Destiny: Is Life Happening to Us? When you reflect on your life up to this point, there is a difference between how much of what happened was directly a result of our actions and how much was seemingly fate. To delve deeper into this thought, one might find that fate actually controls much of our lives. The circumstances in which we unknowingly find ourselves involved can ultimately determine the outcome of our lives to some extent. In the novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, this common theme is greatly exemplified throughout the story. Setting the scene in the midst of World War II, Doerr introduces two young children, who quickly become teenagers, as the novel jumps to and from different time frames. One is Werner Pfennig, a brilliant German orphan who promises much in his technological intelligence. The other key character is Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a young French girl, daughter of a Parisian museum blacksmith. An important detail in understanding Marie-Laure's story is the fact that she became blind at the age of just 6 years old. These two characters are of great value when analyzing the story for this “destiny theme” mentioned above. As the reader may soon discover, in the alternating stories during the climax of the Second World War, the common theme of lack of action on the lives of both teenagers is very present. Their ability to make choices that benefit them seems desired, but unattainable, as the war influences the choices they make and the events that surround them. By presenting the characters as seemingly defenseless children stuck in this large-scale war, Doerr presents the idea that humans are ultimately mere pawns of the larger society, fundamentally victims of its choices; However, through the journeys of these characters, Doerr demonstrates that even those in dire situations can make a difference if they challenge conformity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The question of fate and the idea that it controls much of our lives is something that is discussed on a large scale. Can we, as human beings, control or even influence the circumstances around us? Or does life happen to us eventually? Daniel Dennet stated that "fatalism is the rather mystical and superstitious view that at certain checkpoints in our lives, we will necessarily find ourselves in particular circumstances (the circumstances that 'destiny' has decreed) regardless of the whims of our personal trajectories ..." (Solomon 435). This question remains as the reader can take into account that the development of events is beyond a person's control and may be in the hands of a supernatural power. But, having said that, the topic remains… is there free will in all this? (Sienkewicz)The reader will begin to see how little autonomy the main characters actually have in their lives. This is predominantly due to the fact that they are children, of course, but from a broader perspective, it is the result of the war. Starting with Werner, his lack of control over his life and the course it will soon take begins with his current circumstances. Doerr describes it this way: “Werner and his younger sister, Jutta, grow up at the Children's House, a two-story clinker orphanage on Viktoriastrasse whose rooms are populated by the coughing of sick children and the crying of newborns and the battered trunks inside of which the last possessions of the deceased parents sleep" (24). It can be assumed thelack of opportunities that presents itself in a context like this. The only option children like Werner have is introduced in the same chapter: "'Over there," Werner whispers to his sister. “That's where dad died” (26). It refers to “Pit Nine”, one of the largest mine shafts. The importance of this is that Werner could very well end up experiencing the same fate as his late father. “An official from the Ministry of Labor visits the Children's Home to talk about work opportunities in the mines [...] All the children, without exception [...] will go to work in the mines once they turn fifteen. It talks about glories and triumphs and how lucky they will be to have a steady job” (43). In the same paragraph “Werner feels the ceiling slipping lower, the walls shrinking” (43), and this description further underlines what role fate plays in this young boy's life. Fate takes control of Werner's life and, at this point in the novel, he is succeeding in a big way. He feels visibly constrained by the few options he has, creating the feeling of being trapped in his unfortunate circumstances. These cases are just the beginning of the concept of destiny in Werner's life. Continuing the plot, “'I think,” Werner says, feeling as if a cupboard in the sky had just opened, “we've just found a radio” (32). This is the key to the whole story. He mentions this feeling of a closet being opened, adding to the feeling of being trapped earlier. This shows some hope, a light at the end of the tunnel, as even fate can change things for the better. The negative connotation that the concept of destiny has had until now does not apply in this case, but instead remains constant in Werner's life, whatever the case may be. After discovering this broken radio, Werner quickly finds a way to repair it. His problem-solving skills and attention to detail must be innate, and once again, the recurring theme of destiny rises to the surface. This short chapter foreshadows what happens next in the story. Werner clearly stands out from the other boys and girls in the house. This difference will soon earn him a ticket to what looks like a more promising future. His young and intelligent mind is quickly noticed by the community as he begins repairing the upper classes' radios, giving them reason to look his way. This act of fate – the discovery of the radio, the discovery of his own intelligence, has brought him to what appears to be freedom from what he thought he was condemned to. “You have been called, the letter says. Werner is to report to the National Political Institute of Education #6 in Schulpforta. He stands in the living room of the Children's House, trying to absorb it. Cracked walls, crumbling ceilings, twin benches that gave birth to baby after baby all the time the mine was creating orphans. He found a way out” (124). This quote raises an interesting question. The purpose of an in-depth summary to the point is to demonstrate that perhaps a way out has found him. Did this young German boy really have a say in the matter? It doesn't seem that way. Life, as suggested before, is happening to him. As he progresses through this academy, constantly impressing others with his math skills and radio repair skills, he soon receives orders. “You are eighteen. Not sixteen, as you stated. […it has been] agreed that you will be sent to a special technological division of the Wehrmacht” (286). To put it simply, he is asked to lie about his age so that he can serve on the Nazi-led side of the war. They are desperate to find those who possess the skills that Werner