Explication of Self-Sacrafice for an Ideal in The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

In the novel The Cellist of Sarajevo you couldn’t possibly find a more obvious and touching theme than self-sacrifice for an ideal. The ideal being, of course, a city not destroyed by war, streets not subject to sniper fire, homes not victim of shelling, and citizens’ spirits not broken.

This novel is about 4 very different human beings attempting to survive in their city through the terror or sniping on the streets and random shelling of markets, hospitals, homes and other places. They seem to not be connected at all at first. However as the story evolves, it is clear that they all are connected by the cellist’s music. Or, more exclusively, the hope it brings to them. Throughout the novel, they must decide “whether or not they will allow the war to make decisions for them and steal their humanity, or if instead they will reach out to [one] another and do what is right, even if it means they will not survive.” (The Cellist of Sarajevo – Book Review) Though they stumble, and their hope falters, they are all sacrificing something tremendous in order to try to rebuild their city.

Every 4 days, Kenan walks to the brewery to get water for his family and for the grouchy, uncooperative and ungrateful Ms. Ristovski. He faces death every day for the good of his family, which many might do. He also risks quite a lot for Ms. Ristovski. Why? When Kenan hears the cellist play he “watches as his city heals itself around him.” (The Cellist of Sarajevo) He knows that the only way to rebuild his beloved city is by helping others, even if the favor is not returned or even appreciated. Kenan is “tired of getting water, and he’s tired of the world he lives in. He’s tired of carrying water for a woman who has never had a kind word to say to him,” (The Cellist of Sarajevo) but he still does it. He knows that when people stop helping one another and stop hoping is when the city will truly be destroyed.

The cellist makes a sacrifice every day for twenty two days. He sits in the middle of the street playing his cello. What does he hope to accomplish? He won’t bring back the dead, he won’t save the living, and he won’t replace a single shattered window or brick. The ideal that he makes self-sacrifice for is hope, and his music does give people hope. He is putting his life on the line to play a song on his cello, a seemingly insignificant thing to do. However, the cellist knows that what his city needs is a new hope. Something beautiful in the midst of terror to remind them of what they are fighting for. Playing the cello is all he can do, and so he throws himself into it completely and hopes that others will do what they can and make sacrifices as well for the ideal of a united and rebuilt city.

Dragan and Arrow make sacrifices too. As well as Emina, Nermin, Kenan’s wife and children, and many other people in this story who help the wounded, rescue a stranger, or share their food with a neighbor. The futility of war is manifested a million times in the hopes and wishes of these people. They are in no way responsible for it, but still they suffer. They do their best to face it with hope and courage, making small sacrifices that help others in a big way. All of these brave individuals are each sacrificing a little, or in some cases a lot for the sake of their city and the citizens. They are all working toward the shinning ideal of a new hope for a broken city.