As author Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well” (A Quote). The journey to find meaning and purpose in life is often found to be the greatest struggle one will endure, causing one to question his or her own identity and what it means to thrive instead of merely survive. In The Cellist of Sarajevo, written by author Steven Galloway, the war-torn city of Sarajevo sets the scene as Arrow, Dragan, and Kenan search for their identities in the most horrifying of circumstances. As the men on the hills lay waste to the city and her inhabitants, the main characters are committed to their own …show more content…
individual conflicts: Arrow faces issues from her troubled past, Dragan fights to do what is right and stay true to who he is, and Kenan is forced to make choices no man should have to make. Nevertheless, hope comes in the most unexpected of places: a single cellist with a determination to bring light in such a harrowing and dark time. The constant battle of good and evil is not only represented in the city and surrounding armies, but in each of the main characters including Arrow, Dragan, and Kenan and the choices they must make in order to provide for those they love while clinging to the last remnants of humanity. Primarily, the concept of identity and knowing the truth behind oneself has a major impact on the main characters, especially Arrow. Having grown up in a humble family, she carries memories of afternoon trips for ice-cream and a loving grandmother. In the present, she carries a rifle as she searches for her next target in a war that she should never have been a part of. Taking orders from her commanders, she loses all power to make her own decisions, essentially belonging to the commanders. She clings to the fact that she can “choose” her targets, but this has stripped her of her humanity and identity. Arrow finds herself in an ongoing battle to hold on to the innocent person she once was but fails for the majority of the novel, stating, “Everything that came before, all the small things that somehow added up without her ever noticing, made the act of killing an afterthought… a weapon is the manifestation of a decision that has already been made” (Galloway 180). Arrow begins to understand that the humanity she once prided herself upon has disappeared with the development of her hatred for the men on the hills. Nevertheless, Arrow’s path is altered with the arrival of the cellist, as she sees the manifestation of hope and renewed strength in the people of Sarajevo. After being ordered to kill the cellist, Arrow makes her final decision: to reclaim her true identity and protect the cellist and the peace he represented, instead killing the sniper sent to take his life. With her final words, “My name is Alisa” (Galloway 231), Arrow wins the battle for her self and her beliefs though she may have lost her life in the process but is able to regain her humanity at the end. Additionally, confusion and fear are two common factors throughout The Cellist of Sarajevo. These ideals are common in the even a person begins losing their identity and humanity. Both of these conditions, fear and confusion, equally effect main character, Dragan, as he finds himself in a constant fight to overcome the mental ramifications that the terrors of the war have left upon him. Living in fear for his own life, simple tasks such as crossing the street or buying bread become life-altering decisions. In the Sarajevo that he remembers, residents were cheerful and greeted each other on the street without a cloud of darkness hovering behind them. Remembering his city before the arrival of the men on the hills seems almost like a dream to Dragan, and he often wonders if it ever truly existed, stating, that “There is no way to tell which version of a lie is the truth” (Galloway 23). He becomes confused as to how Sarajevo became a place of death and destruction and often chooses to ignore the circumstances instead of dealing with them, finding himself waiting on others to cross the street before him to see if they are shot by the hidden snipers. However, not all hope is lost as Dragan realizes the choice to have faith in Sarajevo has always been his, and goes on to say that “He knows which lie he will tell himself. The city he lives in is full of people who will someday go back to treating each other like humans” (Galloway 221). In the end, Dragan overcomes the fear and confusion, choosing to believe in the good of humanity. He even makes the dangerous decision to protect a dead man from prying eyes so that his Sarajevo would not be seen as a place of death but a place with a future. Furthermore, life in Sarajevo has been reduced to nothing more than the quest to gather necessary items crucial to survival.
This is abundantly true for main character Kenan, as he and his family remain trapped within the war-impacted city. Feeling as though he has been robbed of his life, he fears his children will suffer the same. For Kenan, chores such as gathering water and searching for food have become life-altering decisions that he must carefully consider each day. For example, one day as he makes his way to the Brewery to collect water, Kenan labors over his decision to take six bottles to fill. Two of the bottles are for his neighbor, and he wonders whether doing the right thing is worth risking his life. In the Sarajevo of his memory, this would never have been a question. However, upon his arrival to the Brewery, a shelling begins. Afraid for his life, Kenan runs with the water for his family but leaves the bottles for his neighbors behind. Once the shelling stops, Kenan has a decision to make; he must choose to ensure his safety and return home or to choose humanity and hope by returning to the water. As Kenan says, “he thinks its possible that the men on the hills are killing them slowly, a half-dozen at a time, so there will always be a few more to kill the next day” (Galloway 54). In the end, he chooses to lay fear aside and reclaim the hope and goodness that was once
his. As one can see, The Cellist of Sarajevo takes place in only one city; however, the lessons that can be learned from it are entirely universal. Each of the main characters’ stories brings to light different internal issues of self that are all dealt with by finding a way to cling to hope and faith in humanity. Their worlds are turned upside down, and as the book says “There is a moment before impact that is the last instance of things as they are” (Galloway xix). In the beginning, Arrow has lost sight of who she is but is able to regain her identity in the end. Additionally, Dragan chooses to believe that the war will end and that his city will be restored to its former glory instead of losing all hope. Furthermore, Kenan decides to not turn his back on those around him and keep his confidence in humanity, helping provide for his neighbors instead of leaving them vulnerable. All of these decisions made by the characters were results of the war. However, in all of these, they were not fighting in the war itself but in a personal battle that they were not sure could ever be won. All in all, though the Sarajevo of one’s memory is lost forever and the worlds of the characters have changed for good, each character chooses to cling to hope and their faith in humanity, trusting that somewhere inside of themselves, people remain good and true, willing to look forward a better tomorrow in spite of what may be going wrong today.
theme has a very narrow range and is, at first, built on two notes a
... of this story is the will to survive. The will to survive is strong in all the characters though there are some who seem to expect they will die at any time. Lina is furious with herself when she stooped low enough to accept food thrown at her by the guards, but she does it anyway. Even the youngest children realize the need to endure the torture and survive. Jonas finds a barrel and comprehends that it could be made into a stove. Janina finds a dead owl and realizes that it could be eaten. This will to survive sometimes results in anger and selfishness, as seen in Ulyushka when forced to share her shack with Lina’s family.
