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Jayla RossSummer Reading (1)31 July 2017Section 1: Before and Onset of the War 1. In 1934, Marie-Laure LeBlanc and her widowed father live in Paris, France. It is implied that she is blind completely relies on her other senses to carry on her life. Her father, Daniel LeBlanc, is the head locksmith at the National Museum of National History where a story passes around in the museum that the Sea of France, a blue and red diamond, is located deep within the museum vaults as it has the power to protect the owner, yet bring misfortune to everyone around the owner. There are three other replicas made, along with the true diamond, and the each diamond is sent into different directions without the owner knowing if they possess the true Sea of France, thus the individual has to protect their gem as if it were real—Marie-Laure’s father is among the receivers. Marie-Laure and her father flee Paris to live with her great-uncle Etienne LeBlanc in Saint-Malo. During this time, her father’s fear that he has the real diamond causes him to try to deliver the stone to a friend of the museum in Paris where he is arrested and sent to a work camp. As the Germans slowly invade Saint-Malo, Etienne is arrested and Marie-Laure transmits messages through a secret radio in their closet. Simultaneously, German orphans Werner Pfennig and his sister Jutta Pfennig are feeling the wrath of the war. Unknowing to both characters, Werner enjoys Marie-Laure’s radio station and soon grabs a keen sense of radios, motors, and transmitters; he repaired the radio he listened to in order to hear Marie-Laure’s station. He starts to regret his skillset as he used to think of science as an instrument of wonder and not death when his genius tracked a radio signal to its source and a young girl is killed. Eventually, his skills are recognized throughout the services and his unit is dispatched to Saint-Malo to trace and destroy the sender of mysterious intelligence broadcasts. ?2a. “Open your eyes’ concludes the man, ‘and see what you can with them before they close forever.’” (Chp. 1)Destiny and fate are addressed throughout the story and this quote solidifies the ignorance humans have towards time. As Werner and Jutta listen to the French broadcast, they are given this advice that somewhat foreshadows the plot as it eventually becomes Werner’s motto he lives by until his final breathes. As Marie-Laure is blind and cannot physically see, the essence of the quote was literal and figurative as she could not determine the destiny of her eyes and still had to take advantage of her time the same way. During the war, many people were dead, disappearing, or arrested and not a single one knew what their last day held for them; thus, this quote advises one to grasp every spec of time because it reveals that each second is ambiguous. By utilizing a metaphor, the text is somewhat emphasized being that the topic of destiny is heavily alluded to in the story; this made the quote stand out to me and ultimately stick because it began to catalyze the main idea of the story. Moreover, the phrase adds a sense of depth within the piece because it originates in the beginning and eventually reappears throughout the story, moreover causing an ongoing thought as the plot develops and so does the quote. 2b. “The air smells like wet grain and hedge trimmings; in the lulls between their footfalls, she can hear a deep, nearly subsonic roar.” (Chp. 1)Being that Marie-Laure is blind and most heavily relies on her senses, the quote falls parallel with those traits. Ultimately, it is important because the use of rationale is prevalent in the section when the time of war is nothing but a mind game. For both Marie-Laure and Werner, they mostly rely on their experiences and perception of their surroundings in order to prevail through the turmoil. Furthermore, this quote adds grit to the story as one sees the imagery within the phrase and the intellect behind it, also. The imagery behind the phrase simply shows the subtle atmosphere that we know is soon going to change. Moreover, it foreshadows the train of thoughts going throughout the characters mind while also revealing what is happening within both their atmospheres. Additionally, the “deep, nearly supersonic roar” can best represent the awaiting bombs and war that only the readers are aware of later in the book. The author introduces the novel with the images of the leaflets and bombers, and then proceeds to this quote because he is developing the story and Marie-Laure is implied to be blind. By using this in the opening, the reader can expect to dive into the plot as imagery is heavily relied upon; “seeing” Marie-Laure’s surroundings help better understand the plot, and ultimately the character. 3a. In this section, the author used imagery as a literary element. Because the story is so lifelike and historically correct, it is fitting that the novel reflects this by using this method. An abundance of the details rely on the five senses, such as: the texture of Braille, the smell of wet grain and hedge trimmings, the sounds of airplanes arriving, etc. Through this, the readers are invited into the story rather than just merely reading. Without imagery, the story would be run down by bland historical events that would make it more of a lesson than an experience. It also aids in creating a context of the actions going on, or in other words provides a background. Since the story does not necessarily start from the beginning, imagery keeps the plotline in tact due to the in-depth look of what’s going on. Readers are invited to use their reasoning to better identify with the story or “participate” with the dreams created in their minds through the use of this method. Furthermore, it helps a reader to mentally experience what is being written or spoken and by placing it throughout the story it is understood that Doerr wants to story to be looked upon its whole entirety. 3b. The Sea of Flames can be classified as a symbol in this section. Being that the plot develops from the gem as it is the main reason for Marie-Laure and her father fleeing Paris. With this, the introduction of the Sea of Flames in the beginning of the novel is fitting as it stays stagnant and valuable throughout the story. Even though Werner does not directly contact the Sea of Flames, he is hears of its rumors and so does von Rumpel, calling for his soldiers to aid in the tracking of it—directly or indirectly. Moreover, these characters seem to be binding by the jewel and what the jewel has the offer; the relationships built from the Sea of Flames build majority of the story ,also. Without the presence of the gem, the story is ambiguous and moreover lackluster. Such a small object holds so much power but is not mandatory for the survival of these characters. Doerr frames the Sea of Flames to represent paradox between pure and dark of science as seen throughout the plot. By placing such a minute possession with so much authority over the character’s lives, the author is demonstrating how such beautiful things can lead to the obstruction of a people, society, or situation.3c. Since the story is set in the 1940s, cultural allusions are prevalent. Although Doerr never comes out and states, “The story is occurring during WW11,” it can be concluded from the numerous references from that time. From the very beginning, there is news of American soldiers flying over the English Channel towards France and a presumed bombing are key indicators of the settings. Also, the presence of the radio as a key means of communication alludes to the early 90’s as the radio was a key development of the time. The author creates these scenes from the inferences of the readers in order to establish a setting and context of the story. He then further develops the story around this timeline by using appropriate figures and society norms of the time. Referring to Hitler, a well-renown dictator, a reader is able to pinpoint and maybe even infer about the events leading up to the climax. Since there is not true storyline in the origin of the novel, the presence of the allusions allows some understanding leading to the story arc. Without the cultural allusions, the story would have no framework and structure as to how the characters behave, what they believe, and what they experience throughout the novel. 4. The theme of entrapment is most important in this chapter because each character experiences it within their own elements both literally and physically. The most obvious entrapment is Marie-Laure’s blindness which causes her to confine to merely four senses. Her father is also in constant fear of the Sea of France’s value that it restrains him from protecting it accordingly, ultimately causing his arrest. Additionally, illness is symbolic entrapment for various other characters such as Etienne who is shell-shocked from his traumatic history with war and limits himself indoors. Reinhold von Rumpel, Werner’s sergeant major in the German military and gemologist, is trapped by his failing health and ultimately leads to his ongoing quest for the Sea of France. Yet, the most important is Werner’s experience with entrapment as he is consistently restricted to the fate of his own genius and his whole-hearted personality. In his role first as a student at Schulpforta and later as a Wehrmacht soldier, there was always a sense of uncertainty of what he was pursuing which eventually grows into disapproval of what he is doing. Throughout the novel, the theme of entrapment is related to the world in terms of people’s assigned roles and their imprisonment within these roles. ................
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