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Post by parisadonohoe on Aug 28, 2017 19:49:47 GMT -5
Near the end of the story, after the Germans have been defeated, Etienne says to Liesel, “We’ll go to Paris…. I’ve never been. You can show it to me” (478). This chapter ends optimistically, with Etienne having come out of his shell and Marie Laure now a confident young woman, able to navigate the streets that once scared her. However, in the very next chapter, Werner wanders out of his hospital tent, stumbles onto a landmine, and dies. The contrast is stark. What do you think Doerr wants us to feel? Do you ultimately think that All The Light We Cannot See is a hopeful story—or a desolate one? Why?
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Post by benjaminconnor on Aug 28, 2017 23:34:28 GMT -5
I don't necessarily believe this story is completely desolate or optimistic, but more of a mix to show that even in the best of times their is still pain, and even in the worst of times there is still beauty and goodness in the world. Doerr wanted to show the reader that despite this incredibly awful war that Marie-Laure was going through, there was still beauty, whether it was in a German soldier helping her escape, or simply the simplistic allure of the sea. Doerr applied the same thing to Werner. Despite all he had gone through and the horrors he and his fellow soldiers committed, he was able to begin to make up for those atrocities by helping Marie-Laure escape. In short, Doerr doesn't want us to feel one way or the other, but instead to show us the duality of this time.
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