107 pages • 3 hours read
Anthony DoerrA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Part 0, Chapters 1-8
Part 1, Chapters 9-31
Part 2, Chapters 32-36
Part 3, Chapters 37-61
Part 4, Chapters 62-67
Part 5, Chapters 68-95
Part 6, Chapters 96-100
Part 7, Chapters 101-120
Part 8, Chapters 121-128
Part 9, Chapters 129-147
Part 10, Chapters 148-165
Part 11, Chapters 166-167
Part 12, Chapters 168-177
Part 13, Chapter 178
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Quiz
Many characters experience both literal and psychological entrapment in this novel. In one narrative arc, Werner is trapped in a basement by rubble after the Allied bombing of Saint-Malo. On a symbolic level, Marie-Laure is entrapped by her blindness and von Rumpel is trapped in his dying body. On a psychological level, Etienne is trapped by his agoraphobia, caused by the trauma of war; and Werner is trapped in his role first as a student at Schulpforta and later as a Wehrmacht soldier. Throughout the novel, Werner views the world in terms of people’s assigned roles and their imprisonment in them.
Each character fights his entrapment, and some are more successful than others at escaping or overcoming their traps. For example, Werner finally escapes the Reich at the end of the novel, when he decides not to report Etienne’s radio broadcasts and kills von Rumpel to save Marie-Laure. He falls in love with Marie-Laure, and through their meeting, the meaning of his life is transformed. Though Marie-Laure does not return his love, she is grateful to Werner and redeems his humanity by sharing the last of her food with him and by trusting him with the key to the grotto.
By Anthony Doerr