Text 3 Unfamilliar Text

 Text 3: The Cellist of Sarajevo

Define 3 words you do not know

- Besiege((of a place) surrounded by armed forces aiming to capture it or force surrender.)

- Mortar (a short smooth-bore gun for firing shells (technically called bombs) at high angles.)

- Inviolable (never to be broken, infringed, or dishonoured)

Identify 3 examples of emotive language (words or phrases that evoke some kind of emotion in the reader)

- "The visible world exploded" - this basically means the place called Sarajevo is destroyed when they are sieged by the military.

- "He would very much like to feel his father's hand on his shoulder again." this phrase made me think that the cellist is longing for his father's lover.

- "The promise of a happy life seemed almost inviolable". this made me think that because of what happened to Sarajevo the cellists thought that their life would just end there.

What is the tone of the excerpt (author’s attitude towards what he is writing about) and what mood does this suggest (overall feeling of the text)?

The mood that this text is giving me off is the sad mood, the way the author was telling the story of the cellist who ould play in the middle of the conflict made me emotional. Especially when the author was telling us that "the war will go around him as he sits in the small crater left at the mortar's point of impact."

Identify an example of imagery from the passage (when something is described in vivid detail, making it easy to imagine) and explain its effect on the reader. How effective do you find it?

"This visible world exploded", I could imagine that Sarajevo was besieged and was really destroyed.

Personal reflections

After reading I was amazed at the cellist as he was really courageous and brave during those hard times. I also believe that the cellist even honoured the people who died by playing the cello.