Jonathan Safran Foer Concept Of Illumination Essay

Throughout the novel, Everything Is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer, explores the concept of illumination through Safran’s relationship with Lista, the death of Lista’s unborn child and Herschel’s death. Moreover, while illumination is usually associated with positive experiences, Foer’s pioneers the concept of illumination by first implementing tragic situations and then utilizes the tragic situation to either convey a message in his literature or to develop a character.
Foer portrays illumination through Safran’s relationship with Lista. Illumination arises when the relationship between Safran and Lista is described: “He could never completely love her, not with all of himself. He could never be completely owned, and he could never own

While it may be argued that tragic situations have no possibility of conveying illumination, the idea of illumination actually thrives in such situations. One of the main points of the antithesis of tragic situations functioning as triggers of illumination is that illumination is defined as an enlightenment and therefore the event could only be based on positive experiences. The flaw in this argument lies in the fact that humans generally associate illumination with light which is typically connected with a sense of safety and comfort. However, the figurative theme of illumination in literature transpires through the reflection that a character faces from any experience regardless of whether the experience was positive or negative. One of the most crucial aspects that can be acquired from Foer’s illustration of illumination is that illumination comes in many forms, not just from positive experiences, but also with horrific circumstances which most importantly does not only contribute to the development to the character but to the development of the message of the