All The Light We Cannot See Theme

1777 Words4 Pages

Anthony Doerr’s award winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See allows the reader to see into the lives of Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig. Despite their age and geographical distance, these two kids are insightful and curious about the world around them, and are discovering and learning how to handle situations beyond their control. The theme of sight and the lack there of is a key idea presented within the novel. The idea of sight and losing sight of insight, intertwines the lives of Werner and Marie-Laure, even though they have not met, because they share similar experiences as they face new challenges. Werner and Marie-Laure are able to see the good and bad of their surroundings through the use of their other senses. Doerr showcases …show more content…

As the professor on the radio advised, “Open your eyes….and see what you can with them before they close forever.” (Doerr, 49) Werner unknowingly has the words of the professor haunting him. “One more year. Then they’ll give him a helmet and a lamp and stuff him into a cage with the others.” (Doerr, 68) If Werner is sent into the mines, then he will become blind forever. He will no longer see the plucks of the strings in the orchestra, or the gears moving in a simple machine described by the professor on the radio. It will be devastating for a young, intelligent and inquisitive boy to be restricted by his sight, because he can no longer see anything but coal and the cruelty of the world. Miles away, Marie-Laure is being stripped away from her sight as well. Every year for her birthday, her father buys a Braille book. She is currently reading 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, written by Jules Verne, a novel allowing her to see the depths of places she’s unfamiliar with. Books are her way of learning and seeing. When she read Around the World in 80 Days, she was able to “see” what Fogg saw on his adventures. Her ways of seeing are slowly being taken away from her. Daniel spent more hours at the museum, and now she is leaving behind an important contribution to her sight. “ My book—’ ‘Better to leave it. It’s too heavy.’ ‘Leave my book?.’” (Doerr, 76) Marie-Laure’s father tells Marie-Laure that she has to leave behind her old books—essentially, her old life in Paris and an essential way of seeing. This is a painful passage because Marie-Laure had worked so hard and accomplished so much in being able to see and live her life, and is now forced to leave it all behind because of situations beyond her control. Similar to Werner who is forced to go into the mines and told to abandon his ambitions and vision, Marie-Laure is forced to leave

Show More
Related

  • Fahrenheit 451 Literary Analysis

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montag is realizing wrong his world really is. He wants to change it too. He says “ Im going to do something, I dont know what yet but im going t do something big.” He doesnt know what to do yet because at this point he hasnt figured out the “missing peice”. Montag says “ I dont know. we have everything we need to be happy, but we arent happy. Something is missing.” then he starts to understand that books are the key to knowladge and knowledge is what they need. he says “There must be something in books that we cant imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there, you dont stay for nothing.” And this is the turning point of the book because now montag is ready to take

    Read More

  • All The Light We Cannot See Sparknotes

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Alternate Ending Essay

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clarisse shares with Montag that her entire family was almost killed by the government for knowing too much. The government said we were a threat to society and needed to be eliminated. Clarisse’s Uncle was very educated and knew the things they had to do in order to live. They then escaped in the night, but the government did not seem to care. The government then tried to cover it up by saying that she got hit by a car. Clarisse’s family then made it to the same intellects that Montag had been with, and they directed them to the city. Their family then reached the city, where Montag is now. They realized that books were allowed and accepted in that society, and have been living there for the ever since. About three hours go by of Clarisse pouring her brain out to Montag, and finally they look around and see that it is nighttime. The two of them gaze at the stars and let out a small

    Read More

  • Characterism In 'Cathedral, By William Shenstone's Cathedral'

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carver provides an easy, visual outlook of the protagonist throughout the short story, which helps keep a better understanding during the simple yet intense experience. As the story continues, the protagonist enhances his mood as he aids Robert to visualizing a cathedral. This experience creates an impact on others because it is a great reason why one should never judge someone for something beyond their control. Also, helping someone, as Robert does for Bub, can be a life changing experience. Despite the blind man being physically blind, the husband is the one with the disability to see from someone else’s perspective.

