The paper aims to explore the concept of authenticity depicted by the characters Werner Pfennig, a German boy and Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl in the novel All the Light We Cannot See written by Anthony Doerr. The novel is a poignant tale of hope, resilience and the human spirit during World War II. The plot follows two young protagonists, Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, and Werner, a German boy, whose paths intersect amid war. The novel explores existentialist themes through the characters’ experiences and struggles. According to Jean Paul Sartre’s philosophy, Authenticity is the state of being true to oneself, unbound by societal expectations, norms and conventions. The paper attempts to explore the concept of authenticity tied to the theme of identity of these two characters and their struggles to maintain their authenticity, their attempts to define and understand themselves amidst the adversities faced by them.
