Topic > The theme of destiny in The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Destiny is something to which a person or thing is destined. Destiny implies that there is a power that acts or determines the course of events in advance. Some people may feel that their fate is already sealed for them. However, destiny is something that we as individuals create for ourselves. It sometimes influences the decisions we make as human beings that give us an idea of ​​what our destiny is. Steven Galloway explores the idea of ​​how the role of kindness plays when an individual attempts to determine their own destiny in his novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo. In his novel he describes that the choices we make in life are based on the situations that happened at that time. This is represented in the character, Arrow, a female sniper. Arrow nearly loses sight of her true identity due to the consequences of being forced into the role of an assassin under the pressure of dominant forces. However, she is entrusted with the task of taking care of the cellist for 28 days. The power of the cellist's music makes her reflect on her life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayArrow lived her life as any normal girl would have lived at that age before the war. When Arrow was in college he was an expert member of his university's target shooting team. She was chosen by the city's rebel unit to defend Sarajevo from enemy soldiers. To accommodate her new role as an assassin, the young woman, Alisa, changes her name to "Arrow". Arrow may have thought this might be because this was his destiny. However, everyone's fate is in their hands and how you want it is your choice. She hated the men on the hill because they were killing her people, Arrows says "Hating people because they hated her first, and then hating them because of what they did to her, created a desire to separate the part of her that will fight back, that will will enjoy fighting back, from the side that never wanted to fight in the first place Reading the novel you see that Arrow never wanted to become a sniper, he chose to become one once he simply saw how the actions of the men in the hills were. affecting her city. She could have left everything as it was and let the other assassins deal with it. However, she felt it was her responsibility to protect her country. Arrow decided her fate alone when she decided to protect her city. At the end of the novel, Arow says this: “He closes his eyes, remembers the notes he heard only yesterday, a melody that is no longer there but that he feels very close to. His lips move and a moment before the door opens Unhinged, she says, in a strong, calm voice: "My name is Alisa." This shows how she was tired of acting like she was Arrow, not Alisa and when she is about to die she realizes that it was Alisa the whole time. Although she tried to leave her real identity, but the truth is that she was with her all the time. We also get to see a bit of Alisa when she is tasked with taking care of the cellist for 28 days. While protecting the cellist she begins to listen to his music which helps her think about her life and what she has become. As he listens to the cellist play he thinks that “The men in the hills should not have been murdered. The men in the city did not need to duck to fight their attackers. It shouldn't have been full of hate. The music demanded that she remember this, that she know with certainty that the world still retains the capacity for good. The notes were proof of this." this quote shows how Arrow is influenced by the music of.