Marie-Laure In 'All The Light We Cannot See'

Sierra L. Fairley

Ms. Lynn Criswell

English 111

11 December 2016

All the Light We Cannot See

In the exceptional novel All the Light We Cannot See, author Anthony Doerr, tells the story of two young adults whom had to experience life during World War II.

Marie-Laure Leblanc, a blind girl whom had to flee from Paris with her father, quickly learned how to adapt to a new town and eventually led to experience the war alone as a young blind girl. Marie-Laure’s story ends up corresponding to Werner Pfennig, a young orphan boy from Germany, whom has a huge fascination for radios. During the war Werner is in charge of pinpointing and destroying opposing German radio broadcasts. Towards the end of the novel the two characters ended up meeting one another

through one of the radio broadcasts and despite of all of the challenges throughout the novel they were finally able to see the good in one another.
Most of the characters in All the Light We Cannot See were affected by the war in some way, but learning how to adapt to the new changes helped them to overcome the outcome of the war, and in the end helped them in becoming a more well-rounded character.
Throughout the novel it was mentioned often to “open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever” (Doerr 264). This quote meant that each character should be trying to live their life to the fullest because it's never known when they wouldn't be around anymore to experience everything that the world has to offer. In different ways each character could somewhat relate to this quote especially when having to adjust to their new surroundings, unfamiliar changes, as well as dealing with the affect that the war had on them.
When it came to Marie-Laure, one would believe that this quote could really relate to her life throughout the novel, in dealing with the changes that she had to go through because of the war and learning to overcome them.

When Marie-Laure was first introduced in the novel it was made known that she lost her sight due to cataracts. Already at very young age, Marie-Laure had to learn how to adapt to her own disability and make some changes. Although it was very tough for her to adapt, Marie-Laure was very determined to live a normal life. “Sixteen paces to the water fountain, sixteen back. Forty-two to the stairwell, forty-two back. Marie-Laure draws maps in her head, unreels a hundred yards of imaginary twine, and then turns and reels it back in” (Doerr 44). This shows how super intelligent and imaginative she was when it came to dealing with her disability. She found different ways in using her four remaining senses in order to learn a new way to make it on her own in life.

Marie-Laure’s father was also a major help in helping her embrace her disability. He built her model replicas of their hometown in Paris, created wooden puzzle boxes for her to solve, and books with Braille were just a few of the many things he did to make sure she lived a normal life. “He says she is his émerveillement. He says he will never leave her, not in a million years” (Doerr 31). This shows that deep down Marie-Laure’s father knew that he wouldn't always be around and he wanted to make sure that

she would be able to navigate around anywhere without being in fear.
When the day came for Marie-Laure and her father to flee from Paris with the diamond, it was made aware that change was definitely coming. After all the years it took Marie-Laure to become familiarized with Paris, with the snap of a finger, she then had to leave everything behind. When arriving to Saint Malo she had no clue about her new surroundings and it was very clear that she was very curious and wanted to learn about the area. “She spends hours learning the house…The first floor belongs to Madame Manec…eleven winding steps leads to the second floor…Then there's the sixth floor: her grandfather’s tidy bedroom” (Doerr 145-146). This shows how great she was at paying attention to detail and how willing she was to accept change.
It wasn't until after Marie-Laure’s father left to return to Paris that it was really noticeable on how much she truly had changed. The only person that she ever really knew and spent every moment with had left her. Marie-Laure had to find other things to keep her occupied until her father’s return. Marie-Laure became closer with Madame Manec and admired her for her courage and honesty. “Don't you want to be alive before you die” (Doerr 270). When Marie-Laure over heard this statement from Madame Manec, it was then that she wanted to live more in the moment and not miss out on the important things in life.
Marie-Laure then became a part of the French resistance and helped to deliver loaves of bread to Madame Manec from the bakery. This shows how much Marie Laure wanted to live more in the moment, get out of the house and experience things. Something as simple as going to retrieve a loaf of bread stuffed with a note inside just fascinated her. “I want to do it, Madame would want…Tell it to me…Tell me the whole routine…one ordinary loaf…I'll come directly back…I promise” (Doerr 322). This definitely took her mind off of her father being gone and gave her something to be responsible for. Marie-Laure was finally living in the moment.
After Marie-Laure was found by Werner through the radio broadcast, it was then made clear that she had changed the most.

