The Cellist Of Sarajevo Character Analysis

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Music is a messenger; it carries our emotions, our memories, and our dreams. It is strong enough that it can transform a human being and bring the community together. In The Cellist of Sarajevo, a novel written by Steven Galloway, music is a key symbol in the book that represents the power of expression. Galloway used music to show how music affects the musician and the people it has reached, including Arrow and the Cellist. Both of these characters have to find a way to survive the Bosnian war while music heavily impacts their lives and the world around them, creating a path to a better understanding of the characters. Music reminds us to be our best, most humane selves, under any circumstances. The Cellist is the sole source of music in the book and, to him, it is an expression of thought and emotion. After a mortar kills 22 people, including his friends and neighbors who …show more content…

Throughout the book, she completely changes. She lets music help her overcome the hurdle she once put up, the acknowledgement of her previous life. One of her turning points in the book is when she feels the emotion of the music, becoming sensitive to the grief given off by the Cellist. ”It makes her sad. A heavy, slow kind of sad, the sort that does not bring you to tears but makes you feel like crying. It is, she thinks, the worst feeling there could be” (135). This music has forced her to feel the emotion carried through the air. She recognizes this sensation, which is part of the instrumental change within her. This also helps her understand why other snipers did not shoot the Cellist. It was because they had felt the music, acknowledged it, and listened to it as well. The music helps her throughout her journey, making it full of change and emotion. It brings a deeper understanding of Alisa, the girl who once renamed herself as

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