Hope in Steven Marloway's The Cellist of Sarajevo Essay Example

What is the value of hope? What defines its worth? Who gets to decided it worth? The individual or the collective? Or is hopes value impossible to define, as it is both collective and individually subjective as it ties us together as people and defines us each as our own individual. Hope is what keeps our humanity, without it we not only lose our selves but what makes us human. This idea of hope is explored through Steven Galloway’s novel the cellist of Sarajevo, through his exploration of symbolism and the human spirit Mr. Galloway develops the idea that when an individual abandons   hope they will begin to lose their sense of humanity  which results in the individuals having drastic changes in their fundamental beliefs and actions. 

When individuals begin to lose hope they begin to lose important social aspects of themselves, becoming isolated. In the book the cellist of Sarajevo, Dragan an elderly man, has given up on much of his hope for the city and the war and has isolated himself, becoming recluses and sullen as a result. His isolation has lead him to lose touch with people who are important to him, He’s become awkward and bizarre, praying to avoid any sort of interaction even when seeing people he was previously friendly with like  Amil a man he knew before the war.  “Dragan turns and faces the wall behind him, as though examining it” (31). In this quote we see how Dragan would much prefer to ignore the man then speak. And by turning away and waiting for him to pass Dragan shows his new isolative tendency’s something he would never one before the war. We see this in the quote “he always liked amile, used to talk to him all the time” (31), this was before the war when he had hope in the city and its people, but now that his hope has begun to dwindle and he has become less out going and talkative becoming more of an empty shell then a man. Similarly, Arrow another character from the book has also begun the process of self-isolation, avoiding the civilians on the streets and losing her sense of self preferring to think of herself as simply a weapon and not an individual. Arrows self-inflicted isolation has changed her drastically as a person, She finds herself unable to grieve for the dead or the wounded “Arrow doesn’t normally go to funerals… she’s become numb to them. (121)” this quote represents how she’s become emotionally distant from the world around her. Her hope in the war has been lost to the point where she’s become apathetic to the lives lost due to the war. When she herself must kill arrow is apathetic to the situation “arrow simply chooses one (9)”. As a result of her hope being lost, she’s loss much of her humanity, killing indiscriminately to fight the war. The novel also uses symbolism to convey this belief, using the metaphor of living ghosts, and how without hope the people of Sarajevo can be washed away into empty shells a reflection of the people they used to be. This is shown through the character of Ms.Ristovski and how war has turned her into a shell of her former self, unable to try again in life and unable to move on from her trauma.  Ms.Ristovski has no hope in the present or the future, continuing to isolate herself away with in her home she’s, become abrasive and arrogant, chastising her neighbors and having no faith in the people around her to help her in times of adversity. 

When an individual loses their hope they lose faith in their community and as a result are prompted to become selfish.  This is shown clearly when Kenan a character who is generally seen as selfless and caring suddenly become selfish and angry when his hope begins to fade, “he looks back to the bridge to the spot where he hid ms.Ristovkis water. He turns away.” (152) Here Kenan’s hope has wavered, he’s tired, tired of the war and tired of his journey, He’s become selfish  only wanting to take his family’s water back rather than risk the crossing the bridge back for the water of someone in his community, despite promising them he would. Another example of this is during Dragan and Emina’s conversation about being killed or wounded “do you think, Dragan asks “it’s worst to be wounded or killed” (107) this conversation highlights the differences of individuals with and without hope. Emina is a hopeful person, her hope lets her trust and have faith in others in her community. “ It’s better to be wounded at last then you have a chance to live”(107)  Because of her faith Emina believes that if she was to be hurt that the people around her would try to help her,  just as she would try to help them. Dragan is opposed to Eminas belies because he has lost his hope,  “it’s not much of a chance” (107) this quote depicts how he no longer believes in his community or the people around him to help him adverse situations. “they’re low on supplies low on people. He doesn’t know for sure but it seems likely” (108) this quote shows how even though he’s unsure If the hospital in understaffed or not he assumes it so because he has nonfaith in the people working there to help him. Dragan’s lack of hope has also made him become selfish, not acting to help  when Emina is shot, even after other people go to rescue her from the road side. “Around him everyone is alive with a frenzied energy be he hasn’t stirred an inch”(117). 

Hope cannot have a merit to its importance, we can only see the distinction of hopes value when we are shown the demerits of losing hope and in turn our humanity. Therefore, it is imperative that individuals keep the hope regardless of adversity.  As hen we lose our hope, we become isolated and selfish and alone.  By developing and humanizing his characters in the novel, the Cellist of Sarajevo as well as providing important symbolism has showcased the effect of how without hope individuals will lose themselves, their beliefs, and their humanity.