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All The Light We Cannot See Essay

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All the Light We Cannot See is a novel written by Anthony Doerr about two protagonists who clash paths and make great sacrifices in a time of war and destruction. Set in German-occupied France in World War II, the narrator tells the story of a teenage blind girl named Marie-Laure LeBlanc whose life is revolved around the war. Not so far away, the story of a young, orphaned German boy named Werner Pfennig is told in parallel. The lives of these two main characters cross paths as the plot unveils and as the two attempt to achieve their goals. Classified as historical (WWII) fiction, this novel’s setting defines many aspects of the plot, including the plot itself. The violence and tragedy of war rescinds the free will of the characters, advances …show more content…

Making a decision is not an easy thing and can cause conflict between friends and even family members. In the novel, the first and most notable conflict is between Werner and his sister, Jutta. To escape his fate of working in the coal mines, Werner foolishly plans on joining Nazi Young in search of his dream to become a scientist. On the other hand, his sister Jutta opposes him wholeheartedly and questions his ethics, but Werner disregards her. The kind of conflict between Jutta and Werner continues throughout the story until Werner realizes the reality, but it's too late. The circumstances of the war lead to Werner betraying his family. At the same time, the other conflict in the story is between Etienne and his housekeeper, Madame Manec. Madame Manec organizes to help the French resistance in her own ways while Etienne is still fearful of the consequences of speaking out against the Nazi force. Etienne tries to avoid the reality of the war by hiding inside his house and ignoring the consequences of the war by fantasizing in his head. Although, he later gets encouraged by Marie and he is one of the main keys in helping the French resistance, but all this happened after Madame Manec’s death. War can lead people to be fearful, cautious, and throttled into circumstances against their

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“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever,” affirms Anthony Doerr revealing a story buried in World War II through his novel All the Light We Cannot See. Doerr is the Winner of the Pulitzer Award for fiction because of this exquisitely written novel, which transports you back to the 1940s through the author’s imagination and magical writing style. The story takes place in Saint-Malo and follows the parallel lives of two gifted children. Werner, a German orphan boy that his remarkable radio skills grant him the opportunity to attend the Hitler Youth Academy.

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She impacts his decision making and steers him towards becoming the best version of himself. Jutta plays an essential role in Werner’s character development as he finds his path to independence and individuality. Another key character in Werner’s life is Frederick, a boy Werner befriends at the Nazi institution. Frederick never wavers from his opinions, despite others tormenting him for his radical ideology. Frederick consequently pays the price of standing up against the normalities of society.

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In the second part of the novel All the Light We Cannot See, a prominent theme is rebellion because of what Madame Manec and some of her close friends that live in Saint-Malo have planned to do against the German soldiers and have found other ways to communicate what has been happening in France with perhaps other countries. Madame Manec, before her death, asked Marie-Laure and Etienne “Do you know what happens, Etienne”… “when you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water?” … “It jumps out. But do you know what happens when you put the frog in a pot of cool water and then slowly bring it to a boil? You know what happens then?...

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Marie-Laure is a resilient, intelligent, and curious young girl who overcomes many obstacles in "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr. She was forced to flee with her father to Saint-Malo during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. Marie-Laure undergoes a significant arc of change when she decides to join the resistance movement. She is not content to simply be a passive observer of the war but instead feels a moral obligation to do what she can to help those in need. Her decision to join the resistance is also a reflection of her values, as she believes in the importance of standing up for what is right, even in the face of danger.

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From there, he tries to survive and does everything he can to stay with his father. Their relationship is the only thing he has left in the harsh environment of infamous camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. The Nazis used dehumanizing tactics and acts

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Aristotle wrote, “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light (Aristotle)”. The Holocaust was one of the darkest times humanity has ever seen. A machination brewed by an extraordinarily perverse man that resulted in the deaths of millions, and robbed millions more of their faith and hope. Families were torn apart, towns were destroyed, and humanity lost, all to satisfy one man’s extreme racism and psychotic agenda. If however, one only chooses to focus on the darkness, they might overlook the light, specifically in the two stories of boys who survived against all odds and shared their tales years after defying death.

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Tim discovers the violence and thirst for power from the death of his best friend. His father’s death shows him the disillusionment and reality of war. Finally, the execution of his only brother makes him aware of the injustice and disloyalty of both sides. The pain Tim experiences and the desolation he sees in those around him prove to him that the fight isn’t worth the cost. Throughout history, people have had to suffer immense amounts of pain not knowing whether or not their descendents have a chance at freedom.

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In the story All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr the reader is exposed to the life stories of many characters during the ferocious battles of World War ll. People are judged in many ways but it comes down to what they do in the moment and how we treat the situation. The two showings of extreme courage are shown through the characters of Mr. LeBlanc and Warner. Their actions really defined who they are and who other characters came out to be.

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A series of events intensified his doubt in his own government. One event that causes Werner to feel guilt in an elaborate way, is the death of a young girl and her mother. It on this day that he is able to see the innocence that is left in the world as he looks at the young girl playing without a care in the world. While he watches her he thinks to himself, “This is life...this is why we live, to play like this…”(366). It ultimately shows his belief that this is how his childhood should have been like and his desire to preserve one’s innocence.

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(250). Werner feels the success of being the “perfect German boy”, but in his gut, Werner knows what he is doing is wrong. Werner's issue with knowing he is morally wrong is that he doesn’t dare to speak against authority. Werner does not have the courage to go against the tide and make independent decisions that align with his mindset. Jutta, Werner’s sister, suggests that Werner should think through his actions as an individual rather than with the group.

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Werner has spent a horrible time in Russia, his skills of identifying where radio signals are coming from, leading to the death of an unknown amount of civilians, has pushed his heart deep into the evil side. Now that he has a chance to finally do some good in the world he marches over to where Marie-Laure is trapped, not even getting any food or water he desperately needs, shoots Von Rumpel and saves her without any remorse. Werner doesn’t do this for a purely selfish reason such as the Sea of Flames, he does this for himself and for Marie-Laure’s safety most importantly of all. He clings to the childhood memory of the Frenchman who broadcast to Werner and Jutta’s ears their entire childhood as a way to boost his heart back over to the good side. On page 465, a small line of thought that Werner has reveals his major development as a character, “All your life you wait, and then it finally comes,

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Nowadays, people hear, write, and talk about World War II so much that at some point the deep meaning of it starts to fade. As a result, any representation of World War II associates with the boredom. However, Anthony Doerr, a contemporary author, brought the spotlight back to the events of that war. He successfully used World War II as a setting in his book, All the Light We Cannot See, so it deservedly won prestigious awards. (Hooper)

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