All the Light We Cannot See

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Post-Reading Analysis

The radio often feels like a character of its own in this novel. It causes death in Werner’s research on triangulation of radio signals, but it also provides an outlet for hope, as in Etienne’s (and later Marie-Laure’s) broadcasts. What role did technology—particularly communication technology—play in this novel? What might Doerr be suggesting about modern technology?

Teaching Suggestion: Encourage students to think about this motif as they process the end of the novel. Marie-Laure brings it nicely to a close with her meditation on modern technology. You can also use the online exhibition from the Digital Public Library of America linked here to compare and contrast the history of the radio in the U.S. and Europe during the war.

• Lynn University libraries have put together a timeline of the evolution of the radio.
• The Digital Public Library of America discusses what radio was like in the U.S. at this time, offering a different perspective to Doerr’s.

Personal Response Prompt

This book forces its readers to contend with the effects of war on both sides. Marie-Laure loses her father and many of those she loves, and Werner Pfennig, an orphan, does what he can to survive, even though it means fighting for the Nazis.