Oftentimes there are many people who feel they are unable to escape their feelings. In ‘All the Light We Cannot See’, there are three main characters who have gone through a series of traumatic events emotionally, physically, and knowledgeably that have made them feel as if they were trapped. A vital theme in ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ is that many people of Saint-Malo feel a type of entrapment due to war and loss.
Werner Pfennig was an intelligent young German boy who grew up in an orphanage in Zollverein, Germany. As he grew older, he changed his life by going to an elite Nazi training school because he feared having to work in the mines in his orphanage like his parents. While he was at the elite school, he would have to calcify his feelings to protect himself because any time there were other students acted rebellious or disobey any type of rule, there would be severe punishment or death. Therefore, Werner would feel trapped because he was unable to help his friends keep out of trouble or else, he would have to suffer the consequences. “Rodel steps forward and swings his hose and smacks Frederick with it across the shoulder …Werner forces his mind to keep sending up images from home” (p.194).
Marie Laure LeBlanc was a blind, tall, freckled girl who lived in Paris with her father, Daniel LeBlanc. She was brave and wise as she went through her childhood. Although, she was trapped in many different ways, such as her blindness which made her unable to fit in with other children, and being stuck in Etienne’s house because of her father’s fear to go out. “‘When can I go to the sea?’ ‘Not today, Marie’…‘It’s too dangerous’. She wants to shriek. What danger awaits?” (p.145). Her father indicates it is too dangerous outside, so Marie respects his wishes, but feels stuck since she is unable to go out and feel free.
Etienne LeBlanc was a sixty-three-year-old man and was Marie Laure’s great uncle. He lived in Saint-Malo with his brother, Henri. His brother died in World War I as Etienne watched, but he never fully recuperated from his death. There were other horrendous occurrences he underwent that permanently devastated him. This caused him to become anxious to walk outside and stay inside for more than twenty years. “Her uncle seems almost like a child, monastic in the modesty of his needs and wholly independent of any sort of temporal obligations. And yet she can tell he is visited by fears so immense… she can feel the terror pulsing inside of him” (p.157). This shows how much fear and detachment he has from the world to the point he does not realize he is trapped.
‘All the Light We Cannot See’ is a novel that has many themes that portray strongly throughout the whole book, but the main theme is entrapment. Werner, Marie, and Etienne have all been through some type of trapped and lost situation, but in the end, they were able to better themselves. Although they were physically and emotionally traumatized, it helped positively shape their character in the end.