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Personification
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
All the Light We Cannot See takes a unique approach to setting, given that one of the novel's central characters is blind. Despite Marie-Laure's lack of sight, she experiences physical settings in vivid detail, relying on the intricate city models her father builds for her to help her navigate Paris and Saint-Malo.
Marie-Laure's city models are an active part of her setting in the world, despite only serving as tools for her to navigate her environment. These models give fuel to her imagination, which in the absence of sight is one of the only means Marie-Laure has at her disposal to interact with the world around her. She "sees" through these models, which take her outside of herself, beyond the limits of her physical body.
Though Werner does not lack the ability to see, he entertains the same imaginative vision of the world around him that Marie-Laure must. She cannot see, and thus must imagine her physical surroundings; Werner, by contrast, can see—but the world around him is uninspiring, leading him to seek "sight" through radio waves. While listening to The Professor, Werner acquires the ability to see beyond the limits of his body, using imagination to transcend his physical surroundings as opposed to remaining complacent within them. The preeminent setting in All the Light We Cannot See is not Paris, or Zollverein, but the human mind.
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