Character Analysis: All The Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr’s novel All the Light We Cannot See shows the reader how children would deal with war and how it shaped who they are today. Doerr’s purpose for writing this novel is to highlight how mentally taxing the war was and that there was no permanent escape from the war. Both Marie-Laure and Werner believed they could escape the war both physically and mentally, yet their involvement in it makes it more difficult. Marie-Laure’s fear of her father going to jail shows how she becomes involved in the war. Werner struggled with trying to escape the war through his fascination with radios when it just brought him further into the war. After understanding the effect on certain individuals; the story zooms out showing how the majority

of people were affected. Doerr throughout the novel showed the reader how difficult coping and accepting war can be.

Marie-Laure’s story exemplifies the mental suffering she had to go through in the war. Her father was the person that she felt she could always count on. She never understood why he made the promise he did to her. He wanted to give her hope just as he said to Marie “open your eye and see what you can with them before they close forever.” (Doerr 258). This sentence shows how the father wants Marie to do everything in her power to live her life to the best of her ability. He wanted her to experience everything. Although he knew she could not see everything that was going on, she could hear and feel everything. The model she used was one way she could keep her sanity in this time of war. During the war she had to cope with her father being arrested and not being able to help him. Her disability made

it more difficult for her since she never truly understood how the war was destroying her town and the country. The key she desperately needed to get her father’s freedom was a symbol of hope that was believed to be impossible to find due to her blindness. Marie-Laure was also unable to understand the reality of war, “Calm yourself, she thinks. Concentrate on filling your lungs, draining them. Filling them again. She stays under her bed. She says,”Ce n’est pas la réalté.” (Doerr 97). This quote confirms how denial was a likely response when discussing war. To get through difficult times like this, it feels as if time slows down and she remembers every motion she made. When she does this quick focus on herself it provides relief. It reminds her that she is still the primary importance at the time and she needs to focus on making sure she feels safe and more confident.
Werner could never escape from the reality of war.

Every possible way he could get out, he tried but it just brought him farther and farther into the war. Werner’s great uncle showed the reader that this fate of war was bond to happen to him. “He saw dead people through the walls. Terrible things in the corners of the streets. Now your great uncle doesn’t even go outside. Werner’s uncle was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, fearful of doing even simple tasks. Doerr’s development of Werner’s uncle helps bring out how Werner will have to cope with the war and what he can do to get out of it. The acceptance of war was extremely difficult for Werner because all he wanted to do was escape the war. He did everything he could to get out of the coalmines, but his obsession with radio dragged him farther into the war. Having to be a part of the Nazi party caused him to deny what work he was doing by lying to himself, “Don’t tell lies. Lie to yourself. Werner, but don’t lie to me” (Doerr 133). Werner was so used to the lie he was telling himself, he began to believe it was the truth. This aspect of the story exemplifies how not only other people can brainwash us to think something, but that we can force ourselves to think something as well. By not accepting the reality of the war it will just make it difficult for the individual to cope with the war later. This causes mental damage to these children that are doing everything they can to survive. The

author by showing the internal conflicts with this character was able to show the reader that war is not only a physical effect but a mental effect as well.
Any escape that young children could get to feel safe from the war they would do. Doerr’s development of Marie-Laure and Werner bring out these coping mechanisms. Werner found relief from the war and his work at the Hitler Youth school. Werner being able to listen to his radios before they were confiscated gave him inner peace. Marie-Laure mentally escaping from the war by her interactions with her uncle, “We’re in Borneo, can’t you tell? We’re skimming the treetops now, big leaves are glimmering below us, and there are coffee bushes over there, smell them?” (Doerr 150). These mental escapes show the necessity of needing a mental escape from the war and her father’s arrest. The struggle of her father being gone and not knowing where the key is to the museum helps her feel safer in this environment. The puzzles she received from her father on each added to the development of her skills over the years and how she did not let her blindness stop her. Learning about how her blindness affects her everyday lifestyle contributes to the meaning of the story. The theme of the novel was highlighted throughout these events and the authors writing style. Doerr would flip each chapter between Marie-Laure and Werner having the readers understand two different lifestyles of what was occurring in France while it was being taken over by the Nazis. He showed how people have different aspects of their lives that the rest of the world does not know. Everyone has different hardships they are coping with and that everyone’s story is different. Each individual no matter what their situation is should try to make the most of it and take advantage of opportunities given.
Doerr’s message throughout the book was shown through by Marie-Laure and Werner’s struggles to mentally survive the war and how much denial there is when in a state of emergency. Werner’s character development helped show how much denial he was in with what he was doing for the Nazis as well as trying to escape the war. Marie-Laure had to deal with many tragic events in her life including her father’s imprisonment. The internal conflict of trying to find the key her father hid that unlocked the famous paintings caused her to deny the reality of war and coping with her father’s arrest while suffering from a loss of sight. This novel emphasized mental struggles, and how to cope with individual issues.