possesses. All of thesecases lead to the present day from Werner's point of view, which takes place at the Hotel Of Bees. His orders are to hold his position, but he is ultimately killed by the bombardments that approach as time passes. All of this encapsulates the life of Werner Pfennig in regards to how fate played a large role in how he had to live. Marie-Laure LeBlanc, the blind French girl, also had a series of events and circumstances that give rise to the idea that the concept of destiny is very present. “Congenital cataract. Bilateral. Irreparable. “Can you see this?” ask the doctors. “Can you see this?” Marie-Laure will see nothing for the rest of her life" (27). First, taking into account her inability to see would allow the reader to understand that most of what happens to her must be in the hands of others. The disability she finds herself with forces her to become more dependent, involving people like her father or her uncle Etienne. Afterwards, the war approaches and the reader can identify more and more with the charming young girl. The emotion evoked lies in the fact that Marie-Laure does not want to leave her beloved home in Saint-Malo. Yet, once again, she is constrained by circumstances that were not of her own making. At the end of the story, the reader will find her helpless, trapped in the rubble of her uncle's house. The idea of ​​dependence resurfaces in the sense that she has no way to help herself without his vision. This turn of events that occur further highlights that, much like Werner, life is simply happening to Marie-Laure. In some pieces that talk about this novel, the critic suggests that “in another time they could have been a couple. But they find themselves on opposite sides of the horrors of the Second World War, and their fates ultimately collide in connection with the radio” (Beck np) as “The listener knows that slowly, inextricably, the lives of Werner and Marie-Laure are will intersect” ( Murray np). That said, both character timelines and complex stories are only part of what contributes to this theme and idea of ​​destiny. The most predominant sub-story in the novel tells the story of a stone. “The stone became known as the Sea of ​​Flames. Some believed that the prince was a deity and that as long as he kept the stone he could not be killed. But something strange began to happen: the longer the prince wore the crown, the worse his luck became. Within a month he lost one brother to drowning and a second brother to snakebite. Within six months his father died of illness. To make matters worse, the sultan's scouts announced that a large army was gathering in the east. […] The curse was this: the guardian of the stone would live forever, but as long as he kept it, misfortunes would fall one after another on all those he loved under an incessant rain” (21). In a legend told to Marie-Laure as a wide-eyed six-year-old, the stone introduces the fateful theme very directly. This stone from the Sea of ​​Flames seems to be just myth and folklore... something to bounce this recurring theme off of. But in hindsight it turns out that it means much more. The symbolism behind the object begins when the story is retold during Marie-Laure's early adolescence. His father, a blacksmith at the museum displaying this particular diamond, was entrusted with the diamond itself or a prototype. He takes him with him as the war approaches, with the certainty that he will keep him safe. The series of unfortunate events that follow Marie-Laure and her father as they flee their small town in France hint at the fact that he may have the real stone. Nothing else can be givenexplanation. Including the dire need to leave their town, her eventual arrest in the next town, and Marie-Laure's unfortunate situation at the end of the novel, all give way to the fact that the stone might have some influence. The story of the stone is that it merely adds a figurative effect to the novel and the theme of fate, and has a huge effect on the way fate can be perceived. Simply, the stone could be thrown into the ocean, no longer possessed by a single person, no longer cursing those around it. A simple decision such as throwing oneself into the water could give someone the opportunity to seize and take ownership to some extent of present and future circumstances. This idea of ​​throwing away the stone opens up a whole new conversation about how fate can be perceived. As one piece states, “while the allegory of the Sea of ​​Flames may seem to indicate a kind of planned destiny – living forever amidst the suffering of others – there is also a choice in the matter: the stone could simply be thrown into sea, absolving the curse” (All...Themes np)This contradiction alludes to the fact that Werner and Marie-Laure may not have been mere victims of the system and the endless cycle of fate. There is some light at the end of this tunnel. Werner is constantly faced with the thought of challenging what he has been taught. Serious brainwashing takes place within the walls of the school he attends. The reader may know this to be true based on the fact that we are able to see inside his consciousness and know that this power struggle within him is actually happening. His sister Jutta gets angry at him when he talks about radios like the Nazis would, and she wonders why radios have become a bad thing. (Volmann). Once a source of inspiration and hope for Werner, it is now something he should locate and destroy. But the question is this: Will Werner fall into the mindset of staunch nationalism like the rest of his peers at his school, or will he create his own path based on his childhood and background - what he knows to be true? Jo McGowan describes his change of mind this way: “His German counterpart, a prodigy plucked from poverty to work for Hitler's counter-terrorist wing, is blind in a different sense: neck-deep in Nazism before finally seeing what is he doing. " (McGowan 8). A similar question rings true for Marie-Laure. She “must choose whether to actively participate in the resistance in a way that might endanger others, until she wonders at one point, “But we're the good ones. boys. Isn't it, uncle?'” (All… Themes np) This struggle for autonomy over what can happen based on their decisions, rather than the act of fate, is evident they possess the newfound ability to have agency over their lives and are committed to using it well it only works up to a point. For example, war is inevitable by two people who do not occupy a higher position of power. Anthony Doerr exemplifies people like this and sheds light on stories that would otherwise be overlooked lives of specific people such as Werner Pfennig and Marie-Laure LeBlanc would not be reported. And, although it is fiction, it definitely reflects what real historical events everyday people, like these two, would have faced. Most documentation relating to this period focuses on larger historical events, rather than personal stories. The effect of this is profound as we delve into the lives of characters 2020.