Arrow In The Cellist Of Sarajevo

Camille Pissarro once said: “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where others see nothing.” In this, he explores the idea that some people can see the beauty in things even at the worst of times. Though, realistically, this is a seemingly impossible task during challenging times such as war. It is easy to become completely enveloped by darkness when faced with the tragedies of life. Despite the fact that perhaps seeing this beauty is also something that could potentially save one from the severe repercussions that one might experience after facing a tragedy. This is definitely the case for the character Arrow in Steven Galloway’s The Cellist Of Sarajevo. In this novel, the cellist and his music act as an instrument of

This is eye-opening and incites her on her journey to discover why “[she] herself is a weapon”. Before meeting the cellist she is stone cold, compartmentalizing herself into a different person on the outside than the inside to deal with the tragedy of war. She turns herself into Arrow, a silent killer, in order to live in this new world where people are hunted like prey. That is, until she is assigned to protect the cellist. Then, her inner change is put into motion. She listens to him one day, and as she returns to protect him, she begins to reflect on her past. She remembers a time when she was a young girl and her grandmother refused to let her get ice cream. She questions what she would give up for some ice cream, for just a little shred of happiness during these difficult times. She answers the question to herself with: “All the money she has? Certainly. Her rifle? Maybe.” This is an intense change for Arrow in that her rifle is her livelihood, it is what keeps her alive. She wouldn’t have even thought about giving up her rifle before, but then again, she had changed herself so much she hadn’t thought about the past in that way in a long time, as something actually tangible. The deeply emotional, nostalgic effect the music has on Arrow causes a small crack in the hard exterior wall she had created around herself to protect the girl inside. It is through this that she is introduced to the idea of questioning if creating this carapace around herself really was the best thing to do and how it has changed how she