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5. Proposal
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
The boys in the National Institute bully Frederick horribly. Werner alone looks out for his friend, helping him whenever he can. Late at night, Werner and Hauptmann test their transceiver with Volkheimer’s help.
Werner is performing one good deed to hide the fact that he’s refusing to do something more important: in other words, he’s helping Frederick in private when he could be standing up for him in public, or even opposing the authorities altogether.
Themes
One day Werner asks Frederick why he doesn’t just leave the National Institute and return to Berlin. Frederick replies, a little too suddenly, that it might be better if he and Werner weren’t friends anymore. Werner, in spite of himself, remembers being with his sister, years ago. He imagines how sad Jutta was when he destroyed their radio. Werner tries to reconcile with Frederick, but Frederick ignores him.
Frederick seems to see through Werner’s hypocrisy, and call him out on it. He plays a similar role to Jutta, as a mostly one-note character whose role is primarily to act as a “conscience” for Werner. It makes sense, then, why Werner immediately thinks of Jutta and her disappointment in him when Frederick reacts in a similar way.
Themes
