Cellist of Sarajevo - Self Sacrifice

His family is taken to Goryann Inn which they are then tortured. They are not given food or water. The gendarmes then take them outside and march them. They are forced to stand and watch the gendarmes drink water from a clean pond. When the gendarmes allow the people to drink, the water is poisoned and the people drinking are shot. During the night, the people rest. Except, Vahan’s mother had something else in mind for Sisak and him. She tells them to escape. The boys then run to the river and jump in. They swim across and then start walking away from the gendarmes. The two don’t and Vahan is teetering on the edge of exhaustion. "My feet and head and body ached, but I would not stop or even slow down. I was Sarkis Kendarian and I was stronger than the cold, stronger than my thirst and my hunger"(56). Vahan embodies his father’s spirit for two reasons. First, his mother sent his brother and him to escape so they could live a better life while she stayed back to arouse no suspicion. She didn’t stay there so they could just get caught again, she wants them to remember their family and build their own.not But, the second reason is because he conceives his will isn’t as strong as his father’s. Except, due to him assuming this, he makes his character and vitality stronger. Every time Vahan wants to give up, he asks himself, “Would Sarkis Kendarian give

At a gathering, the lieutenant gave a speech as a “last ditch” effort to recruit people into the army to protect their village from the rebels. The lieutenant starts with showing the crowd two individuals who attempted to escape that morning but were killed by the rebels. Then, the lieutenant asserts that “they have lost everything that makes them human. They do not deserve to live. That is why we must kill every single one of them.

History has a tendency to repeat itself.  One of humanity’s most popular ways of getting its point across is through violence.  When words are no longer enough to argue a point, human casualties not only directly solve the problem, but symbolically send a message to all those affected as well.  Just as the American colonies fought against the British for Freedom when their voice was no longer heard, and just as the Islamic extremists used terrorism to send an evil message to America, both V and Chancellor Sutler used violence to gain a voice in a world of chaos.

"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.

As the days go on and the war deepens the impact it is making on Sarajevo Kenan begins to realize that the horrendous state Sarajevo is in will never change for the better. When Kenan sees people walk in a direction that may be unsafe he considers warning them but decides not to because, “Telling them there might be a sniper watching the bridge is a little like saying the sun has come up this morning” (113). This displays that the war has been going on for so long that it has just become a part of everyone's lifestyle, and the citizens of Sarajevo have adapted to it, therefore making it normal. Moreover, the men on the hills completely decide Sarajevo’s fate. This is shown when Kenan reflects on why they are firing and concludes that “They’re firing at the ambulances to tell him, and everyone else, that help will not arrive if they have anything to say about it” (162).

In some countries people, do not have the freedom to choose their own path. Many people live in places with so much conflict and destruction that they are force to follow the orders of a political lieder and force to make decision that are not in accordance to what they believe, but they do it because they are loyalty to their country, family and friends Pauline M. Kaurin provide a scenario of a soldiers killing civilian people that they confused with a suicide bomber, then she asked, “When is killing murder and when is it a legitimate act of war? Whom can one legitimately kill in war?” (Kaurin in page 41). She argues that during combat distinction from the enemy and civilian should be relevant to preserve the essence of true morality. In the contrast to Achilles the essence of true morality is irrelevant when he claims that no Trojan should keep their life, he swore death to all Trojan. (book XXI). During a time, war, is important to accept the fact of the situation in the eyes a devastation believing that one fate must be accepted in other to continue living or accepting the consequence and the faith of their own

In times of conflict, the possession of power and control is often heavily influenced by the infliction of fear upon a subordinate group. In Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo, this ideology enters a fictional world, where the Serbs ruthlessly terrorize Sarajevo from the hills in an attempt to capture the city during the Yugoslav war. Through the experiences of the three main characters and other citizens of Sarajevo within the novel, it becomes apparent to the reader that terror and manipulation have become the tools of choice used to gain power and ultimate supremacy. Within Galloway’s work, Arrow, Dragan, and Kenan experience a loss of control through the powerful influence of fear by the invading forces.

The short story “The Death of Dolgushov” by Isaak Babel is a gut wrenching story, at times literally, about the dilemmas of killing. Babel, a master of the short story, challenges readers’ morality by contrasting two soldiers plights. On the one hand, a soldier, Dolgushov, pleads that he has “had it (241),” meaning that he wants his comrade to kill him after being mortally wounded by machine gun fire; while on the other hand, another soldier, unnamed, cannot bring himself to kill Dolgushov. Throughout the story, war is depicted as a game until a soldier gets seriously hurt. This device, combined with the vivid imagery associated with both soldier’s plights, complicates how readers’ judge the act of killing and war in general.

