Thesis

    The thesis I have created for my essay breaks the book down into three post- modern traits that carry throughout the whole novel. My thesis is as follows;

“The Cellist of Sarajevo is a contemporary war novel written by Steven Galloway. While most war novels examine the front lines of war. Galloway examines how society in general is affected, and what they must do to recapture what war has taken from them. Galloway uses a mixture of post-modern symbols, points of view, and character evolution to show how society responds to such a dramatic event, as well as to show what actions they must carry out to recapture their Sarajevo.”

An example of Juxtaposition

The thesis breaks down into three devices:
Post- modern symbols: In the novel post-modern symbols are used to show how the cellist’s life has changed, and to what extents he will go to regain what he and the town has lost. The method used to help show the change he deals with is called juxtaposition which shows contrast between classical high-art modern technology. In many examples throughout these two themes are contrasted together with the cellist.
Points of View: The one thing that makes this novel very unique is the way it is written. The novel was written by each chapter dealing with another characters story, eventually tying them altogether with the cellist. It was made to show how the lives of three different characters progresses during the war, and what adjustments they must make to live another day.
Character Evolution: Arrow is one of the stories that is followed throughout of the novel. She is one of the best snipers working for the city during the siege, and because of this was hired to protect the cellist from the men on the hills. throughout the novel, this decision forces her to undertake actions she never originally would have. This is when Arrow travels through her circle of evolution. Near the end of the novel, she changes back to her old values.

An illustration to show Arrow's changes in values

A main theme

    Throughout the novel, many themes begin to emerge as the characters try to survive the siege corrupting their town. One significant theme that is constant through the whole novel is the theme of change. The cellist of Sarajevo is a novel that is based around change, and how three characters learn to cope and deal with it. As the novel begins we are introduced to three characters, and their lives during the war. Every once in a while we will get a glimpse of how they lived before, and more importantly, how the war has changed them.

    Kenan is a man, and a father living in the town during the war. He has two kids, a wife, and a dog, a very typical family. Before the war Kenan lived a very normal with all the necessities needed to get by. Now that the war has hit Sarajevo, suddenly everything he had, and everything he thought he knew was abruptly taken away. Now, Kenan must wake up early multiple times a week to fulfill a daunting task, to gain a simple necessity- water. He must put his life in danger traveling miles across town carrying up to six heavy water jugs, just to live. The source of water at the brewery is the only reliable source in the town, and without it- life itself would be impossible.

“Carry too little and you’ll have to repeat the task more often. Each time you expose yourself to the dangers of the streets you run the risk of injury or death. But carry too much and you lose the ability to run, duck, dive, anything it takes to get out of danger’s way.” ( Galloway 24 )

On these mornings that Kenan must wake up to get water for his family, it becomes harder and harder every time, but he knows he must fulfill his duty to himself, and his family to get water. Kenan is a single father living in Sarajevo. His family had the chance to flee before the war. This is directly the change Dragan had to learn to deal with and overcome. This quote explains how Dragan will often day dream of escaping from the war to live with his family.

“ He’s back in Sarajevo. There’s no tunnel pass in his pocket, and there never will be. No one is getting out of town now. Certainly not him.” ( Galloway 184 )

A sign from tunnel Dragan imagines escaping from

Often when dragan will day dream of running away to live with his family, he will have a moment of reality after each time, coming to the realization that he can not run away until the war is done. Arrow potentially deals with the most change in the novel. At the beginning she had only ever shot at targets, never real people. She was the best sniper working for the town, and because of this was hired to protect the cellist. Arrow’s involvement in the war never would have happened if her father hadn’t have been killed. That is the beginning of change for Arrow, her fathers death had allowed the commander to ask her to become involved.

“ She would learn later that her father, who is a police-man, had asked Nermin to leave her out of it. He was killed in one of the first battles of the war.” ( Galloway 69 )

If Arrow’s father was never killed in the war, she would have continued to live the somewhat normal life that can be lived through war, but her fathers death was the beginning of her moral dilemma to come.

What Makes The Cellist of Sarajevo post-modern?

The Cellist of Sarajevo is littered with ways that it can be considered post-modern, Three examples were used in my essay relating to the novel.

Technology: The book is written about how a town is affected by war, this in itself is a post-modern trait. War is considered an example of technology, and is what the book is generally about. Throughout the novel, there are many uses of war, including the mortar attack on people waiting in line to buy bread. In response to this attack, the cellist will play his cello in the creator for twenty-two days; one day for every person killed. An example of technology in this novel is the mortar attack hitting the bakery at the beginning of the novel.

A mortar being fired

“It screams downward, splitting air and sky without effort. A target expands in size, brought into focus by time and velocity. There is a moment before impact that is the last instant of things as they are. Then the visible world explodes.”

This is an example of technology in the novel. The quote uses imagery to show the shell falling from the sky preparing the impact the bakery.

Points of View: This novel is written different than most other novels. Instead of progressing by chapters, and many scattered stories; the novel progresses by individual stories of how each character was separately affected by war. Offering many different points of view on the war, and how it is affecting the town.

My interpretation of what Arrow may look like

Woman as a main character: Arrow is a main character in the novel, and is one of the most interesting to read. She is a sniper working for the town, and was hired to protect the cellist. The fact the she is so heavily included in the novel, and that it follows her independent story makes this a post-modern trait.

These are the three main area’s I have decided to concentrate on. Aside from this there are many more examples that exist in the novel making is heavily post-modern.