Chaos and Change

Chaos and Change

In the novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway shows how individuals take responsibility for others during times of adversity by changing their views because of others, becoming accountable to the solution and others around him and by reacting positively to negative influences. The novel takes place in war-stricken Sarajevo in the heart of Yugoslavia. During this time there is a lot of conflict in this area because of extreme nationalistic ideas. There are men on the hills who shoot at the civilians inside the city for political and social reasons. As a civilian it is dangerous to even exist in the city, as the likeliness of death is extremely high. One of the main characters, Dragan, is in the midst of all this chaos; he provides a perspective on the emotions and internal conflict that the civilians might face during a time like this. Through Dragan, Steven Galloway shows how human compassion does not lose in the face of adversity.

In the beginning, Dragan is a pessimistic, lonely individual who lived with a hatred of change. Dragan is at an intersection waiting to risk his life and cross. His mindset is focused on the past and considers his life not worth living. Dragan avoided those around him, his family wasn't with him and he lived with his sister’s family, an arrangement that he described as forced by circumstances. Even the people on the streets around him he avoided, for example he avoided a former coworker named Amil, by turning to face a wall. Dragan does this because, as shown in the quote, “If they were to speak now they would only be reminded of how much has been lost, how things are no longer how they used to be.” (pg. 42), Dragan does not like the present. He does not enjoy or even comp...

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...Dragan in the Cellist of Sarajevo shows how during times of adversity individuals take responsibility for others by changing their views, becoming accountable to others and to the solution and by reacting positively to negative influences around them. Dragan was in the middle of a powerful adversity that was the war. In the beginning of the novel, Dragan starts out as an isolated individual who lived with a hatred of change. He had no sense of responsibility to others. In the middle, Dragan goes through a realization of the city and the people around causing him to change his views and start to recognize the positivity and compassion of people around him. In the end of the novel, Dragan goes through a self-realization of the person he used to be and now has a greater connection to the city around him and has a strong sense of accountability and responsibility to it.