Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See tells the story of Werner Pfennig, an orphan in a German mining town with a knack for radios, and his younger sister Jutta. At the beginning of the novel, Werner and Jutta are very close, nearly inseparable. Growing up as orphans, Werner and Jutta had to rely on each other heavily for emotional support. However, when Werner passes his physical examination and qualifies to go to school at Schulpforta, an elite military school for the most intelligent children in Nazi Germany, Werner and Jutta begin to lose touch with each other. Werner believes that he is doing what he has to in order to make a better life for himself and Jutta. Jutta, on the other hand, sees that Werner is compromising his beliefs
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Whenever Werner makes an important decision, he thinks of her. He also thinks of her whenever he knows he has done something wrong. This shows that Jutta represents a conscience of sorts for Werner. Jutta has a very strong character, and if Jutta were to know something was wrong, she would do something about it and take a stand. In a way she is similar to Frederick. Had she been told to throw the water onto the Russian prisoner, she too would have poured it out and done the right thing. For being so young, Jutta has a very good understanding of what is going on. When Werner is about to leave for the military school, Jutta knowing of Germany’s military actions through the parisian radio says “Is it right… to do something only because everyone else is doing it”(133).When she finds out that Werner is going to leave for Schulpforta, she knows that he isn’t just going away to a special school, she realizes that the military is not the right place for Werner and that he should stay with her and the other orphan children. While Jutta was in the background for the majority of the story, she still displayed a strong sense of morals, character, and displayed bravery similar to that of Marie Laure. Jutta and Werner both know the right thing to do, but Jutta was the only one to actually do
Whenever Werner makes an important decision, he thinks of her. He also thinks of her whenever he knows he has done something wrong. This shows that Jutta represents a conscience of sorts for Werner. Jutta has a very strong character, and if Jutta were to know something was wrong, she would do something about it and take a stand. In a way she is similar to Frederick. Had she been told to throw the water onto the Russian prisoner, she too would have poured it out and done the right thing. For being so young, Jutta has a very good understanding of what is going on. When Werner is about to leave for the military school, Jutta knowing of Germany’s military actions through the parisian radio says “Is it right… to do something only because everyone else is doing it”(133).When she finds out that Werner is going to leave for Schulpforta, she knows that he isn’t just going away to a special school, she realizes that the military is not the right place for Werner and that he should stay with her and the other orphan children. While Jutta was in the background for the majority of the story, she still displayed a strong sense of morals, character, and displayed bravery similar to that of Marie Laure. Jutta and Werner both know the right thing to do, but Jutta was the only one to actually do