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5. No Out
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
Marie-Laure, Madame Manec, and some resistance members are walking through the streets, planning to meet up with Harold Bazin—but they’re surprised to find that Bazin is not sitting in his usual place, outside the city library. Manec asks a nearby librarian where Bazin has gone, and the librarian says that she doesn’t know. Manec begins to panic, and suggests to her friends that they should ease up on their efforts in the next few weeks. Marie-Laure senses that the city of Saint-Malo is slowly being converted into the model in her room—that is, it’s being cleared of all people.
Marie-Laure and Manec face the same challenge that so many resistance fighters faced in France: continue or give up? There was often no indication that the fighters’ measures were weakening the German war effort at all. As a result, many people gave up, sure that their efforts were meaningless. Once again a poignant parallel is drawn between the model of Saint-Malo and Saint-Malo itself.
Themes
