Betty Confetti answers “**HUGE SPOILER ALERT** Was anyone else...”

Elizabeth asked this question about All the Light We Cannot See:

**HUGE SPOILER ALERT** Was anyone else as disappointed as I was with Werner's death? I was so mad after reading it. I thought it was pointless and dissatisfying, almost like Doerr was done with him after he and Marie-Laure met, though I'm sure the author thought long and hard about it. Any thoughts?

Betty Confetti When Werner participated in the torture and execution of the Jewish man who was tied in the common area of the training camp, I knew that Werner was d…moreWhen Werner participated in the torture and execution of the Jewish man who was tied in the common area of the training camp, I knew that Werner was destined to die. At that point int he novel, Werner was a tragic figure. He participated as he was told and let his inner feelings of repulsion be overwhelmed by worry about challenging authority. He chose silence over action. We have the contrast of his childhood pal who refused to douse the victim with water. The friend was bullied, ostracized, and then turned into a vegetable. To be truly heroic given Werner's evil choice (or really sin of omission), Werner had to be redeemed in some way. The path to redemption--which was clearly coming as the novel was reaching denouement--was by becoming savior to our blind hero. Werner stood up to the Evil (representing Nazi-ism) who valued a jewel more than a human being. Werner's death is what happens in great literature when a hero fails to be pristine throughout a story.... Werner goes on to make a heroic choice and he pays the ultimate price. What is different is the sort of Das Boot ending--hey, they finally get back to shore after the most tense life and death situation, but then get killed in a plane attack on the naval base. This is what happens to Werner--he dies a senseless death at the hands of his own people. A Friendly Fire incident exemplifies the inane reality of war, this particular war, and the bankrupt ideology of this fascist regime. This is great literature, and this is what happens to tainted heroes in great literature. By dying, Werner is redeemed, and we can hope that God will grant him mercy for his stupidity in aiding the Nazi's and reward him for saving the blind girl.(less)

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Betty Confetti Mike, you've hit it totally on the head. Werner was just like everyone else. They too paid a price, and that meant--if they survived--a lifetime of me ...more
May 13, 2016 02:57AM · flag

Reader This shows you obviously did not read the book, as anyone who read more than the Spark Notes would know the blind girl is named Marie-Laure. You obvio ...more
Mar 13, 2024 09:20AM · flag

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All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr (Goodreads Author)

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