Cellist Of Sarajevo Essay

the Cellist preforms Arrow must track down and kill the enemy snipers that are looking to

If you could revisit any moment in your life and change the decision you made, would your identity be any different? Could your identity, the values and beliefs you hold, be altered or erased by one drastic event? One novel, which explores the development one’s identity is Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo. Galloway clearly explores identity through the three main characters of the novel; Alisa, Kenan, and Dragan, conveying a clear lesson about hope through the experiences of the three characters. Though the conflicts from the siege cause them all to deviate from their personalities before the siege, they eventually all revert to their original personalities, regaining their identities.

Throughout the film, many stories are told by different characters that are involved in the story. There are

"We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings" (BookRags, 1) - Albert Einstein. This quote is particularly true, since it is very important to maintain what identifies us as human beings, especially during horrific times, such as war. The Cellist of Sarajevo, a novel by Steven Galloway, delivers an interesting story by using internal conflict of the three characters, to demonstrate a theme, of the great possibilities of regaining humanity with the belief of a better life and a brighter future, thus revealing that finding hope is crucial for the survival of humanity.

amongst the characters.​The lack of sophisticated words and using strictly plot allows the story to

One’s humanity is not measured by what they have but what they are willing to do. If an individual shows that they will be overpowered by an opposing threat, they have already lost. In Steven Galloway’s novel The Cellist of Sarajevo, the attacking Serbians have surrounded Sarajevo and have taken away the safety of the civilians. In order to protect themselves and their fellow civilians, one must be willing to sacrifice their own safety to help others who are struggling in these times of war. By fighting back, the civilians of Sarajevo show that the men on the hills cannot control their lives. These people will not intimidate them. As a result of the main

In literature, it is common for authors to apply different stylistic techniques in order to assist in providing the readers with a message. This idea is prominent in Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo, a novel which follows the story of three characters in the war-torn city of Sarajevo. Despite the fact that the characters never meet, they are each unified by a cellist and the song he plays for twenty-two days to honour the citizens who lost their lives while waiting in line for bread. Throughout the book, a recurring idea is that of hope for the future of Sarajevo, which is shown through the contrast of symbols from the beginning of the novel to the end, the cellist himself, and the adagio that the cellist plays. It is evident from the meaning created through objects and people that Galloway is able to use symbolism to enhance the idea that a city which once was destroyed can still be repaired.

Imagine a missile coming through the peace of which once used to be a beautiful clear blue sky. The sound of the shell is low but builds as it comes down to break for impact on the streets. Giving a group of innocent civilians not enough time to flee, or at the very least take cover. Before time to react, the shell hits and explodes leaving twenty-two people dead. The civilians were simply hoping to be able to buy some bread for their families, but ended up facing death. The Cellist of Sarajevo, a novel by Steven Galloway, brings an interesting story by using internal conflict of three characters living through war, to demonstrate a theme, of the great possibilities of regaining humanity with the belief of a better life and a brighter future,

The cellist’s music affects Dragan who in the beginning of the book is an empty shell devoid of any emotion or bravery. Dragan explains, “He can

Run and hide or stay and fight. The fight or flight response is the first thing the human brain activates when there are threats to its survival. Steven Galloway’s novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, puts the main characters in many situations that require quick decisions to ensure survival. This instantaneous response is central to the one of the characters in the novel named Dragan. He is an elderly man whose family has escaped Sarajevo while he stays behind. Though he has the support of his sister, he depends almost entirely on himself for survival. The choices he makes to ensure he lives reflect the response he has to the effects of the war. At the beginning, Dragan isolates himself from everyone including friends because he is afraid of losing them. He is afraid to cross an intersection and waits for hours out of fear of death by the snipers of the men on the hills. A transition begins in his mind when he witnesses the consequences every choice carries when his friend Emina is shot by a sniper. By the end of the novel he decides that he will live in the battle-torn Sarajevo however he chooses and not be intimidated by the men on the hills. Dragan uses the power of choice to hide and be fearful, although by the end of the novel, he chooses to be brave and have hope for the return of the Sarajevo of his memories..

The character openly feels empathy for his daughter, and near the middle of the piece the character seems to feel helpless as he describes the way his daughter “seemed to crave a companion, or an activity that would lift her spirits.” He soon discovers musical therapy as that exact activity and it gives him a feeling of hope. He has a way now to open a channel where she can express herself through music “in a way that she cannot express-has never been able to express-in

The cellist of sarajevo deals with the themes of hope and how even when times are at its darkest, hope is what keeps a person moving. Those who are hopeful will survive Kile, Dragan and Kenan, those who lose hope will perish such as the holocaust survivor.

A different character narrates each chapter, what makes this a cohesive interconnected novel between the characters? Is it a common theme shared or the characters involved?

an effect on them when in fact they are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

Each perspective is held within a chapter which, when the characters move away from each other, allows the author to leave minor cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter. While six of the characters from this first book are from the same family, the perspective is shifted around in preceding books. Death is common is this book and it’s was one of the best things about it because it played well to the realism of the time that is depicted. Main characters are not safe like in other novels I have read and this made for very exciting reading. Self preservation is often the cause for character splits and confrontations, and by the end of the book characters you assumed you would be attached too for some time are left headless and gutless or simply gone.