Character Analysis: All The Light We Cannot See

“You cannot change what you are, only what you do,” this quote by Phillip Pullman relates incredibly to the novel All The Light We Cannot See. Although it never directly mentions this novel is about the Holocaust, it is alluded towards and creates the setting of WWII and the indescribable horrors in everyday lives during this period of history. During this time it was extremely difficult to make your own choices and listen to your moral code if it was against what the rest of the country’s beliefs. Many people accepted and acted in compliance with these beliefs because they did not want to be singled out and harmed in any way. However, some characters chose a different path for themselves amiss the chaos of the war; and you can identify how these characters changed and evolved throughout the story to become improved versions of themselves. ‘“I wake up and live my life. Don’t you do the same?’ Werner answers, ‘Not in years. But today. Today maybe I did.”’ Werner Pfennig is one of the few main characters in this novel. He has an interesting character development from when he is

Claude lived and owned his business down the street from Etienne’s house in Saint-Malo. The perfumer’s personality never once faltered or changed, through the story he was greedy and selfish. Marie-Laurie’s father’s arrest towards the beginning was due to Claude being a Nazi informer who always wanted more than he owned. Even after he was, knowingly, responsible for the arrest of Daniel LeBlanc, he still assisted Major Von Rumple in his plan to steal the diamond, also known as the “Sea of Flames”, from Marie-Laurie. He informed and directed Von Rumple towards Etienne’s house and attempted to make Marie-Laurie leave the house with him so that Von Rumple could get to the “Sea of Flames”. Claude Levitte never once cared or bothered to notice how what he did effected others lives outside of his