Summary Of 'All The Light We Cannot See'

All The Light We Cannot See primarily features a setting of 1944 Germany. The author 's unique writing style accentuates description because the location, time, and narration often changes between chapters. According to the text, “Werner Pfennig grows up three hundred miles northeast of Paris in a place called Zollverein: a four- thousand- acre coal- mining complex outside Essen, Germany. It’s steel country, anthracite country, a place full of holes. Smokestacks fume and locomotives trundle back and forth on elevated conduits and leafless trees stand atop slag heaps like skeleton hands shoved up from the underworld.” (Doerr, 24) This description demonstrates the lack of alluring aspects in Zollverein. The tone of the quote implies a disdain felt even by the narrator of the story, which contributes to the negative image created by the word choice. Such a

As stated in the text, “They carry slingshots, fashion spears, rehearse ambushes from behind snowbanks. They join a bristling gang of miners’ sons who sit in the market square, sleeves rolled up, shorts hiked to their hips. ‘Good evening,’ the cry at passerby. ‘Or heil Hitler, if you prefer!’ They give each other matching haircuts and wrestle in the parlor and brag about the rifle training they’re preparing for, the gliders they’ll fly, the tank turrets they’ll operate. Our flag represents the new era, chant Hans and Herribert, our flag leads us to eternity.” (Doerr, 42) This passage provided a better image of how naive and brainwashed civilians of the Nazi regime became. The author provides a description which underlyingly emphasizes the historical aspect of the book; readers can infer the time period and location just from the greetings used and the manner of the citizens. Because the general traffic on streets today have a destination or purpose, I found it interesting that people seemed to casually inhabit