Summary and Analysis Part V Chapter 37: Twisted Ropes

Analysis

Louie’s spiritual and emotional torment grows only worse. The Bird was an ever-present evil during Louie’s captivity. Now, after the war’s end, The Bird still haunts the former POW’s thoughts and dreams.

Like many lost souls, Louie directs his anger toward the trappings of God. He divorces himself from religion and demands his wife do the same. He fills his emotional need with dependence on alcohol and becomes consumed with rage and thoughts of murderous revenge. In this lost state, he becomes a danger to himself and to his pregnant wife. It appears as though Louie Zamperini has become irredeemable.