Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Complexity of simplicity
While reading the Cellist of Sarajevo, I think all of us are aware of how mentally different Arrow is compared to other characters. We know that she created the identity "Arrow" and discarded her real name. We all know that Arrow is an extremely talented sniper who has killed countless people. We all know that she does what she needs to do and feel little to no remorse. Then we all come to a conclusion: Arrow is a simple mechanical person. We don't say the person "Arrow" is a machine;no, we say the person who is both Arrow and Alisa is the machine. I completely disagree. Yes, Arrow is easy to understand; we all comprehend that she's a sniper who kills the people she hates. However, is Arrow, Alisa, truly simple? Alisa created Arrow in order to separate herself from a killing machine. Alisa knows that what Arrow does isn't something quite moral to some people. Does it not make sense to ensure one's sanity and hope? Inventing a new identity to prevent the mixing of two mentalities is not simple or easy to understand. Alisa created Arrow, meaning she knew what is Arrow and what qualities Arrow possesses. However, then we have to think why did she have to create Arrow? Most likely it's because Alisa knows she cannot handle being a murder. Alisa's mind probably whirled through several possibilities before arriving at her solution. It would be too complicated with Alisa and Arrow are both just Alisa, with two "personalities". So Alisa chose the best solution: a clear separation, simplicity. In the end, behind the simplicity of Arrow is truly a complex web of thoughts and emotions.
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I disagree with the thought that Arrow seems to be a machine. We've seen a lot of her emotions: anger, sorrow, and revenge. Also, the complex thoughts and emotions behind Arrow's choice to become Arrow shows a deepness inside of her. I think the reason she created Arrow is so that when the war is over, she can completely discard the character/sniper of Arrow and become who she was before the war.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with you that Arrow is simple. In fact, I think she may be one of our most complex characters. There are several reasons for why I believe this is so. First of all, among all of the characters as of now, we have gotten the most insight into Arrow's head. We have only read one section on the cellist, but we have already been exposed to a great amount of Arrow's thoughts. Within these sections on Arrow, we have not only able to see her current thoughts, but we are also given access to her distant memories of a life before the siege. Often times, her memories are irrelevant to the current moment. However, through her recollections, we are able to gain a better knowledge of her character and her life before she became "Arrow" and back when she was “Alisa”. Another interesting thing about Arrow is that though she constantly denies her desire to kill people, there seems to be a machine-like aspect to her systematic way of shooting the soldiers. She is constantly calculating her every move, but also choosing at random which soldiers to kill based on her mood, as seen in the first section on Arrow. I find her a very contradictory character in this same sense that while she seems to be looking for ways to justify her actions of killing, she is honestly just committing the same crime as the men of the hills that she despises.
ReplyDeleteI understand what both of your are saying. This part of Arrow we all see seems to be a vestige of Alisa. The ideal Arrow was most likely created to be simple; however that didn't turn out quite the way it was supposed to. My question is, Arrow was created for a purpose. The fact that she's named Arrow provides an important information: Arrow was meant to kill. Yes in the book Arrow is complicated; however is the complicated Arrow just a remnant of Alisa or is Arrow truly meant to be complicated?
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