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121 pages 4 hours read

Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014

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Symbols & Motifs

The Sea of Flames

The Sea of Flames represents the curse of man’s greed and hubris. In the legend of the diamond, the goddess who created the diamond as a gift for her lover, the god of the sea, curses her gift when a prince steals it. The diamond’s curse dooms its owner to eternal life and all his loved ones to death. To break the curse, according to the legend, the diamond must be returned to the sea.

Throughout the novel, which retells a portion of the history of the diamond, men pursue the diamond for its rarity and value, and through their actions the curse becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whether cursed by a goddess or cursed by man’s own greed, the diamond remains a double-edged possession. The Sea of Flames, because of its value—as a rare 133-carat blue diamond—is a curse for whoever possesses it, because others will always want to steal it.

Von Rumpel’s obsessive pursuit of the diamond, which eventually leads to his death, exemplifies man’s own fulfillment of the curse.

Marie-Laure and Werner return the diamond to the sea, fulfilling the goddess’ wishes and breaking the curse. Symbolically, their relationship and agreement to break the curse represents each character’s goodness and lack of greed, but it also unites the German and the French people in the ending of the war, which was the curse of their generation.

Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Jules Verne’s adventure story represents not only the sea and the creatures that Marie-Laure loves, but also adventure and friendship, survival and a love of science. Also, the extremely expensive Braille version of this book, published in two parts, symbolizes the sacrifices Daniel LeBlanc, and later Etienne and their neighbors, make to give Marie-Laure something to brighten her world. This book allows Marie-Laure to escape some of the fear and privation of her life during the war, and the copy of the book she receives for her 16th birthday echoes the copies given to her by her father, left behind in Paris when they escaped, honoring him and giving her hope for the future.

“Claire de Lune”

Debussy’s piano concerto symbolizes the LeBlanc radio broadcasts. Each of these broadcasts stands for the victory of learning, science, and art over the forces of war, ignorance, and hatred.

First are the broadcasts of the children’s science records, originally created by Henri and Etienne LeBlanc, and broadcast by Etienne to communicate with his dead brother and honor his legacy. These broadcasts often feature a portion of “Claire de Lune,” and these are the broadcasts that fascinate Werner and Jutta as children, and which encourage their desire to learn and to dream of a better future. Second are Etienne’s broadcasts on behalf of the French resistance, which he ends with a small piece of classical music, often the recording of Henri playing “Claire de Lune.” Finally, “Claire de Lune” also marks Marie-Laure’s broadcasts, wherein she reads Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, ending with the loud, defiant broadcast of “Claire de Lune”—inciting the German, von Rumpel, to find her and end their standoff over the diamond.

The Radio

The radio is a powerful symbol of communication throughout the novel: used for both good, as with Etienne’s broadcasts of the children’s science programs and musical recordings, and evil, as with the Reich’s indoctrination of its people through propaganda. As Doerr writes, “Radio: it ties a million ears to a single mouth” (73). Without the radio, the war could not have been waged. Ironically, radio also brought about the downfall of the Reich, through French resistance broadcasts, such as Etienne LeBlanc’s.

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