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The Symbolism In The Cellist Of Sarajevo By Steven Galloway

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The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway, an author, writer, and novelist, who’s fictional novel portrays three citizens that live within the city of Sarajevo, who are influenced by the cellist’s music. Galloway’s use of symbolism, imagery, and onomatopoeia to develop Arrow’s character in the novel allows Arrow to begin to have hope and learn who her true identity is in Sarajevo. Galloway’s use of the cello represents symbolism, which allows Arrow to feel a slight sense of hope. Arrow explains, “It appears as though the cello stays upright of its own will, independent of the man surrounding it. The wood glows rich and warm against the drab gray of shattered paving stones, and she feels an urge to touch it …… It is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. When the first notes sound they are, to her, inaudible. Sound has vanished from the world” (61-62). The cello represents hope for Arrow because she states how the cello is the only colorful object she sees, which …show more content…

Arrow explains, “Her mother is lifting her up, spinning her around and laughing. The warm tongue of a dog licks her arm… She slips on someone else’s blood and lands on her side, a severed arm almost touching her nose. In a movie theater, a boy she likes kisses her and puts his hand on her stomach…. The sound returns to the world. She isn’t sure what has happened…. You will not cry, she tells herself…. There will be no crack in her” (62). This cellist made Arrow think about her past memories that made her feel joy. He allowed her to forget about everything that has been going on in Sarajevo and even though she was able to suppress the crying that she felt was going to occur, she was still able to at least feel raw emotions for the first time since the war

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