Point of view Brad

In the novel “Cellist of Sarajevo” by Steven Galloway the story is told by a series of characters where their point of view is presented.  The different points of view within the story allow the reader to develop a stronger understanding of hope and perseverance. The hardship and the struggles that these people had to go through was something that no person could explain. As realistic as the story is presented, the reader is only able to develop a romantic interpretation of the events. The reader is never able to truly experience war like the characters do, so to help develop a stronger understanding of these emotions, different points of view were used to provide more examples to reinforce the struggles and emotions. The way the story is written is in 3^rd person. The events taken place are told by a narrator, where he understands the emotions of the characters. The story is also written in a first person perspective when there is dialog between characters. Seeing through the eyes of the individual character only allows you to have a biased view of Sarajevo. When the story is written in first person, you can only see Sarajevo, as the character sees it. The destruction of the city influenced each character to fight back against the men in the hills. When you are able to see the character in 1^st person, you are able to look into their internal conflicts they have. You see that Sarajevo is an important part of who they are as a person. That the city is a part of them, and without it they are lost. The cellist allows the story to have an alternative point of view. It allows the characters to see their past, and see their internal conflicts being presented. They want to go back to the way they city used to be.

            The point of view of each character is important to the story because each story is intertwined and each influences one another. With three different stories going on at the same time, you are able to learn more about the city and the people living their. The lives of these people are drastically changed and they all want to go back to the way their city used to be. Each character feels differently about their city, and what it has become. But they all agree that Sarajevo was a beautiful city that was full of life, and it is their duty to keep it alive, and change it back to the way it was before the war.