What does Louie’s experience demonstrate that makes him so inspirational to people who will never endure what he did

Without a doubt, Louie Zamperini has a will to survive that is stronger than that of the average person, enabling him to survive not one but several seemingly unsurvivable situations. In an interview many years after the War, Zamperini said that had he known what his life as a prisoner of war would be like, he would have killed himself before he was captured. This illustrates that the key to survival is hope. Survival as a theme runs throughout the book. After the Green Hornet crashes, Louie and Phil have a strong will to survive that not only carries them both forwards but carries forward the third surviving airman, Mac, as well. Mac's own will to survive is not as strong and he is wholly reliant on the mental stability and fortitude of his crewmates. Louie's will to survive seems to rest on the character traits of stubbornnes and a refusal to be tamed or broken down that are evident from the first tales of his youth. He will not let the ocean break him, and in his survival breaks the record for the longest time lost at sea by any survivor in a war. He does not look at the fact he might die, but looks at the day-to-day necessities and assumes that if he does these, he will live. His spirit of survival pushes him forwards to use the things that actually threaten his survival as tools to help him survive. For example, the sharks that are trying to attack the boat bring with them smaller sharks that Louie manages to catch and provide food for the drifting survivors.