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All the Light We Cannot See,
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Katharine Best
I believe the answer is found when Werner and Jutta tune in to a broadcast early on when Marie Laure's grandfather states: "The brain is locked in total darkness, of course,children, says the voice. It floats in a clear liquid inside the skull, never in the light. And yet the world it constructs in the mind is full of light. It brims with color and movement. So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?
Marie Laure's world was vividly depicted.
Marie Laure's world was vividly depicted.
Pixellle
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Immortalitas
for her ," She never knows if the lights are on"
For werner "mathematically, all of light is invisible."
SO, blind or not, all the light we can not see
For werner "mathematically, all of light is invisible."
SO, blind or not, all the light we can not see
Joan
I think it refers to the electromagnetic spectrum, which contains all the electromagnetic waves in the universe, only a tiny sliver of which is visible to us, as colors. Radio waves are part of it. And of course our heroine is blind. So I think the title is perfect.
Elizabeth Hamid
The meaning to the title is very profound- Marie Laure, the blind girl is able to 'see' things sighted people are unable to see. Doer uses the snails who feel their way around their environment, as a metaphor for Marie. She too feels her way around her environment, remembering the lessons her father taught her with his model buildings in their neighbourhood.
Tanya
The story is about all the light you cannot see - in others. The light that may have existed within the soul of a German soldier, despite his many crimes. The light that can exist within the mind of a blind girl, even though she cannot see. A humble lock-keeper carrying a treasured diamond. An old French maid who organises the local resistance. A shell-shocked war veteran finding the courage to assist the resistance and become a real guardian to his grand-daughter.
Kerstan
The entire book is riddled with references to light, to sound, to touch, and to something deep within us that can see light from dark. I am only half way through, but I believe it speaks to light that is felt and not seen.
chris
I think the title has several meanings (like all great titles do)... one of them refers to the great potential that boys like Werner and Frederick had that was extinguished by the war. Volkheimer kept saying "What you could be" about Werner. We'll never see that potential now.
Allie Coleman
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Alice
In addition to Marie Laure's blindness and the electromagnetic spectrum, "All the Light We Cannot See" may include the coal mine where Werner's father died. Etienne's brother talks about this in one of the broadcasts describing the way the light that entered the plants is ultimately converted to coal.
Jay
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christy
After I finished the book, I thought about this for a while. In my mind, the title represents the people who lived through the war. There are so many unknown individuals like the characters in the book--who worked, lived, and tried their best in their own way, to survive, to protect, and not to lose who they are.
Yumin
I also thought of an answer to this question and here's what I think:
The book mentions that the classical piece of music played from the broadcast of Marie Laure's grandfather is "Claire de Lune", translating to "Moonlight". When Maurie Laure listens to it, she finds it very soothing and it brings to her hope when she is in despairing situations. This is the same for Werner and Volkheimer at a time when they are confined under the roof of the Hotel of Bees. They endeavour to find a way for them to escape, striving to survive, which soon is deemed as hopeless. However, once Volkheimer is exposed to the sound of "Claire de Lune" playing on Marie Laure's broadcast, he spontaneously is filled with hope and strength to fight against his plight once more. He succeeds in breaking out this time. I believe that there were several other "lights" that one can interpret within the novel and that "Claire de Lune" was one of the "lights" that none of the characters could not physically reach out to or see at all, yet it was paramount in a sense that it empowers the characters' resilience has the capability of filling them with aspiration and inner strength once more.
The book mentions that the classical piece of music played from the broadcast of Marie Laure's grandfather is "Claire de Lune", translating to "Moonlight". When Maurie Laure listens to it, she finds it very soothing and it brings to her hope when she is in despairing situations. This is the same for Werner and Volkheimer at a time when they are confined under the roof of the Hotel of Bees. They endeavour to find a way for them to escape, striving to survive, which soon is deemed as hopeless. However, once Volkheimer is exposed to the sound of "Claire de Lune" playing on Marie Laure's broadcast, he spontaneously is filled with hope and strength to fight against his plight once more. He succeeds in breaking out this time. I believe that there were several other "lights" that one can interpret within the novel and that "Claire de Lune" was one of the "lights" that none of the characters could not physically reach out to or see at all, yet it was paramount in a sense that it empowers the characters' resilience has the capability of filling them with aspiration and inner strength once more.
