Regaining Hope in The Cellist of Sarajevo

In times of difficulty, people tend to give up on themselves and their dreams. They feel as if the situation is never going to improve, and decide that there’s no point in persevering for something that they won’t be able to achieve. Everyone goes through difficult times in their lives, but eventually things get better and we’re able to recover; you and I are proof of that. This is why people should never give up in tough times, because even a glimmer of hope can help lift you out of despair.

After I finished reading The Cellist of Sarajevo, I realized that Galloway slowly develops the characters and shows how they all eventually regain their hope and humanity in the end. The three storylines of each of the three characters are all connected to the cellist in some way, and Galloway demonstrates how the cellist’s music instills hope and optimism in the hearts of the civilians. On his trip to get water, Kenan abandons Mrs. Ristovski’s water bottles out of frustration, but he decides to go back for them after hearing the cellist play. Dragan is paralyzed out of fear when Emina is shot by a sniper, but he comes back to his senses later on and prevents a foreigner from getting footage of a dead body. Arrow had let go of her humanity and became a killing machine, but she realizes her mistakes and refuses to shoot a civilian, despite her orders.

I believe that the best examples of reclaimed hope in the last few chapters are shown by Dragan and Arrow. They are both faced with a difficult choice, and overcome their fear and pick the choice that allows them to keep their humanity and also be a part of saving Sarajevo. 

Dragan has been through a lot since the war started. He sent his family to Italy, and is living with his sister. He also cut off all contact with his community, because he doesn’t want to remember everything that he lost as a result of the war. However, as the novel progresses, Dragan starts interacting with people. When he meets Emina at the intersection, he tries to avoid her but as they start talking, he starts to realize that he always missed talking with a friend. When Emina gets shot, he keeps the pills she was going to deliver and decides to deliver them himself, showing how his flame of hope has been lit again. 

“He won’t allow this man’s body to be filmed. He remembers what he told Emina about the cellist, why he thinks he plays. To stop something from happening. To prevent a worsening. To do what he can” (Galloway, 234).

Dragan sees the journalist setting up his camera at the intersection with the dead body, so he can show the world what’s going on. However, Dragan doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want the world to see the negative side of Sarajevo, how there are dead bodies littered in the streets. He wants the world to see the good side, what Sarajevo used to be, and what it could still become after the end of the war. Dragan gets up and drags the body out of the intersection, even though he is risking his life by doing so. At this moment, I thought that Dragan had completely transformed and reclaimed his hope for the city of Sarajevo. He realized that things won’t get better if no one takes action.

“She sees the sniper they sent to kill the cellist, his eyes closed, his hand at his side. She hears music, and, this time, she does not fire” (Galloway, 226).

Arrow is recruited by Colonel Karaman after the death of her boss, Nermin. When she meets Hasan for her ‘test’ she’s ordered to shoot a civilian on the street. Arrow quickly refuses and tells Hasan that she’ll only kill soldiers, not civilians, whether they’re enemy civilians or not. Throughout the war, Arrow has been killing enemy soldiers and snipers. When faced with the decision to kill civilians, she maintains her humanity and chooses not to harm innocent people.

In the final chapter, Arrow refuses to use her gun to protect herself. She realizes that violence only makes things worse, and that there was no need for her to have so much hatred for the men on the hills. The music of the cellist gives her hope and reminds her that there is still goodness in the world, so she decides not to pick up a gun to fight her attackers. She chooses to side with the goodness in the world, rather than the hatred.

Reading this book really made me feel sympathetic towards the civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo. They were being shelled and killed but they still maintained hope that this would all be over soon. And they were right; the siege was called off eventually. This goes to show how mental strength is a really important trait that can help you get through anything in your life. Did you guys like the book? I thought the character development was great and made you feel emotional for the characters and the struggles they endure. Galloway did an amazing job showing the effect the war had on the everyday life of the characters, while keeping everything as accurate as possible. Let me know what you guys think.

Works Cited

Galloway, Steven. The Cellist of Sarajevo. Vintage Canada, 2009.