In Anthony Doerr's novel, All the Light We Cannot See, we are shown the story of two very different characters who come together in an unlikely way: a radio. In 2019 it's sometimes hard to think about how great radio was. People used it for news, music, weather alerts, and even communications. Its main importance is its use for communication throughout the novel. The radio in this novel is a very important part of the story and without it the story wouldn't be nearly the same. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Since the novel is set in the 1940s, the technology that brought you to the outside world was very limited. There were televisions, but not many families owned them due to poverty after the Great Depression, and cell phones didn't yet exist. Thus, the radio in this story serves as a connection between Marie-Laurie LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig and the world around them. After finding and setting up the radio, Werner plays with it and comes across a broadcast from an old man who tells his audience to "open your eyes and see what you can before they close forever" (Doerr, 49). From this first connection the importance of the radio emerges; Werner is unknowingly listening to Marie-Laure's great-uncle's broadcast, which will later connect him to Marie-Laure when he needs to save her. This part of the novel is an example where the radio brings two people together. The radio not only provides an unknown connection to the two main characters, but also provides means of communication through the secondary characters. Marie-Laure's great uncle, Etienne uses the radio to contact his brother Henri when he goes to war. “I thought if I made the broadcast loud enough, my brother would hear me. That I could bring him some peace, protect him as he had always protected me" (Doerr, 161). Etienne tried with all his might to connect with his brother through radio broadcasts, unfortunately he never succeeded, but this struggle to connect shows how important radio was as a means of communication during the wars. Even if the connection was never made, the attempt most likely made Etienne feel like he was making a difference and could connect with him more valid behind the importance of the radio throughout the novel is the fact that Marie-Laurie would not have survived without its power of connection. When Marie-Laure finally gives up and waits for Von Rumpel to find her, she decides to listen to the music enough loud to be heard. This act was almost a sign of defeat for Marie-Laure, but she was unaware of the impact it had caused. Werner heard the music during the broadcast and immediately begins to run away from the ruins they were in and Volkheimer. Through the radio, Marie-Laure was able, unknowingly, to contact Werner, which saved her life. Without both characters having access to the radio, Marie-Laure would have been found by Von Rumpel and Werner would have had no valid reason to leave where he was. The radio really saved both of their lives. radio is not used as much as it was before the technology became more advanced. If anything, the radio is used for nothing more than background noise on a car ride to the store, so what are our means of connecting with the outside world? Our cell phones. Since the invention of the mobile phone, it has become more and more integrated into our daily lives every day. AND.