Kevin St Mary
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Vicki Peterson
I think "all the light we cannot see" is darkness. Marie Laure was blind. Werner was blind to the Wehrmacht. They were both blind.
Kayla Lawrence
Anthony Doerr says on his website that it is talking about radio waves and the untold stories of so many people during the war. I can't help but think that he could also have meant to express how beautiful the rest of the universe remains even when mankind goes to war and all we can see is ugliness. I like how the author, like Werner, seems to be full of questions about the amazing place in which we live. I hope that he someday finds the answers.
Jenn
The title is in reference to all the unseen communication that surrounds us via light waves, radio being the most obvious reference here.
Dmitriy Perelstein
A lot of commentators made some very good points about this. The light can represent blindness and how the healthy people can't even fathom their lives without the ability to see the light. It can mean "kindness" and "the good" that shines so brightly during these dark-dark days, it can represent radio waves that we carry the light of education, i.e. "enlightenment".
But one point I didn't see discussed here (or maybe I missed it). Think about the most famous, or rather infamous, "bringer of light". Could it be that the light that he brings is actually the opposite of what we believe it signifies? Could it be the evil, vileness, hatred and self-destruction that human beings bring unto themselves?
But one point I didn't see discussed here (or maybe I missed it). Think about the most famous, or rather infamous, "bringer of light". Could it be that the light that he brings is actually the opposite of what we believe it signifies? Could it be the evil, vileness, hatred and self-destruction that human beings bring unto themselves?
Jim Wallace
Whenever someone mentions Nazi Germany there's an automatic hate response in people. In “All The Light We Can Not See” Wefner is a young German. He is also a part of the Nazi force. But you can not generate hate for this character. He's a gentle young man with kindness in his heart and if you've read the novel then you know it. And who can not love the character Marie-Laure, the blind French girl?… in her blindness, there's more light than we can see.
The novel wants to make the readers believe that there existed gentleness and kindness even during WWII. We can think up only the violence and when the word “World War II” strikes. Doerr takes our perspective away from all that and introduces a new theme, A German Boy helping a French Girl in the time when Germany and France are at war on all fronts. Yes, there's violence in the book, there's misery, of course. It’s World War II. But that's all the dark.
The book is about light. Here ‘All The Light’ should mean ‘All the good'. Marie-Laure and Wefner are the symbol for goodness in the novel. They are the rare rays of light that remain hidden to us. All these lights, that we could see…but we choose to overlook.
poppy playtime
The novel wants to make the readers believe that there existed gentleness and kindness even during WWII. We can think up only the violence and when the word “World War II” strikes. Doerr takes our perspective away from all that and introduces a new theme, A German Boy helping a French Girl in the time when Germany and France are at war on all fronts. Yes, there's violence in the book, there's misery, of course. It’s World War II. But that's all the dark.
The book is about light. Here ‘All The Light’ should mean ‘All the good'. Marie-Laure and Wefner are the symbol for goodness in the novel. They are the rare rays of light that remain hidden to us. All these lights, that we could see…but we choose to overlook.
poppy playtime
vividreading
i think it is ultimately up to the interpretation of the reader, but to me it is highlighting blindness. the blindness of werner to his environment and how he lived without taking charge of his life until the very end, so he was figuratively living blindly. but how marie was literally blind but so intuned with the world around her.
Caitlin
There's no doubt a deeper meaning of the title found after completion of the story, but I would most likely say the part when Werner and Jutta are listening to the radio, and Marie's grandfather says "So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?" That's where I believe the answer comes from, but I'm sure there's also a deeper meaning about the war.
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