Analysis Of Anthony Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See follows a diverse cast of characters as they navigate life and the tragedies that come with experiencing life during World War II. Doerr’s narrative pays particular attention to Werner Pfennig, a young orphan boy growing up in a mining town named Zollverein near Essen, Germany. Doerr uses radios as a rhetorical device to follow Werner as he matures throughout his experience in war.
At the beginning of the novel Werner still has the innocence and curiosity of youth. The radio serves as an intellectual outlet for him as well as symbol of hope. Doerr begins by giving his readers insight into Werner’s inquisitive personality. “He makes things too: paper boxes, crude biplanes, toy boats with working rudders…Every couple of days he’ll startle the directress with some unanswerable query” (24-25). By mentioning Werner’s questions and inventions Doerr reveals the boy’s intelligence and sets up an explanation for why Werner finds the radio so fascinating. Once Werner has the radio it becomes the focus for his need of understanding and something that he can distract himself with. “Werner carries the receiver up to his attic dormer and studies it for hours. He disconnects
“The Frenchman’s voice is velvet… The Frenchman talks about optical illusions, electromagnetism; there’s a pause a and a peal of static, as though a record is being flipped, and then he enthuses about coal”(48). Not only does the Frenchman have answers to Werner’s innumerable questions, he also creates an interesting perspective on something that is an integral part of life in Zollverein. As an orphan boy growing up in a mining town it would be assumed that once Werner came of age he would begin work in the mines. The Frenchman’s broadcasts allowed Werner to dream of greater things and the radio became a tool for a possible escape from his preordained