All The Light We Cannot See Summary

All the Light We Cannot See Analysis During times of war, people were faced with challenges and conflicts where they were forced to make difficult decisions. Everyone had their own reasoning behind the decisions they made; whether they were wrong or right was determined by them. At an early age people learn through childhood experiences how the world works. This shaped who people became and governed their future actions. All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, proved that individuals’ decisions were influenced by the ethics and beliefs they formed in their childhood.
In All the Light We Cannot See, the two main characters of the story were the audacious Marie- Laure LeBlanc, a blind girl who lived in Paris with her loving father, and
This was shown when Marie-Laure first learned about the Sea of Flames on a museum tour when she was only six years old. After the tour guide finished his story, everyone’s first thought was the value of the precious diamond, which was said to be equivalent to five Eiffel Towers. Humans strive for wealth because the idea that wealth leads to happiness is taught to us at a young age. While the rest of the children’s first thoughts were to greedily keep the diamond, Marie-Laure’s first thought was to simply return the diamond to the sea to end the curse, “Why not’, she asks, ‘just take the diamond and throw it into the sea?’... ‘When is the last time’, one of the older boys says, ‘you saw someone throw five eiffel towers into the sea?’ There is laughter. Marie- Laure frowns” (pg 23). Most of the children’s heads were already filled with corruption and greed, which is common to mankind, but Marie- Laure’s mind hadn’t been exposed yet. Marie-Laure knew the difference between right and wrong and good and bad, which is why she understood that keeping the Sea of Flames was selfish. This showed her strength of character because as Dr. Geffard said, only the strongest could turn away from something so beautiful and valuable. This event foreshadowed the end of the book where Marie- Laure’s childhood beliefs led her to returning the diamond back where it
The cause leading to Werner’s motivation to escape from the Hotel of Bee’s cellar was Marie-Laure’s broadcasts but also the reminiscence of his childhood beliefs. In Werner’s early years, his unique, inquisitive mind was praised by others, which caused him to dream big and believe he could accomplish many things, but once he attended Schulpforta, he was forced to conform to the views of society and blindly follow orders without asking questions. During the time Werner was trapped in the cellar, initially he thought to himself, “Only numbers. Pure math. You have to accustom yourself to thinking that way” (pg 388). Schulpforta caused his once hopeful spirit to be crushed and he remained helpless, which continued until he heard Marie-Laure’s broadcasts. Marie-Laure’s broadcasts caused Werner to recalled the old French broadcasts he and Jutta used to listen to, for example the professor said, “Open your eyes, concluded the man, and see what you can do with them before they close forever…” (pg 49). The broadcasts and memories of his childhood full of wonder and aspiration caused Werner to regain the hope he lost. Werner was tired of feeling guilty and ashamed for helplessly doing the wrong things and being unable to control his life, which have him hope that he could do more with his life as he believed in his childhood. As a result, when he heard Marie-Laure was in trouble he gained the