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5. The Blade and the Whelk
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in All the Light We Cannot See, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
World War II, the Nazis, and the French Resistance
Interconnectedness and Separation
Fate, Duty, and Free Will
Family
Science and “Ways of Seeing”
Summary
Analysis
In this letter, Jutta asks Werner why he hasn’t been writing to her, but the rest of her complaint is censored. She explains that she’s been working hard in the orphanage to ensure that the soldiers have enough clothing to fight. She ends her letter by saying that she’s sent Werner something that she found under his cot—something he could use right now.
Jutta acts as the moral constant in Werner’s life: his education is changing his point of view, but whenever he talks to Jutta, he’s reminded of how things used to be. This is incredibly important for Werner, and disruptive for his indoctrination as a Nazi.
Themes
Werner finishes reading the letter and looks at what Jutta has sent him: the notebook of “questions” that Werner began writing as a young child. Werner flips through the book and looks at his old designs: designs for elaborate machines to improve life in the orphanage. He’s overcome by homesickness.
As a young child, Werner’s first instinct was to use his intelligence to improve life for the people around him. Now, Werner realizes that he has essentially sold himself to the Nazi state, where his intelligence is being used to hurt and oppress people.
Themes