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..

When someone is fighting for their life the worst comes out in them, and morals are thrown away. They have one focus, to survive, and they will do anything and everything to do that. This is shown in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, where a man and the boy are living in a brutal, and ruthless world. Where their humanity is questioned on several occasions, one being when they stripped a man down from his weapon, clothing, and their belongings (the cart which the man stole). Then leaving him in cold, freezing, naked, and ultimately waiting to die.

Violence and war is notable throughout history. However, it is lazy to say that this proves humans are naturally violent. Rather than using nature as an excuse for those who chose to act violently it’s important we recognize that we have a choice to decide how we act. In Howard Zinn’s, “Violence and Human Nature” He shows that violence is not an instinct but that the environment in which they live in provokes them to act violently or peacefully depending on their choice (43). In City of God, a film concentrating on the gangs of Rio de Janeiro during the 1960’s to the 1980’s, specifically the township of Cidade de Deus, we are introduced to various characters who all make different choices under different motivations. Rocket, the little brother to a member of the Tender Trio, who are essentially the Robin Hood’s of the City of God, to act non-violently despite his environment and the influences around him.

The third level of abandonment, which is central and speaks to the Bosnian conflict itself, is the abandonment of community. Throughout the first portion of the work, Sacco takes care to repeat and emphasize “neighbors” as a motif. This motif hits its first shocking climax in “The First Attack”. Sacco depicts the first armed attack on the civilian population of Gorazde as

The movie Platoon tells the story of a platoon of soldiers during their time serving in the Vietnam War. The soldiers find themselves in a variety of ethically challenging situations, and many make decisions with massive ethical ramifications. The situations vary, from searching a village for enemy activity to deciding whether to save a fellow soldier, and the soldiers are forced to choose between varieties of less than ideal options. The movie’s ethical spectrum ranges from individuals concerned only with accomplishing their mission at all costs to those who express concern for the lives of all people they interact with. The two ends of this spectrum are represented in the movie by Sergeant Barnes as the soldier who values only completing his mission contrasted with Sergeant Elias who attempts to preserve the life and humanity of the Vietnamese people he encounters when possible (Kopelson, 1986). I believe that the decisions exemplified by Elias represent a better way of conducting warfare, while those of Barnes represent a descent into understanding only the immediate objective at the expense of winning the overall war. The following key ethical decision points from the movie demonstrate the superiority of the decisions made by Elias

(Pinker) For instance, Glover’s description of the horrors in My Lai (Vietnam) will resonate with any reader well after he or she have finished the novel: “They [the American troops] burnt down every house. They raped women and girls and killed them. They stabbed some women in the vagina and disemboweled others… Pregnant women had their stomachs slashed open and were left to die” (Glover 58). Although for some, the My Lai Massacre may seem less important than the Holocaust, for example, because of the smaller number of deaths, Glover does not see it that way. In his eyes, it does not matter how many deaths there were; just the mere fact that humans have let themselves do such obscene acts to other human beings is what matters. But what is even more important than those past events is how humanity, as a whole, can stop events such as the My Lai Massacre from ever happening again.

Adolf Hitler, a man, responsible for the executions of 17 million innocent people. Mahatma Gandhi, a man, who would fast until he dies, just to see an end to violence during India’s independence. We see a polarization of great evil and good in the world, but the same question arises. What makes a man commit to taking a life or saving one? In his article, “Violence and Human Nature”, Zinn fights for the idea that the choice to commit violent acts is not determined by an innate behavior, but rather the environmental circumstances that influence their choices. The film, City of God, explores various characters that grew up in an oppressive environment in the ghettos of Rio de Janeiro. As a result, each character develops a different personality from one another. Two key characters polarize in behavior and emotions, Lil’ Ze and Benny. While both characters grew up in the same gang, they differ tremendously. Benny is a calm and collective character that often avoids the uses of force and violence to achieve his goals, rather he uses his kindness and social skills to benefit himself and others around him. On the other hand, Lil’ Ze is a murderous sadist who propels his agenda through acts of violence, which creates a ripple effect throughout Rio de Janeiro. Zinn explains how the environmental situations can cause such ramifications as seen in Benny and Lil Ze.