In All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr incorporates thoughtful ideas and concepts to create an emotionally gripping story of a German orphan and blind French girl in World War 2. Throughout the novel Doerr focuses on the themes of the choices people make in adversity, the possession of power and the blindness and awareness within people, which are developed through juxtaposing ideas, the utilization of vivid imagery and the characterisation of the two main protagonists.
Doerr incorporates a web of juxtaposing ideas in his novel to clarify the choices and actions people make in the face of adversity. At various points throughout the plot, the characters face difficult situations in which they either rebel or conform to those around them.
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In contrast, Frederick refuses to throw icy water on a dying prisoner, boldly responding to his order by saying, ‘I will not’. Similarly, Madame Manec, Etienne and Marie-Laure refuse to submit to German authority, instead forming a resistance group. In spite of the consequences of rebellion, these characters refuse to conform to the majority, revealing their strong spirits. Doerr also presents contrasting qualities of love and selfishness within the characters. Werner’s love for Marie-Laure drives him to act selflessly, risking his own safety by choosing to kill Von Rumpel in order to save her. Etienne shows a similar resolve, putting aside his fears to search for Marie-Laure when she does not return home. Unlike these characters, who acted selflessly out of love, Von Rumpel acts out of …show more content…
Marie-Laure is first characterised as being highly dependent and unsure of herself; however, she soon learns to become aware of her surroundings, and her adventurous and inquisitive side is revealed. Despite her blindness, ‘everything has colour’; the world bursts with ‘magenta and aquamarine and gold’. Marie-Laure also visualizes her father’s personality and soul in colour; he ‘radiates . . . opal, strawberry red, deep russet, wild green’. Surrounded by war, Marie-Laure is forced to realise her powerlessness in this situation, yet she continually demonstrates her courage through her actions, such as aiding the ‘resistance club'. In contrast, Doerr’s characterisation of Werner reveals his many flaws. Like Marie-Laure, he is intelligent and curious, envisioning himself in a ‘white coat, striding past machines’; however, his strong ambition and fear of the coal mines blinds him to reality. It is only when Werner witness the horrific acts of the Nazi’s first-hand that he begins to understand what the future really holds for him. His time trapped under the Hotel of Bees, surrounded by blackness, is a call for self-reflection; he lets go of his past ambitions, realising that ‘it was enough when [he] was a child’. Werner emerges from the darkness a new person; his eyes finally open to see what he did not before, realising ‘what light shines at night’. In his decision to go after
He gives up everything that he believes in to follow his dreams of becoming a 8. “‘When I lost my sight,Werner,people said I was brave. When my father left,people said I was bravery;I have no choice”’(Doerr 469). Werner is talking to Marie Laure just after he rescues her. Von Rumpel locates Werner and just when he's about shoot Werner,Marie-Laure drops a brick distracts them both.
War was one of the most difficult and brutal things a society could ever go through. World War II was especially terrible because it affected so many people.World War II was centered in Europe and the people of the European countries felt the effects much more than many of the other countries that were also participating in the world war. In the book All the Light We Cannot See written by Anthony Doerr, the story took place during World War II in Europe, the center stage for the war. This war was one of the most difficult wars because it destroyed homes, displaced thousands, tore families apart, killed off loved ones, and forced people to make tough decisions they had to live with for the rest of their lives. In All The Light We Cannot See,
When people lose their dignity, they also lose a part of the very thing that makes them human. Despair, hopelessness, fear and apathy are all ways a human can lose their humanity. The eyes provide a window onto the soul, and thus a view on the person’s mental state. The eyes also function in reverse, as a symbolic gesture of control over someone. All of this is present in Night, by Elie Wiesel, an account of human tragedy, human cruelty, human dignity, and the loss thereof.
...his antagonist proves to be their own inner character which determines the trajectory of their decisions. As they all become aware, the consequences of their decisions prove to have an extensive impact on themselves and those around them.
