Symbols

SPOILERS AHEAD

Throughout Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, multiple objects are used symbols and motifs, one example is the model of Marie’s city, which is a symbol of the love and care Marie’s great-uncle has for her. Another symbol, which isn’t used as much, has a much deeper meaning, is Werner and Juttas radio, which is used to listen to French scientists and philosophers. From the beginning of the book, Werner is listening, knowing he has forbidden technology, is listening to foreign broadcasts, and could be harshly punished for his actions. “As the weeks pass, with Jutta asleep beside him, Werner looks out into the night sky, and restlessness surges through him. Life: it’s happening beyond the mills, beyond the gates.” (Doerr, 102) Werner knows that even though the broadcasts are fading, “as though the Frenchman broadcasts from a ship that is slowly traveling farther away.” (Doerr 102), that he is still learning, and that he can’t give up on his education. Werner never stops trying to learn and pushes to get a higher education, always reading, and listening to every broadcast he can. I think that in reading the novel I chose, I relate very much to Werner, in that I never want to stop learning, and if I can’t understand something, I will strive to find the tools it will take me to understand it. Werner is curious, smart, and determined to do whatever it takes to get where he wants to be. Looking back on this, I’m personally beginning to wonder if this novel may be less of a Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet Story where Marie and Werner meet and fall in love and more of a Villainous backstory for Werner.