Marie-Laure was able to survive through the war on her own, get rescued by Werner and was finally able to escape Saint Malo in hopes of reconnecting with loved ones. Although Marie-Laure didn't get to run away with Werner or reconnect with her father after the war, she was finally on her own with a great job and just enjoying life in Paris with her Uncle Etienne. This truly showed how much she has changed as a person and finally being able to care for herself.

Another character that showed tremendous change throughout the novel was Werner Pfennig. Werner grew up in an orphanage alongside his younger sister Jutta. He believed that there was going to be no future for him and that he would end up just like his father working in the mines. “The only place your brother is going, little girl, is into the mines. As soon as he turns fifteen, same as every other boy in the house” (Doerr 58). This gave Werner the ability to work even harder. His fascination for radios and his determination to learn everything there was about them just set him apart from all of the other

boys.
As Werner became closer to the age fifteen, he was noticed by Herr Siedler, after blowing his mind with fixing his broken radio. Werner was offered the opportunity to go to a prestigious Nazi institution. “Werner walks home oblivious to the rain, trying to absorb the immensity of what has happened” (Doerr 85). This showed how extremely happy he was that there was a chance that he may not have to work in a coal mine like all of the other boys and his father after all.
Once arriving to the military school his skills grew even more. Werner was one of the many talented boys in the school and he truly wanted to please everyone. “Never has Werner felt part of something so single minded. Never has he felt such a hunger to belong” (Doerr 139). This showed how much Werner wanted to make everyone proud while staying true to himself. He didn’t want to become the person that his sister Jutta thought he’d become.
At the institution Werner was alongside many cruel boys who didn’t care what they did to others. “Werner forces his mind to keep sending up images of home: the laundry; Frau Elena’s overworked pink fingers; dogs in the alleys; steam blowing from stacks…is this not wrong” (Doerr 194). This shows one of the many events Werner witnessed that he didn’t agree. It shows the compassion that he has for others and knows that it is not right.
As the story progressed and Werner was sent to war, his major moment of change was when he rescued Marie-Laure from the attic. “He says, you are very brave…When I lost my sight Werner, people said I was brave. When my father left, people said I was brave. But it is not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don’t you do the same? He says, “Not in years. But today maybe I did” (Doerr 469). This quote shows how much Werner has changed in the novel. At that time he had a choice to make, Werner could have easily destroyed Marie-Laure’s home after pinpointing the broadcast channel, but Werner felt connected since this was the channel that he listened to with his sister.
Although Werner didn’t get to escape with Marie-Laure, one would believe that he was content knowing that he did something good and by his choice. That right there shows a major change with his character.
One last character that showed significant change throughout the novel was Etienne Leblanc. “He hurries downstairs and peers out the kitchen door into the alley. Cat sleeping. Trapezoid of sunlight on the east facing wall this is all his fault…Twenty heartbeats. Thirty-five minutes. He twists the latch, opens the gate. Steps outside” (Doerr 417-418). Etienne went from barricading himself inside of his house to gradually stepping out into the real world. With the help of Marie-Laure, it was very noticeable that Etienne had learned to come out of his shell and realized that the world wasn’t as bad as he made it out to be.
At the end of the novel Etienne and Marie-Laure moved back to Paris. Every day they enjoy taking walks venturing around Paris, taking in everything that they have missed for so long. This shows how much Etienne has changed for the better and he can now enjoy the wonderful life outdoors rather than being locked away inside of a bedroom.
To conclude, in the novel All the Light We Cannot See, many characters were affected by the war in some way. Through the simple changes they made to adapt to difficult changes, they were all able to take the chance to open their eyes to see what they could with them before they closed forever. This in fact shows how much they have changed for the better.