Questions About All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (383)

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Sam Abney

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Do we know why Frederick was so pushed by his family to attend the Nazis school where he obviously did not belong?

Kim My mother was in Hitler's Youth. It was not optional. Not doing so would bring harm/death to your family/self. Knowing what I do abouit Berlin and the…moreMy mother was in Hitler's Youth. It was not optional. Not doing so would bring harm/death to your family/self. Knowing what I do abouit Berlin and the accounts my mother has shared with me, I always say the first country Hitler invaded was Germay. (less)

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Erik

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[Spoiler Alert] Why do you think the author decided to add the rape scene? Does it add anything to the characters' arcs? Does it propel the plot forward? Does anything result from that scene? Frau Elena, Jutta, and the other three girls were already obviously miserable. The reader has already experienced the cruelty of war. Why was the rape scene necessary?

Emmitouflee I think it was because after Germany was defeated, and occupied by Allied forces, millions of German women were indeed raped primarily by Soviet soldi…moreI think it was because after Germany was defeated, and occupied by Allied forces, millions of German women were indeed raped primarily by Soviet soldiers, but also by soldiers from the US, UK, France and so on. The women are hardly the central focus of the book, and most of the action takes place far away from them, highlighting their innocence, and yet they had to endure such suffering. It just further compounds the cruelty of war.

I think it was masterfully done, and we so often shy away from this harsh truth in history classes and history books, because it is much easier to portray the Allied forces as the "good guys," period, and a mass raping of helpless women makes us uneasy and doesn't align with our narrative of war, so I'm glad the author didn't try to just ignore that part of history. It stands in stark contrast to Volkheimer's arc, as by the end of the novel, despite killing hundreds of people, we don't see Volkheimer receive any sort of specific punishment.(less)

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So, what really happened to the diamond? Was it answered and I missed it, or was it left up to the reader to guess?

Claudia Clark The fact that Werner throws the diamond into the sea after he retrieves the house in the grotto ties the beginning and the ending chapters of the nove…moreThe fact that Werner throws the diamond into the sea after he retrieves the house in the grotto ties the beginning and the ending chapters of the novel together. The storyteller in the museum quotes the priest after he tells the story of the prince and the diamond: "But if the keeper threw the diamond into the sea, thereby delivering it to its rightful recipient, the goddess would lift the curse." Werner is the one who lifts the curse. And the people he cared for - Marie-Laure, his sister Jutta, Volkheimer - all survive, but he is being killed because the stone does not protect him anymore. So in a way, his death has some meaning.(less)

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