City symbolic for characters

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Thesis: In Steven Galloway's “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” the city is symbolic for the occurrences in its citizen’s lives. As the city's symbols for pride deteriorate with the effects of war, so do the character's symbols. Both the city and the citizen’s are faced with inner conflict, that, unless they can overcome, will destroy their very core. Finally, with the grace and healing power of the cellist's music, both the city and the citizen's lives can be seen as they previously were, and reclaim themselves.

In Steven Galloway's wartime novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, the character's behaviour mirrors the occurrences in the city; specifically, as the city's previous symbols of pride destruct, so do the character's pre-war symbols of pride. Prior to the war, the city of Sarajevo had held a multitude of beautiful landmarks, such as the Kosevo Stadium where the 1984 Olympic Games were held, or the National Library, both of which were a source of national pride for the city. As Kenan, the young father, makes his way through the ruined city streets in the hopes of finding water for his family, he observes the now ruined National Library, and remarks on them previously being a source of pride for society: “It is all Kenan can do to look up at what remains of the national library. Though the stone and brick structure still stands, its insides are completely consumed. The fire has left sooty licks above each window, and the doomed glass ceiling that stood proud atop the building has shattered to the floor. It was one of his favourite places in the city, though he wasn't a great reader. It was the most visible manifestation of a society he was proud of...The men on the hills made the library one of their first targets, and they took to t...

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... isolating himself from others he will only lose his happiness. Dragan can step from his isolation and talk to the other citizens, finally releasing his feelings of fear and abandonment that previously plagued his inner self. The the same occurred in the city, as with the music a citizen was able to release his views of the city as damaged, and recognize that the city could be reclaimed. In both the city and the character's lives, with the healing power of the courageous cellist's music, the city and the character's lives are able to see the city and their lives as they used to be, and reclaim a portion of their previous happiness. In conclusion, the occurrences in the city is symbolic for the lives of the characters, as is exemplified through the ways in which both the city and the characters can see their former selves, with the music from the cellist of Sarajevo.

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