Cellist Of Sarajevo Self Sacrifice

Self-sacrifice is defined as a “sacrifice of one’s interests, or desires for the duty or good of another.” In the “Cellist of Sarajevo” by Steven Galloway there isn’t a more prominent theme found then self-sacrifice. The novel tells the story of four people and their daily lives as they struggle through the siege of their hometown. All four characters are very different as they sacrifice themselves in very different ways and for different reasons. It becomes apparent by the end of the novel that they all use self-sacrifice as a way to try and rebuild there lost city. It can be argued that self-sacrifice during a time of catastrophe can lead to the rebuilding of hope and humanity.

The novel first begins following a man who is nothing but …show more content…
His self-sacrifice much like the cellist is not for himself but for the people around him. He faces death everyday as he makes the long journey through sniper zones only for the good of his family. In a compelling situation like Kenans, it would be much easier for him to risk his family’s lives with water that might not be as clean and fresh in order to protect his own life however he see’s his self-sacrifice as a way to help rebuild his city. On his journey to retrieve water for his family he hears the cellist playing in the street and he “watches as his city heals itself around him.”(209). At this point in the book he realizes that the only way to rebuild the hope and humanity of his city is by helping others even if the favor is not returned like his neighbor Ms.Ristovski. Kenan is very “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,” (Page 171). In all this angst however Kenan knows that if people were to stop hoping and helping others through self-sacrifice, however compelling the situation might seem would be when the city would truly be