• Poonam Pandit

Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer-winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See, is a story of the lives changed forever by the Second World War. The experience of violence is unambiguously traumatic, especially for those who are caught unawares by a conflict started by others and affecting their plans and dreams for future. The two teenage protagonists in the novel—a blind Parisian girl and an orphaned German boy—are thrown into the imbroglio of war which makes them undergo a transformation which is akin to a coming-of-age experience. Their paths cross and the interaction leaves an indelible mark on their individual stories. The love story that never happened becomes the only saving grace in the otherwise murky memories of that period. Other characters in the novel are no less affected by the senselessness of the war. The human face of the mankind prevails, but not without the stains and marks of the wounds inflicted by the inhuman face of the War. Since a war involves human beings, its psychological aspect is worth exploring. This paper aims to study the various ways in which the lives of different characters are transformed as a result of the traumatic experience of the War, taking into consideration the gender, age, socio-economic status, physical and mental conditions, and intellectual and spiritual inclinations of these characters.

war, violence, psychology, trauma, conflict, transformation, history, holocaust

"A Study of Trauma and Transformation in Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no.494-499, May-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905171.pdf

"A Study of Trauma and Transformation in Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no. pp494-499, May-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905171.pdf