Dire circumstances can significantly influence a person’s life, forcing them to reevaluate many aspects of themselves. In the novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, set during World War II in Germany and England, Marie-Laure and Werner are forced to reconsider their beliefs as they are plagued by doubt, and Étienne and Mme. Manec must overcome personal challenges to fight for those they love. In the novel Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave, set in London during World War II, Mary and Alistair question their reality when exposed to society’s harshness, and Zachary and Simonson discover war’s transformative abilities. The characters must all face challenges during the war that force them to question various aspects of themselves.
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To begin, in All the Light We Cannot See, Doerr conveys that war can change a person’s perspective by forcing them to reflect on their choices, as Werner and Marie-Laure are forced to question their beliefs and actions. Werner is a curious young boy who hopes to become a scientist, but is instead forced to join Hitler’s youth. Werner chooses to ignore his dreams, and comply with the rules set for him, even when he feels uncomfortable with the choices he must make. For example, as Werner works with his team to locate and kill rebels, he is plagued by the morality of his actions. This doubt is accentuated when his team accidentally kills a young girl in the middle of their raid, and Werner is forced to reevaluate his decision to conform. Delusions of the people he has killed torment him, as he begins to see a “dead girl in the sky, dead girl out the window, dead girl three inches away,” (Doerr 397). His perspective of the world is drastically altered as he is forced to face the truth about the Reich’s intentions, and begins to question his beliefs. Werner gives in to this doubt, as he recalls his sister asking him if it is “right to do something only because everyone else is doing it,” (Doerr 133). The change
To begin, in All the Light We Cannot See, Doerr conveys that war can change a person’s perspective by forcing them to reflect on their choices, as Werner and Marie-Laure are forced to question their beliefs and actions. Werner is a curious young boy who hopes to become a scientist, but is instead forced to join Hitler’s youth. Werner chooses to ignore his dreams, and comply with the rules set for him, even when he feels uncomfortable with the choices he must make. For example, as Werner works with his team to locate and kill rebels, he is plagued by the morality of his actions. This doubt is accentuated when his team accidentally kills a young girl in the middle of their raid, and Werner is forced to reevaluate his decision to conform. Delusions of the people he has killed torment him, as he begins to see a “dead girl in the sky, dead girl out the window, dead girl three inches away,” (Doerr 397). His perspective of the world is drastically altered as he is forced to face the truth about the Reich’s intentions, and begins to question his beliefs. Werner gives in to this doubt, as he recalls his sister asking him if it is “right to do something only because everyone else is doing it,” (Doerr 133). The change