    Read More

  • Blindly He Goes Up Analysis

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Uncle Jim, and Erik Weihenmayer both are not born blind, but are both able to overcome their blindness to live life to the fullest extent. Both protagonists in the story share similar qualities, and traits to one, and another like being resilient, perseverance, determination, and a little bit of stubbornness to keep going, and never allow their blindness to dictate how they are able to live, but instead they are the ones who dictate how they want to live. Both stories showcase brilliant characters that were able to overcome their shortcomings which led to the betterment of their prospective

    Read More

  • Paul's Point Of View In Tangerine

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 2006 fictional novel, “Tangerine” written by Edward Bloor is about the mystery of Paul’s eyes and the secrets to unlocks the truth behind Paul’s vision. Edward Bloor uses Paul’s eyesight to show the understanding of the character's family and friends. It shows his viewpoint on things and how Paul sees his problems. Through the motif of vision Paul, the main character, grows his understanding on his friends, family, and himself.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral'

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    Don’t judge a book by its cover. We have all heard this cliché at least once in our lifetime. But how many times have we ever followed through with this expression? The author Raymond Carver writes about an experience where a couple is visited by the wife’s acquaintance Robert, whose wife has recently passed. The fact that Robert is blind belittles him in the eyes of the narrator, causing tension and misjudgment. In “Cathedral”, Carver uses irony, point of view, and symbolism to show the difference between looking and truly seeing.

    Read More

  • Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    The limitations that were holding the narrator back were abolished through a process from which a blind man, in some sense, cured a physically healthy man. The blind man cured the narrator of these limitations, and opened him up to a whole world of new possibilities. Robert enabled the narrator to view the world in a whole new way, a way without the heavy weights of prejudice, jealousy, and insecurity holding him down. The blind man shows the narrator how to see.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Anthony Doerr And All The Light We Cannot See

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    All the Light We Cannot See was written by Anthony Doerr, and it follows the lives of Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfenning in Saint-Malo and Paris, France, and all over Germany during World War II. Marie Laure is a blind French girl living with her father in Paris. Werner is a German orphan living with his sister, Jutta, in an orphanage in Zollverein. Because of the war, Marie-Laure had to move to Saint-Malo, while Werner was going to into the army. Their lives, along with other characters, are changing in big ways and the effect of it could lead to how they see the world.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Cathedral

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although, it is obvious throughout the story, that the Narrators views of blind people has changed, -

    Read More

  • All The Light We Cannot See: Radio

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, “All the Light We Cannot See” may also hint at the significance of seemingly insignificant actions. The completely irrelevant actions of Werner discovering a broken radio, an engineering Manuel which lead him into a cadet program were tied to Marie-Laure’s life. Removing the significance of the radio from the novel only generates a multitude of possibility one of which, may result in the death of Marie-Laure and a miner named Werner Pfennig, leaving the importance of the radio

    Read More

  • Sight in Cathedral

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vision is something many people take for granted every day. Society only deals with the matter of being blind if they are the less fortunate ones. According to the Braille Institute, "every seven minutes a person in the United States loses their sight, often as part of the aging process" (1). Only two percent of legally blind people use a guide dog and thirty-five percent use a white cane. Blindness can be caused from various different types of things including (in order) age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related cataracts. (Braille 1). However being blind does not mean a person is in total darkness. Some people can see lights and the shapes of objects, but the most import thing is for family and friends to provide hope and encouragement. The last thing a person who has lost their sight wants is to lose their family and support, which will led to loneliness. Likewise, in the short story "Cathedral," by Raymond Carver's, blindness is the key element in the story and shows in detail how the characters manage it. The theme Carver conveys in the short story is being able to see without sight and is revealed through the characters, tone and plot of the story.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    Constantly throughout the short story, Robert defies the narrator’s original portrayal of what he believes is a stereotypical blind man. “He also had a full beard. But he didn’t use a cane and he didn’t wear dark glasses. I’d always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind” (Carver 36). Robert also starts to change the narrator’s perception of blind people not only physically but emotionally. In an act of thoughtful accommodation, the narrator begins to describe to Robert the cathedrals on the television when the speaker of the program halts the commentary. Robert starts to slightly and gradually change the perspective that the narrator sees blind people from until the conclusion of the story when Robert shines a light on the

    Read More

  • Jose Saramago's Blindness

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Tim Winton Analysis

    1601 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vision and lines of sight in literary texts not only serve as a guide for the journey the reader is going to take but also as a barrier in which directs the lives of the characters in the story. In this essay I will be discussing two novels ‘’the turning Tim Winton’’ and ‘’Carpentaria Alexis Wright’’ and the vision theme that is involved within them. Vision as a theme in novels gives the reader an opportunity to create their own image giving a deeper understanding of what the scenery is like and how the people act and do. The vision in the two novels were to me considered important parts of them. They gave me the opportunity to think deeper and use my wider imagination when reading them. The signs of vision are important when reading the novel

    Read More

More about All The Light We Cannot See Theme

Open Document