In the following passage from Section 5, Marie-Laure's Uncle Etienne clashes with Madame Manec, who believes he should be doing more to resist German occupation. Madame Manec utilizes an allegorical description of their situation to attempt to spur Etienne to action:

“Do you know what happens, Etienne,” says Madame Manec from the other side of the kitchen, “when you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water?”

“You will tell us, I am sure.”

“It jumps out. But do you know what happens when you put the frog in a pot of cool water and then slowly bring it to a boil? You know what happens then?”

Marie-Laure waits. The potatoes steam.

Madame Manec says, “The frog cooks."

In this instance of allegory, Madame Manec compares Uncle Etienne to a frog, slowly cooking in a pot of boiling water. In Madame Manec's allegory, the frog first sits in a pot of cool water, unaware of the danger surrounding him because the heat increases incrementally instead of in a single instant. Madame Manec represents Uncle Etienne's situation as that of the frog's: he has gradually grown accustomed to life under Nazi rule, remaining complacent in his inaction despite the steadily increasing danger of his surroundings.