Heroism In The Cellist Of Sarajevo By Steve Galloway

“The Cellist of Sarajevo,” written by Steve Galloway, is a story that takes place in the capital of Bosnia, shedding light on the true story of Vedran Smajlovic, and touching upon the importance of shedding light in times of darkness. One of the main themes that stood out to me during the story was heroism. Despite all of the other significant themes that arose from the text, heroism was the strongest. The Cellist himself was used as symbol for heroism and another character the author used to portray his message was, Dragan. Sarajevo, what was once described as a beautiful, artistic, and peaceful place, is in the midst of a horrendous war that has turned the city into the bizarre opposite. The author is constantly describing the city as grey …show more content…
He regrets not rushing to help his friend but at the same time understands that’s not who he is. Dragon finds comfort in accepting that he is not a stereotypical hero, because he wants to live in a world where heroes are uncalled for. He decided in this moment that although he isn’t sure if Sarajevo will ever go back to how he remembers it, he is committed to living his best life during this dreadful time and spreading as much hope and positivity as he can until things start to get better. Although he had a change of heart, he began to daydream about what life would be like if he just left Sarajevo and joined his family in Italy. As his mind wanders this train of thought a bullet casing interrupted him (significant because bullet shell symbolizes war) he then realized he didn’t want to leave his beloved city, he wanted to remain loyal and do what he can until he gets it back. He decides to deal with the siege. Dragan’s biggest struggle was accepting that the old Sarajevo wasn’t coming back and staying there through his struggle was how he showcased his heroism, even if he doesn’t do extravagant humanitarian …show more content…
The Hat man’s body was still lying in the middle of the street and Dragan decided although he wanted the world to be aware of what is happening in his beloved country, this is not how he wants it to be portrayed. He entered the street despite the shooters, and moved the body onto the other side of the road. This was a significant step for Dragan as it is the first real time he is accepting the situation and doing what he can to make things better. Even though this was only a small deed, it was extremely significant and an important step for him. Just as he was comprehending what he had done, another dog walks past him, ignoring him as well as the corpse (even though it is short on food due to the war) seeming to want nothing to do with humans. Dragan again saw himself in this dog. Similar to the dog, Dragan mentally removed himself from his surroundings, and although he wasn’t hurting anyone, he wasn’t helping either. During this time, The Cellist had begun playing and Dragan was instantly enlightened, he was reminded of Emina and other good things in his life. Dragan had fully come to the realization that his actions matter and even the smallest of deeds could make a difference, and most risks are worth the cause. Galloway was trying to portray the importance of any deed despite the size especially in times of darkness, and