Abstract

All the Light We Cannot See is a novel written by American author Anthony Doerr, which narrates the experience of two main characters—the German orphan boy Werner and French blind girl Marie-Laure during the wartime. It has been welcomed by readers and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 and other prizes for its simple but stunning words and story plots. Doerr succeeded in expressing his intentions metaphorically through the image of light from both the title and the content. This research will apply Archetype Theory which was mainly developed by Carl Jung and Northrop Frye to analyse the archetypal light in this novel. Through the analysis of archetypal light, the psychology and behaviour of characters could be understood better. In this way, the cruelty of the war, the great humanity and the emotion shared by human beings in this book could be displayed specifically.

Key words: All the Light We Cannot See; Archetype Theory; Light; Humanity

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1.-Introduction-1

1.1-Research Background-1

1.2-Research Significance-1

1.3-Research Questions-2

2.-Literature Review-3

2.1-Previous researches of All the Light We Cannot See-3

2.1.1-Previous researches of All the Light We Cannot See abroad-3

2.1.2-Previous researches of All the Light We Cannot See at home-4

2.2-Previous studies on the Archetype Theory-5

2.2.1-Previous studies on the Archetype Theory abroad-6

2.2.2-Previous studies on the Archetype Theory at home-7

2.3-Previous studies on the imagery of “light” as an archetype-8

2.3.1-Previous studies on the imagery of “light” as an archetype abroad-8

2.3.2-Previous studies on the imagery of “light” as an archetype at home-9

3.-The Archetype of “Light”-10

3.1-The General Meaning of Archetypal “Light” in Mythologies-10

3.2-The Extended Meaning of Light-11

4.-The Analysis of Light from Archetypal Perspective in All the Light We Cannot See-13

4.1-The Positive Power of Archetypal Light-13

4.2-The Negative Power of Archetypal Light-17

4.3-The Power of Light for Blind People-18

5.-Conclusion-20

References-21