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3. Weakest (#2)
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
Daniel LeBlanc is arrested just outside of Paris. Police officers look through his possessions, and find keys, as well as tiny saws. Daniel tries to explain that the saws are for making models for his blind daughter, but he’s thrown in jail anyway. The officers accuse him of plotting to blow up buildings in Saint-Malo. Daniel begs to use a telephone to talk to his daughter, but he’s denied one. One officer tells Daniel, “We are very close to Germany.”
Tragically, Daniel’s love for his child leads to his being arrested for espionage—the Germans don’t understand or believe that he’s trying to help his blind daughter learn to navigate her way. The close families in this novel are starting to drift apart: Jutta is disconnected from Werner, just as Daniel is now separated from Marie-Laure.
Themes
