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5. Visitors
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
Werner writes Jutta a letter that’s heavily censored (more than 75% of it is blacked out). He says that life is very difficult for him. He mentions Frederick, who once said there is no such thing as free will. He says, “My mistake was …” but the rest of his message is blacked out.
Werner seems to be thrown into fear and anxiety by the absence of Frederick and Hauptmann, and the realization that he actually has very little control over his own destiny. The absence of free will in Werner’s life will persist for some time, as he’s now controlled by the Nazi state and part of its war machine.
Themes
