Nationalism
Nationalism comes out in two distinct ways in the novel: the nationalistic propaganda of the Nazis, and the nationalism of the resistance fighters in France. In Nazi Germany, this nationalism focused on purity, a group mentality of the goodness of the country, and the acceptability of cruelty as a way of meeting these goals. In France, the theme focuses more on those in Saint-Malo who are not willing to lie down under unwanted Nazi rule, who instead build an unlikely team of resistance including older women, the blind character Marie-Laure, and characters such as Etienne and Crazy Hubert Bazin, both framed as “crazy." Despite the limitations of these unlikely resistance members, together they are able to carry the power in their hands to fight for the freedom of their country.
Science and Technology
The science and technology of radio is specifically relevant to the novel, from Werner’s initial love of the radio show he hears, to his later talent for fixing and engineering radios that are used to further the Nazi propaganda. Etienne and Marie-Laure have a parallel love for radio and the magic of it going into the airwaves; they also use it as a nationalist French tool, both to further the resistance and to connect French people to each other in a time of need.
In addition, the scientific topics of the radio show Werner listened to as a child, which were written by Etienne, emphasize the importance of science in the novel: the science of discovery and learning. Marie-Laure experiences this as well in her exploration of the Natural History Museum, her informal lessons on mollusks with Dr. Geffard, and the reading and adventures she does with Etienne through authors such as Darwin and Jules Verne.
Science provides access to new worlds—both literally, in the sense that Werner escaped his fate in the coal mines by honing his skills in engineering, and figuratively, in the escape that Etienne and Marie-Laure seek from the German-occupied city they live in.
Imagination
The fairy tale nature of the story is played out in some of the characters' other-worldliness: Werner and Jutta as snowy-haired orphans in a soot-covered mine, Volkheimer as ogre, and Marie-Laure as blind but with the power to see more than many of those around her (Smith). This type of imagery brings a piece of the supernatural into the real and bleak setting of World War II in the novel. In addition, imagination allows the characters of the novel to escape their daily reality, aiding them in surviving: Jutta and Werner play in the trash, collecting objects, creating toys; Daniel LeBlanc finds satisfaction in creating intricate puzzles for his daughter to solve; and Marie-Laure and Etienne imagine journeys to other worlds.
Memory
Memory and the feelings that accompany it are a strong driving force of the actions in the book: they are the way Werner makes it through his schooling, calling up images of childhood to avoid focusing on torture; they are how Marie-Laure is able to solve the puzzle of where the Sea of Flames is located, by remembering her father’s cryptic words; they are what motivates von Rumpel to be patient as he carries out his tasks. Often memories come to the characters and are highlighted to the reader in italics. This creates a sort of repetitious song throughout the novel, as phrases the characters heard, on the radio, from loved ones, or things they read, such as Jules Verne, or science texts, continually appear. As the context changes, the meaning of the phrase often changes as well. Thus memory in the novel is used to emphasize, throughout the chapters, the relationships between a character and his or her experiences, and the people he or she has met along the way, and how these have shaped him or her. In addition, characters also often fall back into complete reveries of childhood, or time spent with loved ones. For example, Werner uses his more pleasant memories to avoid his current reality, but as his life and his guilt grow more complicated, his good memories soon all begin to blend together, and he is haunted by the memories of the terrible things he has been a part of.
Familial loyalty and love
One review describes this as “a novel that celebrates the power of family and love.” Marie-Laure's great-uncle Etienne says “If your same blood doesn’t run in the arms and legs of the person you’re next to, you can’t trust anything” (ch 84), because he believes that during these hard times, the only people who can be trusted are family. However, the novel also places value on the family one constructs around oneself: the relationship between Etienne and Madame Manec, the relationship between Werner and Volkheimer, and between Frau Elena with Werner and Jutta—people who share no blood yet have devotion, love, and loyalty between them. It is this bond that helps the characters to survive some of the major conflicts of the novel.
Darkness and light
The novel constantly employs imagery of literal darkness and light, especially through the motif of vision and sight. Aside from literally seeing or not seeing, this theme exploring a deeper meaning of lightness and darkness: that of good and evil, and of the places where they overlap. Werner, with his hair as white as snow, is a character whose actions are less than pure, as he is pulled deeper and deeper into the war. Marie-Laure, who is in the “dark” of her own blindness, actually encompasses more of the good of the novel, seeing through to the kindness and goodness in people, and sensing the dark sides of the people who are trying to harm her or her family. Can the darkness and the light, the evil and the good, exist simultaneously inside these characters, in their actions, and in their lives?
Humanism and fate/destiny
Anthony Doerr intentionally wrote a novel that questions and celebrates human will and choice (Tweed). The philosophy of Humanism asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny (“Definition of Humanism”). The children of the novel are stuck in a war in which they must make decisions: Werner must choose whether to follow the ideology of the nationalism around him, and Marie-Laure must choose whether to participate in the resistance actively in a way that may endanger others, at one point asking, “But we are the good guys. Aren’t we, Uncle?” (Ch 116.) In addition, while the Sea of Flames allegory may seem to indicate a sort of planned destiny—living forever among the suffering of others—there is also a choice in the matter: the stone could simply be tossed into the sea, absolving the curse.
