In Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated," the character Yankel D, a disgraced usurer, takes in a baby girl and creates a makeshift cradle for her in an oven, lining it with crumpled newspaper. This peculiar choice is intended to shield her from the external chaos, illustrating his desire to provide a distraction-free environment for the infant. It shows his unconventional yet well-meaning approach to caregiving during a troubling time.

As he nurtures the girl, Yankel D becomes emotionally connected to her, marked by the newsprint that stains her skin. Through reading the newspaper while holding her, he assimilates knowledge about the world, indicating that his perception of reality is intertwined with the printed words he encounters. This relationship reflects both love and a peculiar dependency on information, emphasizing the importance of what is documented over personal experiences.