Werner's Character In 'All The Light We Cannot See'

Jessica Boyko Christina Yu ENL1W2 14 May 2024 The Power of Influence The novel, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, includes a wide range of characters with different beliefs, backgrounds, and troubles. Yet, Doerr manages to intertwine each character to affect one another. One of the characters in particular, Werner Pfennig, demonstrated internal conflict with himself, causing his character to change throughout the novel. These changes, both positive and negative, were a result of the influence of people around him. By focusing on the changes in Werner’s character, we see that Jutta, Frederick, and Volkheimer were the main influences in Werner’s life. These characters influence Werner’s character positively by taking care of him morally,

Risking his own life, he built a barrier and detonated the grenade. This action was successful, but the blown hole was too small. Already famished, dehydrated, and weak, Volkheimer used some of his remaining strength to make a wide-enough hole for himself and Werner, causing him to lacerate his own hands (Out 458) To summarize, this shows that Volkheimer's fondness of Werner causes him to care for Werner's physical health, potentially hurting his own. In conclusion, Werner’s friends and family have a positive influence on his character by caring for his morality, emotional well-being, and physical well-being. Jutta causes Werner to fix his morals, Frederick was a kind friend to Werner, and Volkheimer’s fondness of Werner causes him to provide for him. This is significant because the care demonstrated to Werner by Jutta, Frederick, and Volkheimer causes him to find his place in the world and acknowledge reality. Doerr’s talented writing connects these characters to Werner, showing the character development on Werner’s part. In the end, everyone has the power to positively influence the people around