Arrow In The Cellist Of Sarajevo By Steven Galloway

Novel critic Greg Doran states that Galloway “paints an inanimate portrait of three people living in wartorn Sarajevo” to illustrate “how the human spirit responds to conflict” (Doran 153). This analysis interconnects with the didactic nature of the novel, which conveys a strong lesson about identity and hope. The story about how three people experience a temporary change of personality in the face of conflict and lose sight of their values due to this conveys a message to the reader. Though Arrow, Kenan, and Dragan all deviate from the path they were on after losing hope, a small part of them still cling to the past, a small part of them still hope. The stronger the hope of the characters, the more they will pursue their values and beliefs. Thus, as the characters in the novel regain hope, they regain their identity. Hope is symbolized by the Cellist in the novel, and upon hearing the Cellist playing, Arrow and Kenan remember the values they once held dear. Arrow realizes she does not wish to kill anymore as she does not hate anyone, and Kenan decides to fetch Mrs. Ritovski’s water. This conveys the message that hope is powerful, and hope is what drives people to follow their values and beliefs, guiding people to regain their identities. The Cellist shows that even in the darkest of times there is hope and that hope should be held

To begin with, the internal conflict of Arrow is expressed through, the battle of her memory and

thought in time he would kill Aidia before it’s over with. In their last fight, she shot a gun to scare him

“None of us have moved on from being that kid with a gun under the pillow waiting for him to come back from us. That's hard to live with,” she said. “We're afraid he's just smart enough to hid in woods somewhere with high powered rifle and start shooting us. I will spend every day for the rest of my life waiting for a bullet to arrive just because I happened to be the daughter of his victim. It makes me so angry he has this affect on us. I did nothing wrong. He chose to do

His replica of the small details in his life, assist to highlight the tremendous changes he undergoes to become a child soldier. Here the detailed descriptions of loading the guns, attacking others, and the unending cycle of killing and death are interspersed with bland scenarios about his internal musings. Instead of being able to consider his ambitions of performing in a local talent quest, he is traumatized by the nightmares or flashbacks of being a ‘green snake’, the most effective killing machine he once was.

The majority of characters from war-time novels often resort to substance abuse as a way to cope with the horrors of war. In Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road, the young Cree soldier, Xavier, uses excessive amounts of morphine to forget the bloodshed he witnessed on the battlefield. Similarly, Mrs. Ross, the mother of the young Canadian soldier Robert from The Wars becomes an alcoholic as a way to deal with the departure of her son to war. However, in Steven Galloway's “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” the primary characters, although affected by war, employ a different strategy to come to terms with and survive the war, and to regain their moral values and identity. In this novel, music is employed as a tool of healing and rebirth. Specifically, Arrow, Kenan, and Dragan use the music of the anonymous cellist to reclaim their sense of humanity, compassion, and self-identity and move forward despite the ongoing war, much like the mythical Phoenix rises from the ashes in rebirth.

The theme of the cellist of Sarajevo is the psyche. Every character goes through a

Again, he utilizes juxtaposition and imagery to illustrate the contrast between purity and corruption. An example of this is when he states, “He seemed at ease” (pg. 126). This was provided in efforts to describe the man he had killed looked before he died. The use of the word “ease” paints the picture of a peaceful situation in the minds of the reader but again, O’Brien immediately transitions by stating, “I had already pulled the pin on the grenade” (pg. 126). These two events clash and contrast one another as one demonstrates peace and serenity and the other depicts violence, disruption, and corruption. In addition, the description of the action creates suspense of the destruction to come in the minds of the readers and allows them to visualize the process of how O’Brien killed the man as rapidly as it happened for him. This was done in effort to illustrate what war does to one, unexpectedly, like “automatic,” war ambushes soldiers with violence. The effect of using a personal story such as this where O’Brien provides a memory of events help to connect to the reader because they are aware that he himself went through the horrific events he describes and thus creates a feeling of sympathy. Readers sympathize with the unexpected catapult soldiers are faced with at war. If O’Brien had related this story from another soldier’s

* Arrow thinks about why she kills the men on the hills, at the beginning it was because it was her duty to kill them but now she kills them because: “She knows she no longer kills them because they are killing her fellow citizens. That’s just a part of it. She kills them because she hates them.” (Pg. 190)

War is a difficult time for everyone part of it, as a result of people losing hope. The hopelessness causes individuals to face challenges producing loss of hope, in the novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, Kenan loses all hope because of the horrific war in Sarajevo. Dragan also loses all hope as a result of the war. Kenan and Dragan are characters who feel as though life in Sarajevo has become very dull and are deprived of hope due to the atrocities of war.

Courage and self sacrifice is not what everyone thinks of when in a war and their life and there loved ones are in danger. This is when courage and self sacrifice is challenged the most. There are only a few people in this world how can preserve this courage and self-sacrifice, this also shows the kindness in one being. This skill is strengthened and refined when one risks their life for the survival of others. In the book The Cellist of Sarajevo, author Steven Galloway demonstrates the internal battle between a humans self sacrifice and protect not only himself but also a neighbor and show a sense of kindness. The author also explores the idea of how difficult it is to self-sacrifice in a time of war and also be kind to other people. This is shown through the character of Kenan, a man that is trying to provide for his family. He must go retrieve water for his family and a neighbor he

The next character in the novel, Alisa, uses the name Arrow to frame any of the vile acts committed from the horrors of the war. The violence of war has made her become a protector of the people bringing vengeance to the men on the hills, a recurring not just group, but thought in the novel. This thought has only given her an excuse to bring justice through death and more or less blame the murder on Arrow, not Alisa. But for her they’ll always be a consequence. She also feels remorse in times of violence, when the Colonel instructed her to kill the targets he picks out and she denies his demand.

For Arrow, witnessing the violence and bloodshed in Sarajevo changed her outlook on the world to the point in which she completely separated her pre-war and present-war self entirely. Arrow, Alisa pre-war, was an individual who, based off of Maslow’s hierarchy, had reached her self-actualization. She knew and understood the significance of life and its purpose, “she realizes that for no particular reason she stumbled into the core of what it is to be human. It’s a rare gift to understand that your life is wondrous, and that it won't last forever (12).” However, Arrow’s attitude and perspective on life is change when she witnesses the war and realizes that the men on the hills have robbed this knowledge from her and the citizens of Sarajevo, “/but because the soldiers have robbed her and almost everyone else in this city of this gift. That life will end has become so self-evident it’s lost all meaning (12).” Satisfying her hatred, Arrow changes her name and weaponizes herself to who Sarajevo knows now. Witnessing the violence and chaos of war, changes Arrow’s outlook on life as she loses all meaning of life and even the lives of others, the lives of the men on the hills. She reaches the point where she dehumanizes the men on the hills until she sees them as mere targets. This new perspective on life, has changed Arrow’s understanding of the world around her and has altered her existence until she changed

Arrow is about a rich, promiscuous young man named Oliver Queen, who becomes stranded on an island for five years before finally being rescued. After his return, Queen becomes a vigilante trying to protect his city, Starling City, against the corrupt businessmen that live there. Before being able to properly assess Queen from a psychological point of view, we must understand his character before, during, and after his accident. Queen suffered from many terrible psychological problems during his five years "alone" on an "abandoned" island and after finally returning home.

Consider the opening line. Do you sense that the narrator is relived or yearning for something she can never have again? Explain why you feel the way you do.