ipl-logo

Arrow In The Cellist Of Sarajevo By Steven Galloway

688 Words3 Pages

In the war of Sarajevo, civilians had to take charge to protect their city. In the book The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway represents this time for the people of Sarajevo, and one of the perspectives he uses is Arrow. This young woman has become one of the best snipers to help defend Sarajevo in the times of war. She battles not just with the men on the hills, but also with herself. Arrow has been tasked to protect the Cellist from an enemy sniper who is coming down from the hills above Sarajevo to remove the beacon of light that the cellist brings to Sarajevans. She must do this because the cellist gives the people of Sarajevo hope in times of despair. Arrow's motivation throughout the story is wanting to help the people of Sarajevo …show more content…

In the book, the author says “He’s our target,” Hasan says. I pick who to shoot at, not you. No, she says” (Galloway 200). This text displays how Arrow has grown as a person, that she no longer wants to be Arrow and that she doesn't want to kill anymore. Arrow shows restraint and self-control since meeting Hasan and doesn't give into becoming a murderer. In the text, the author says “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 203). This text shows how Arrow has shown discipline and restraint, how she’s grown away from this war, and how she wants her old life back and not her current …show more content…

In the text, the author says, “But she isn't going to pick up the gun” (Galloway 229). This text shows how Arrow has developed and no longer wants to fight and kill but she wants to be a normal person again, so she decides to leave the gun on the table and accept her fate. Arrows actions throughout the story display how much she changes and develops and becomes the person she always wanted to be. At the end of the book the author states, “Her lips move and a moment before the door splinters off its hinges she says, her voice is strong and quiet. My name is Alisa” (Galloway 231). This quote shows how Arrow has grown out of her old persona and has come back to her original identity and decides she is not a killer but a strong woman who makes her own choices and decisions for the betterment of herself and

Show More
Related
612 Words | 3 Pages

The lives of Olga Polites, and her family, were rattled to their very foundation when a beloved family member was savagely murdered. Prior to this tragedy, Olga had stood, adamantly, on the side against capital punishment. Throughout the course of her article, she explains how her stance has been shaken. Such a heinous act, occurring to her so personally, had changed her views. She states that, instead of viewing the shooter as a person, she was “indifferent… to his personal plight.

Read More
631 Words | 3 Pages

It makes sense that she does this, because she is a musician of a high caliber. She relates things back to her culture and her music because it makes it easy to understand and it makes sense for the reader. There are so many examples of this in the story. She goes through the trip as if it were a song. A triumphant and strong intro, a perilous and suspenseful middle, and a joyful and relieving coda.

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

In the story “Cellist Of Sarajevo” by Steven Galloway the battle between life and death snatches away ones humanity. The citizens of Sarajevo battle their beliefs and experiences, as they are continuously running away from the war. The citizens of Sarajevo are divided between their beliefs, as they struggle to keep their humanity. Before the war Arrow has no intention of killing.

Read More
1817 Words | 8 Pages

This is because, she no longer sees the sniper as a faceless, nameless killer,

Read More
1473 Words | 6 Pages

Hope in The Cellist of Sarajevo Undoubtedly, an optimistic perspective can have an impact on the outcome of any given situation. On the contrary, a pessimistic view will create negative feelings and can drastically alter the outcome. In the novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, the three main characters point of view on hope change throughout the story. Their perspective enables them to think positively or negatively on the war and destruction that is going on around them. Steven Galloway explores how the presence and absence of hope affects Kenan, Arrow and Dragan’s outlook on the war.

Read More
684 Words | 3 Pages

Due to powerful citizens, civilians were drafted into the war not by their will, but rather as a last resort to protect their city. Although nothing could undo the war, through this discovery Arrow is still able recognize her humanity

Read More
1753 Words | 8 Pages

Instead of fighting and betraying her values, which is essential for survival, she lays down her arms and faces her death with dignity. When the men who are sent to hunt her break through her door, “she says, her voice strong and quiet, ‘My name is Alisa’” (258). By this point, she feels as though she has honoured her former self to the extent that she can use her real name. She can do this because she no longer exchanges bullets for lives.

Read More
964 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel “The Cellist Of Sarajevo”, Steven Galloway illustrates the life of three very similar characters that are facing the same situation—war. Dragon one of the characters changes within the novel in a very positive way. Throughout the story he waits at the intersection to determine when it's safe to cross. Dragons morals of continuing to communicate, help others, and face the man on the hills was a conflict for him at first. But in the end, he gained the courage to do all that and and this developed his true identity.

Read More
1998 Words | 8 Pages

The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway In Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo, the chapters alternate between the different perspectives of three main characters. One of which is Arrow, a female sniper with immense ability who is sent to protect the cellist from other enemy snipers. Mindful of her value, she limits her involvement in the war – she will not, for example, target civilians. A code of ethics is her sole luxury.

Read More
1110 Words | 5 Pages

The whole thing changes and becomes retrospective. Slowly but surely, the playfulness disappears from the presentation. Where there was, a play of words comes a serious look at a person’s life. The trajectory of the bullet seems to be set on a course that unlocks memories in stages. The sarcasm fades away, and one can almost feel a tone of empathy with Anders.

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

“His hand trembles with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired” (208). This quote is showing the nerves and anxiety the sniper had received from out tricking his own brother. The last example in “The Man He Killed” the war had

Read More
624 Words | 3 Pages

His actions without thought end with him getting shot and him shooting and killing his brother. If he would have thought before he did things he would still have a brother. In “The Sniper”, O’Flaherty made the theme action without thought very evident by using description and

Read More
506 Words | 3 Pages

“The sniper look at his enemy falling, underline and shuttered. The lust of battle died in him.” This is the end result when violence and assumption overcome us: we react in the right away. From the short story, “The Sniper”, we learn that assumption and violence can cause us to act in regrettable ways. The enemy sniper kills innocent people, the sniper fakes his death, and kills the enemy sniper.

Read More
161 Words | 1 Pages

In Galloway’s novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, the cellist symbolizes hope. The cellist plays music in the streets of Sarajevo despite the risk of death, giving the people of Sarajevo a sense of hope. Vedran Smailovic, the person the cellist was based on, also displayed such traits. Smailovic “played his cello regularly in ruined buildings around the city, despite the constant threat of shellfire” (Hunt). By basing the cellist off a historical figure, Galloway is able to illustrate hope as more fleeting and precious.

Read More
1237 Words | 5 Pages

Written by Tobias Wolff, “Bullet in the Brain” is an interesting character study. In such a short story, he creates a character readers will notably hate. Despise, even. But with the subtle manner of how Tobias’ wrote Anders’ situation and how he perceives the world, the tonal shifts when the robbers enter and when the bullet enters his brain playing on readers expectations and how it all reflects on this theme of narcissism, which parallels with the final moments, this creates an effective form of displaying to readers an intimate and convincing display in how vile and cynical Anders is, but also that he wasn’t always like this.

Read More

More about Arrow In The Cellist Of Sarajevo By Steven Galloway

Open Document