well: A dead body is declared to be his and ends the hunt for him even though he is still very much alive and well.