Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, said in 1945 that: “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be managed at a time.” This statement refers to the fact that the person who continually thinks about the future, waiting for fate to do something with it, should stop moving forward in his life and start taking actions that really matter in the present and that create your true future. This statement has a huge impact not only because of the meaning it has, but also because of the importance in the time it was said. Anthony Doerr explores the power of will and destiny in his novel, All the Light We Cannot See, through the lives of different characters. Doerr reveals how much a person can control their future with their own will or by allowing themselves to be carried away by the current of their destiny; especially in difficult times such as war and the duties that should be fulfilled. These opposing ideas are demonstrated by Doer through the characters Marie, Werner, and Frank (the general) throughout the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay During World War II, regular soldiers had to fight for one of two reasons; the fate of their nationalities or their will to defend their principles. Furthermore, Doerr follows both ideas in his novel. For example, most soldiers follow their destiny by fighting for their country. Analyzing this statement in depth, The Economist newspaper writes in its article that: “When the war continued, Adolf Hitler again managed to persuade the Germans.” This shows that most of the German population was influenced by Hitler's words and that most of them followed their destiny to support their leader's ideals. In comparison, the allies had another point of view and struggled to determine what was the right thing to do. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said that, “Trust…thrives on honesty, honor, sacredness of obligation, faithful protection, and unselfish performance. Without them he cannot live” (Roosevelt). This phrase states that you have to do what is right for yourself, no matter what, as long as you believe in your will you will be right. In wartime you can see the clear difference on both sides and what people are fighting for. Therefore, the importance of fate and will in war is expressed by Doerr in All the Light We Cannot See, somehow forcing one to understand how one builds one's future. Especially with one of the main characters, Werner Pfennig, who follows his general's orders but at the same time struggles with it inside himself because he knows it's not the right thing to do. Furthermore, you can see how they will play a significant role in how you can control your future. After Marie reunites with Madame Manec and her uncle Etienne, she can hear them having an unusual conversation: "You know what happens, Etienne," says Madame Manec from across the kitchen, "when you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water?´ ´You will tell us, I'm sure.´ ´It jumps out. Do you know what happens when you put the frog in a pot of cool water and then bring it slowly to the boil? Do you know what happens then?´ ´The frog cooks ´' (Doerr 285) In this quote, Etienne's servant, Madame Manec, tries to convince Etienne to help her oppose the Nazis in small but important ways. She wants to tamper with the Nazi mail, send messages to the soldiers fighting the Nazis, etc. Etienne refuses to help Manec, he is too afraid of the consequences. He compares Etienne's caution to that of the proverbialfrog in the pot of water. His point is that humans, like frogs, can become accustomed to even the most nightmarish conditions, as long as things change little by little. In other words, Manec argues, Etienne will continue to give his tacit acceptance of Nazi atrocities, because he will always be able to rationalize his indifference as "caution". Manec is trying to share his will with Etienne but he struggles because of his fear. As the story continues, Marie reunites with her uncle Etienne and Henri as they are talking, she hears her uncle say that, “The war that killed your grandfather killed sixteen million others. Only a million and a half French kids, most of them younger than me. Two million on the German side. We marched the dead in single file, and for eleven days and nights they passed our door. What we're doing isn't rearranging street signs, Marie. This doesn't mean losing a letter at the post office. These numbers are more than just numbers. Do you understand?" “But we are the good guys. Aren't we, uncle?” "I hope so. I hope so” (Doerr 360). In this scene, Etienne takes Marie-Laure's place as an opponent of the Nazi occupation of France, especially now that she brings the Sea of ​​Flames with her. Etienne and Marie-Laure will work together to oppose the Nazis in every way possible. Although their actions may seem small and insignificant, Etienne explains, he and Marie-Laure are actually taking an important step towards defeating the Germans. By sending radio transmissions to other enemies of the Nazis, Etienne and Marie-Laure will actually kill the Nazi soldiers. As the passage shows, Etienne does not take his responsibilities lightly. As a man who lived through World War I, he is reluctant to kill anyone, whether they are on the enemy's side or not. Indeed, Etienne wonders whether he is doing the right thing by opposing the Nazis, but Marie demurs. Marie witnesses how Etienne and Manec are trying to fight against the fate of being killed by German soldiers, using their will to build their own future. On the other hand, another character who struggles with fate and will is Werner. . While talking to her sister at the orphanage about her will, she states that: “It's not forever, Jutta. Two years, maybe. Half of the kids who are admitted fail to graduate. But maybe I'll learn something; maybe they will teach me to be a real engineer. Maybe I can learn to fly a plane, as little Siegfried says. Don't shake your head, we've always wanted to see the inside of a plane, right? We will fly west, you and I, and Frau Elena too, if she wants. Or we could take a train. We will cycle through forests and mountain villages, all those places Frau Elena talked about when we were little. Maybe we could go all the way to Paris. The rising light. The tender hiss of grass. Jutta opens her eyes but doesn't look at him. “Don't tell lies. Lie to yourself, Werner, but don't lie to me” (Doerr 133). In this quote, Werner, who has just been accepted into a prestigious Nazi military academy, tries to justify his attendance at the school with his sister Jutta, who will remain at the orphanage. Werner says his military education will be valuable to his career because he could learn to become an engineer. Werner even suggests that he could use his training to get Jutta out of the country. Jutta then accuses Werner of lying to himself by suggesting that the opposite is true: Werner will be trained to become a cog in the Nazi military machine, he will have no more freedom than anyone else in the party. He is accepting the fate of becoming a Nazi under the guise of following his will, but that's not entirely true. Also, Werner is studying at the Nazi academy and has a friend there who says that “The