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7. The Messages
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
Sergeant Major von Rumpel makes his way to Paris. A man has been arrested for stealing from the Natural History Museum, and he was discovered to be carrying many gems. Von Rumpel investigates the gems—there are beautiful stones, including one large diamond. Von Rumpel is excited to discover that the diamond resembles the one he’s been looking for: the Sea of Flames. But upon closer inspection, he realizes that the diamond is another fake. Von Rumpel has found two fake diamonds—this means that there are only two others, one real and one fake.
The suspense grows as Doerr plots von Rumpel’s inexorable journey towards Saint-Malo and the real diamond (we already know he’ll make it there because Doerr has already told us). Von Rumpel’s quest clearly grows more personal and important to him, as he no longer seems to be following specific orders, but only looking for the object that he thinks will save his life.
Themes