Jerra must let go of his musical life in the city, he has lost his dream. Jerra is a guitarist and a father, and now doing wood cutting to support his family. Life isn’t easy, especially for those with low income. ’Each day the young man left
...ing identity to the point where it no longer exists. This identity can be lost through extreme devotion, new experience, and immense tragedy. Relationships with the most meaningful companions impact both main characters, Elie and Frederic. Due to the events they must encounter alongside loved ones, Elie and Frederic change completely, losing the identity that once existed. The most impactful events of any life are those that involve struggle and tragedy. Any tragic event that one encounters can significantly alter the purpose of life forever. Tragic events such as taking away what one may hold dearest, such as a loved one in the cases of Elie and Frederic. This type of loss can create a saddened, purposeless life in all humans.
If my life had no purpose, no individuality, and no happiness, I would not want to live. This book teaches the importance of self expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
The theme of this novel is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."
The conflict that the individual faces will force them to reinforce and strengthen their identity in order to survive. In “The Cellist of Sarajevo” all the characters experience a brutal war that makes each of them struggle albeit in different ways. Each of them have their own anxieties and rage that eventually makes them grow as characters at the end of the book. When looking at what makes a person who they are it becomes obvious that the struggles they have faced has influenced them dramatically. The individual will find that this development is the pure essence of what it truly means to be
Everyday individuals face decisions in which they must choose whether to do what is appealing to them or to choose a more suitable and compliable choice. In the fictional work of ‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’ Brien, certain characters such as Tim O’ Brien himself must face decisions similar to these. The novel demonstrates that when an individual is faced with a decision in which there is a choice that he may have to conform, the individual tends to conform due to not wanting to embarrass themselves or to not be portrayed as a coward to others. However when the individual is challenged with these types of decisions, the choice does not matter since the outcome will be what the individual was trying to avoid. That is to say that in the excerpt “The Rainy River” Tim O’ Brien was going through a conflicting decision on whether or not he should go to the war. Yet, as we see it turns out that either choice will lead to either shame or cowardice. If he goes to the war he feels that he will be a coward and that he gave up his own morals and values and accepted something he does not believe in, but if he does not go to war he will be shunned by society and will be labelled as a coward because he will not fight for his country.
According to Wolf, all meaningful lives have both a subjective and an objective aspect to them. These basics can make lives important only together. The general idea is that a person’s projects and activities in the end make his or her life meaningful,
One of the characters, Dragan, who helped his wife and son escape from Sarajevo, has no hope left for himself. Firstly, Dragan's hopeless character is highlighted when he recalls the pre-war Sarajevo. As Dragan describes, "That the Sarajevo he remembers, the city he grew up in and was proud of and happy with, likely never existed" (Galloway, 33). For the people trapped in Sarajevo, like Dragan, the war is dragging on and there seems to be no end. In order to have hope, you have to be able to hold on to your happy moments, and wait for them to return. Dragan, however, cannot even remember the times that he was happy in this city. Clearly, his inability to remember the old city that he once loved dearly, shows his loss of hope. Secondly, Dragan is displayed as being hopeless as he states his opinion on what the cellist is doing. Dragan explains that, "what the cellist wants isn't change, or to set things right again, but to stop things from getting worse" (126). In Dragan's opinion, the cellist is not setting things right, since that is no longer possible. This quotation proves that Dragan now believes that the situation cannot go back to normal, and things cann...
Ursula K. Le Guin wrote this short story, “The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas” filled with several themes. The themes that stood out would be: absence of sadness, jealousy, despair, balance between good and evil, power, morality, and sacrifice. The author uses an abundance of distractions to get the audience’s attention. The purpose of this is to keep the reader entertained. In this story, it is about a happy utopia where no one understands misery. The purpose of this story is to describe misery is necessary.
While trying to adapt to the harsh and sudden war, both Arrow and Dragan, lose their humanity. The definition of humanity is the entire human race or the characteristics that belong uniquely to human beings, such as kindness, mercy and sympathy. In the novel ,The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway Arrow and Dragan have absence of humanity while trying to adapt to the sudden war. Adapting to the war causes Dragan and Arrow to diminish their humanity.
The Cellist is the sole source of music in the book and, to him, it is an expression of thought and emotion. After a mortar kills 22 people, including his friends and neighbors who
In conclusion, the narrator finds her sense of hope, security and faith being shattered when she undergoes trauma after she loses her husband and four year old son in a terrorist attack. She has her emotions break her down; however, she stands against them only to have her faith in society shattered once more. Finally, she opens up her eyes to reality which in turn sets her free from her misery. Overall, sometimes the truth might be painful, but knowing can be beneficial in the long run.
In The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway, the siege forces the characters to neglect what they want and do what is required of them. This requirement varies from living with someone you don't like, to walking across a battlefield to get water, to being obligated to kill people. Interestingly, we do not value what we want to do until the opportunity is taken away from us. Perhaps Joni Mitchell says it best: "Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?" (Mitchell)