Symbolism In The Cellist Of Sarajevo

Self-sacrifice is an action that everyone must go through sometime throughout their life. Its an action that develops who an individual is. In Steven Galloway’s book, The cellist of sarajevo, individuals are faced with self-sacrifice numerous times. The novel takes place in sarajevo during the war and has split perspectives between Kenan, Dragan, the Cellist, and Arrow. These three characters are representing differents parts of life in Sarajevo. Kenan is trying to provide for the family even when it means going out into the horror filled streets. Dragan is trying to live life normally and continue his job at the bakery amidst the terror. The cellist throughout the book inspires hope to anyone who comes to hear him, He plays for the individuals …show more content…
In the beginning of the novel, the cellist is shown to be playing a beautiful piece of music with his cello. He does this however at home staring out his window. At this point in the book, the Cellist is not self-sacrificing anything by doing this, he is playing the music in the safety of his home and for him to feel renewed. However, this changes abruptly when a mortar lands in front of his home and kills the individuals lined up to bread. In this moment, the Cellist is faced with an extreme situation. As a result of this compelling circumstance the Cellist feels he must take action for this unjust killing. In response, as the novel continues he decides to play this beautiful music in remembrance of the innocent individuals that lost their lives. This is where self sacrifice is portrayed. The Cellist is now giving up the safety of himself and the comfort of his home. He is sacrificing what little he has in memory of these people. As he continues to play each day the self sacrifice is once again shown on his last day of his playing. When he was playing in his home, the author incorporated that as he played he would start to feel hope once again. However, on the last day that he played for the people, at the very end he hung his head and was silent as he walked back inside. This shows the self sacrifice he had. In the beginning he played for himself …show more content…
Initially Arrow seems to be a sniper that snipes for the single reason that she is good at the job. Yet as the story continues it is shown that Arrow is sniping for the good of her city and in doing so is self-sacrificing alot. There are many flashbacks throughout the book that show Arrow when she was a kid. Having fun and living life; This is a drastic change from the personality that is portrayed throughout the book. As well, there is a moment when Arrow is thinking about how she changed her name. She says how she changed her name because the person she used to know hated no one, and now she hates the men on the hills. This shows the self-sacrifice that Arrow had when she started sniping. In an extreme situation like the war, individuals must increase their self sacrifice as well. When Arrow is put on assignment to watch the Cellist, this shows another self-sacrificing decision. She sees the sniper that is meant to kill the Cellist, and instead of him shooting the Cellist he is listening. At this moment Arrow is filled with mixed emotion on whether to kill him or not. In the end, Arrow self-sacrifices her own emotions and shoots him in order to protect the cellist and ultimately protect the hope that was growing in the city. Another example of self sacrifice is after Arrow is transferred to a new unit after her previous unit was disbanded and