Anthony Doerr's extraordinary novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” is a literary piece that moves briskly, efficiently, and beautifully in precise sentences and pristine. Each sentence is a lyric poem that the author has carefully structured. The novel is a work of historical fiction that opens with two memoirs of two different children who lived on opposite sides of the Second World War. This literature addresses the great themes of war, destiny and free will, parental sacrifices, physical blindness versus spiritual blindness, fear, control versus power, the power of knowledge, and the possibilities of magic and legend . The most important theme of the novel is war. Doerr's work of fiction uses physical symbols to show the effects of war on people, resistance to oppression, and the effort of citizens trying to maintain normalcy, creating a better understanding for readers about the outcomes of war. The author uses three symbols in the novel that are closely related to the main characters, and these symbols will help portray the author's view on the war through a new perspective to bring out the hidden stories of World War II. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe first symbol that the author uses to explain the consequences of the war is a small model of the city of Saint-Malo built by Marie-Laure's father, Mr. LeBlanc; clarify the effects of war on cities and people. At the beginning of the novel, it is described how the model cities of Paris and the city of Saint-Malo created by Monsieur Leblanc are accurate in proportions and layout of buildings. The Saint-Malo model is described in detail by Marie-Laure “His fingers pass in front of the shipbuilder's shed on the rue de Chartres, in front of Madame Ruelle's bakery on the rue Robert Surcouf. In his imagination he hears the bakers slipping on the flour-slick floor... baking bread in the same four-hundred-year-old oven that Monsieur Ruelle's great-great-grandfather used. His fingers trace the steps of the cathedral – here an old man picks roses in a garden; here next to the library, the madman Hubert Bazin mutters to himself as he peers with one eye into an empty wine bottle…” (Doerr, 243). Unlike the model, the streets of the real city are full of people living their daily lives, like the people Marie-Laure included in her narrative. During World War II, occupied France is under direct Nazi German control, the streets of Saint-Malo imitate the model streets; becoming increasingly desolate as citizens attempt to escape the wrath of Nazi Germans by remaining in their homes. Civilians in Europe had war on their doorstep with bombings and killings, “…the siege of Saint-Malo, the bombings calm down, as if all the artillerymen suddenly fell asleep in front of their weapons. Trees burn, cars burn, houses burn. German soldiers drink in their pillboxes. A priest in the college cellar sprinkles holy water on the walls” (Doerr, 375). Some were put into camps; Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and anyone else the Nazis believed posed a threat to the creation of the master race were thrown into concentration camps and many millions were killed. The war took place not only on the front lines against heavy infantry, but also against ordinary people on the home front. France was plunged into a dark age, occupied by Nazi Germans with the terrible implications of bombings, executions, deportations, murders and famine.Slowly the resistance took shape and began to react. The author uses two different objects, a wardrobe and a radio, and connects them both to create a symbol of resistance to oppression. After Nazi Germany occupied France, radios were outlawed throughout the country, but some maintained illegal radios demonstrating resistance to oppression. Maintaining these illegal radios would allow them to communicate with allies in hopes of defeating the Nazis, "When Marie-Laure arrives at the front door with the bread, when she opens the tiny parchment between her fingers, lowering her mouth to the microphone, she feels adamant ; feels alive. 56778. 21. 4567. 1094. 467813. Then the time and frequency of the next transmission worked for several months, new slips of paper arrived inside a loaf of bread every few days...” Doerr, 331-332). Etienne, a member of the resistance, agrees to contribute to the war effort to regain his freedom; providing information to the Allied forces during the Normandy landings on D-Day of Etienne would become a door to secrets, on the outside of the wardrobe, it is a normal storage space without anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, however behind this piece of furniture lies the secret: an illegal radio. This wardrobe highlights how people stay strong and resilient in times of oppression, and how even the most unlikely people can make a big difference in difficult times. Radio plays an important role in Werner and Marie-Laure's life, as this is how they meet, symbolizing the connection between people from all over the world. The book that Marie-Laure reads for much of the novel, Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, is mentioned many times. You see Marie-Laure reading the sentences as the years go by, through good times and bad. It is not the book that would be a symbol, but his act of reading a book becomes a symbol of the fact that even during World War II citizens strive to try to live a regular life every day. Marie-Laure reads as if she were living a normal life with her father. After Werner introduces himself to Marie-Laure, he comments on how brave she was, she then replies “…I lost my sight, Werner, people said I was brave. When my father left, people said I was brave. But it's not courage, I have no choice. I wake up and live my life” (Doerr, 469), and she is left with her uncle, and later, when her uncle is taken away and she is left alone in the house to fend for herself. In the most difficult moments, she reads the book on her great-uncle's radio to comfort herself for all those experiences lived in the difficulties of the war, she reads to comfort herself and take her mind off the terror that is happening around her. During World War II, people on the home front continue to live normal lives, locked in their homes while friends, family and everyone around them disappear and their way of life changes. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay As far as World War II novels go, “All the Light You Can See” follows the desolation and barbarity of war, but the language feels surprisingly fresh. Following Werner and Marie-Laure, two young people forced to make difficult, almost impossible choices, one fighting for the Nazis, the other for the French Resistance in World War II. The author masterfully allows readers to see the world through the eyes of a blind girl, writing rich details that fill all five senses at once so that readers can visualize it. Marie Laure has to deal with the.