All The Light We Cannot See Character Analysis

While it may seem that society’s restrictions continually halt the way one progresses in life, the ability to defy the odds and overcome them truly defines a person’s courage. This fact is evident in the novel, All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, where an orphan named Werner is continuously forced to participate in cruel Nazi practices because his enrollment in the Hitler Youth is the only way he is able to get the proper education to become an engineer. Similarly, in Keeping the Faith, directed by Edward Norton, a local rabbi named Jake is restricted from publically dating his childhood best friend, Anna because of the fact that she is not Jewish. First off, characters originally alter their views and behaviour due to their circumstances,

Foremost, circumstances originally cause characters to alter their views and actions which will result in a loss of their identities without change. This idea is shown in All the Light We Cannot See, when Werner begins his final test for the Hitler Youth, which involves showing trust in the Nazi party. He jumps off a high platform to then be caught by a flag held by recruiters and after, “He rolls to his feet uninjured. The examiner clicks his stopwatch, scribbles on his clipboard, looks up. Their eyes meet for half a second . . . ‘Heil Hitler!’ yells Werner” (116). Unlike the boys who had done the activity previously, Werner does not hesitate to jump because he is desperate to make himself stand out as a way to prove his commitment to the Nazi party. He places himself in this situation not because he supports their cause, but rather because he believes his enrollment in the academy is the only way to pursue his innate talent of engineering. This idea shows he is willing to commit himself to a cause he has little knowledge in if that means he is able pursue the future he wants. Furthermore, when

This fact is evident in The Light We Cannot See, and shown during a physical training exercise at the academy where the cadets are able to choose the weakest boy and then chase him down: “ . . . the pack draws closer and Werner feels annoyed. Why couldn’t Ernest be faster?” (170). When Werner pities the weak runner, he experiences inner turmoil because he realizes that whom he truly is, is not whom the Nazis expect him to be. He then realizes that if he is to succeed in the academy, he must give up the right to think for himself completely and become someone who is not only accustomed to the brutal environment, but encourages it. Also, when Fredrick develops a brain injury from an attack planned by upperclassmen, Werner is unable to bear seeing his friend in that condition and begins to search for his old bird collection book: “Werner lifts the flaps of boxes, peering in. ‘Surely it’s around here.’” (296). Werner becomes desperate to find the book because he believes that if he shows Fredrick a part of his past, he will be able to recover and therefore Werner will be able to avoid the fact that his lack of involvement is one of the reasons for his friend’s injury. However Fredrick remains the same, and he becomes a permanent reminder of the Hitler Youth’s brutality, as well as helps Werner realize that in the