Analysing images of hope and destruction in Galloway's 'The Cellist of Sarajevo'
I can understand and analyse the opening of 'The Cellist of Sarajevo'.
Analysing images of hope and destruction in Galloway's 'The Cellist of Sarajevo'
I can understand and analyse the opening of 'The Cellist of Sarajevo'.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The theme of hope permeates the opening of 'The Cellist of Sarajevo'.
- Galloway uses powerful verbs to describe the weapon's destruction.
- Galloway structures the opening paragraph of his novel to mirror the way in which the weapon falls.
- Galloway may have purposely omitted details in his opening to universalise his message.
- When we analyse a text, we must consider why a writer chose to make a particular decision.
Keywords
Besiege - surround a place with armed forces in order to capture it or force its surrender
Permeate - spread through and be present in every part
Core - the basic and most important part of something
Common misconception
Students may be confused about when the extract is taking place or what war the extract is about as it references multiple moments of time.
The novel opening takes place during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s. However, the reference to the aftermath of WW2 is significant in universalising the themes and messages of the novel.
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Analysing images of hope and destruction in Galloway's 'The Cellist of Sarajevo', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Analysing images of hope and destruction in Galloway's 'The Cellist of Sarajevo', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 4 english lessons from the Fiction: read around the world unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You will need access to Chapter 1 of 'The Cellist of Sarajevo' by Steven Galloway for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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