The Cellist Of Sarajevo Analysis

The concept of living through a siege during a time of war is a foreign concept to individuals that reside in the western world. In those situations, a split second decision has the ability to determine one’s entire life path, whether they live and prosper or have a special meeting with death itself. In the text The Cellist of Sarajevo, a man named Kenan is a civilian trying to survive during a siege. A way he provides for his family is to travel across the city to the brewery to retrieve fresh water. In the process of doing so he lives through some traumatic events. In the novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, Canadian author Steven Galloway develops the idea that when an individual with a family is forced to come face to face with compelling circumstances then their capacity for self-sacrifice increases to ensure that their family survives no matter the cost.
A worthy father will do anything in his ability to provide basic necessities for his
Experiencing intense fearful emotion when one is thrust into a warzone is the logical response to have. Kenan is one to experience this emotion every time he steps out of the relative safety of his apartment. “He’s afraid of dying.” (Galloway 51). Whenever he steps out of his residence he swallows his terror in order to do his job as a provider for his family. The fear of dying never leaves but he combats it in order to do his duty to retrieve water. Despite the fact that he is terrified, he faces his situation head on with no second guessing. Kenan deals with his fear by dreaming of all the good things that are results of him venturing out. They are all about his wife and his children. His fear slowly starts dying once he is sure of what his purpose is. In that moment there is recognition that he will do anything in his power to ensure his family stays alive, and it all starts with the trips to get water in the compelling