James Wright was a poet that dealt with many hardships in his life, but he found a way to turn those negative moments into beautiful works of poetry. As a child, he lived in poverty with his family and later on suffered with depression and alcoholism. Growing up in Ohio, Wright learned how to work hard which is reflected in his poetic achievements. Wright turned his struggles into poems and for him to be able to achieve success through his pain is what makes his work American. Frank McShane wrote “The Search for Light” in Peter Stit and Frank Graziano’s James Wright: A Profile, and in the book McShane includes: “James Wright knew how restricted most American lives were” (131). For Wright to be able to live the “restricted” life McShane is discussing,
As if civil war, exile, loss and shame weren’t enough, Doerr hurls even more objects into orbit and juggles them expertly. Joseph accepts a job as a caretaker at a wealthy home, but neglects his
They are already in a compromising situation in celebrating her eighteenth birthday at a gas station having coffee which was already established as being not the norm earlier with Marie recounting her own large party where her “mother made a large party” (154). There reality is broken when the teenagers arrive and “One of the girls went to the juke box and put money in” and they are forced to leave because of Carol condition which causes her to have a breakdown from the noise (157). The arrival of the kids forced them to come into contact with their own reality which can never coincide with the one they have fabricated. This small reminder of what the norm is supposed to be is often brought to their attention through others such as when they “could see, in the light shaft of light, a boy, two girls and a dog” (155). In this instance, they are walking on the way to their weekly picnic, which is in itself repetitive, when they are shown the norm of other having fun “the boy splashing in the water with the dog” while they are forced to go through the motions without much emotion. This depiction of the norm unsettles their reality and, even though they don’t stop trying to alter reality to shelter Carol, shows how dysfunctional their own situation is as it can be seen as a potential version of themselves without Carol’s
The use of light and dark motifs by Mulisch explains many reactions of Anton when encountered with problems of his past. Perception of darkness Anton Steinwijk, the main character, experiences such assault by soldiers during the Occupation and his family being shot by them. His desire to leave what has happened to him in the past has been influenced thoroughly by some of the people he encounters as well as the trauma. Light and darkness symbolizes Anton's sense perception as well as moral issues conveyed by people he met, which influences him observing the war and his past years of life, and the desire to leave the past behind and move on.
“Even in darkness, it is possible to create light”(Wiesel). In Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, the author, as a young boy who profoundly believed in his religion, experiences the life of a prisoner in the Holocaust. He struggles to stay with his father while trying to survive. Through his experience, he witnesses the changes in his people as they fight each other for themselves. He himself also notices the change within himself.
The book All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer, was not your traditional love and war story. It’s about a young blind girl named Marie growing up in the war, who had a connection with a young boy named Werner who is a part of the Hitler youth. There are a few other characters who are all in different parts of the world, and yet they eventually all meet up together and find out they all have some type of connection between each other. All of the characters in the book were affected by the war, and caused them to change into the characters that they ended up to be.
Marie had just traveled from her hometown of Ville Rose, where discarding your child made you wicked, to the city of Port-Au-Prince, where children are commonly left on the street. Marie finds a child that she thinks could not be more beautiful, “I thought she was a gift from Heaven when I saw her on the dusty curb, wrapped in a small pink blanket, a few inches away from a sewer as open as a hungry child’s yawn” (79). Marie has suffered many miscarriages, so she takes this child as if it were her own, “I swayed her in my arms like she was and had always been mine” (82). Marie’s hope for a child has paid off, or so it seems. Later, it is revealed that the child is, in fact, dead, and Marie fabricated a story to sanction her hopes and distract her from the harsh reality of her life, “I knew I had to act with her because she was attracting flies and I was keeping her spirit from moving on… She smelled so bad that I couldn’t even bring myself to kiss her without choking on my breath” (85). Her life is thrown back into despair as her cheating husband accuses her of killing children for evil purposes and sends her to
A man of great honor: John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” While conformity is something you can stand against, flouting can lead to downfall. Through the works studied it is evident citizens of different European countries were forced to comply to the expectations of their leader during the time of World War Two. Through characters, and theme it is revealed that conforming to society during this time period was highly influenced. Through the novel Anthony Doerr 's All The Light We Cannot See it is evident characters such as Marie-Laure Leblanc a perseverant blind girl, and Werner Pfennig a boy of many hidden talents are compelled to follow in the path of the citizens of their nature
If one looks closely at another’s eyes, they can see what that person has gone through, what they’re thinking, and what they’re feeling. Such is true with the memoir of Elie Wiesel, Night. In Night, the motif of eyes is prevalent throughout. Wiesel uses the motif of eyes to create a direct connection to people’s mind and souls, depicting how characters change due to catastrophes.
In today’s society, people are more concerned with their own “little world,” rather than looking at the extensive perspective of life. One reason why people can sometimes be classified as being “blind” is because people fear the unknown, and rejects the unfamiliar. Many people are not comfortable with stepping out of their shell and exploring their surroundings, let alone trying to look through the eyes of the segregated minority. In the novel Blindness, Jose Saramago metaphorically uses the word “blindness” as a term meaning, the truth that we cannot bear to see. To avoid the outside world, many people tend to shelter themselves from the obvious reality, and tend to focus of their “own” meaning of reality.
The novel also highlights the passionate relationship between Henry and Catherine Barkley, a British nurse in Italy. Henry’s insight into the war and his intense love for Catherine emphasize that love and war are the predominant themes in the novel and these themes contribute to bringing out the implicit and explicit meaning of the novel. Being a part of the Italian army, Henry is closely involved with the war and has developed an aversion to the war. Henry’s association with the war has also made him realise that war is inglorious and the sacrifices made in war are meaningless. Specifically, Henry wants the war to end because he is disillusioned by the war and knows that war is not as glorious as it is made up to be.