A Long Walk to Water

MLA citation for the book: Park, Linda S. A Long Walk to Water. New York: Clarion Books, 2010. N. pag. Print.

·          Summary:

Nya, a poor girl from the Nuer tribe in southern Sudan, always has to struggle to supply her family with enough water to survive, even if it meant walking barefoot under the burning sun for eight hours every day to reach a dirty, muddy pond. Many people in Nya's village were becoming very sick because of the contaminated water. If they needed badly to be treated, they had to walk for miles to reach a small crowded tent where some nurses or doctors provided help. Several months later, Nya noticed that many men were digging a well. She was excited, but she was also curious and suspicious. Nya knew the place the men were digging in; she thought it was impossible to find a single drop of water in that area. Every day, while she went to fetch water from the lake, Nya observed the progress in the construction of the well. Finally, when the well was ready for use, the entire village gathered and stood in line, prepared to fill their containers. To their surprise, the water was cool, clean, and clear.

Salva is an eleven year old boy, a member of the Dinka tribe in southern Sudan. He has three brothers and two sisters. His father owns many head of cattle and is regarded as the village judge. Unfortunately, there was a lot of fighting in Sudan. One day, while Salva was at school, rebels began attacking. People ran away from their houses in different directions. Salva walked with strangers fleeing from southern Sudan, hoping to meet his family. However, his escape continued for months on foot. Their goal was to reach safety. While they walked, the group became bigger, because people who were traveling alone joined the group. Salva never lost hope, everyday he would check if one of his family members joined the crowd. One day, his uncle joined the group. Salva hasn't seen his uncle in at least two years, but he enjoyed his uncle's company. His uncle had a gun, which helped the group hunt food on the way.  Salva and the group of strangers reached refugee camps in Ethiopia. There, he had to stay for 6 long years. Suddenly, his miserable life in the camp was threatened by the sudden attack of Ethiopian soldiers after a coup d'état. Unexpectedly, the people had to throw themselves in the Gilo River to run away from the shootings. At least one thousand people died from gun shots, crocodiles in the river, or drowning. Salva was one of the lucky few. He began walking south to reach Kenya. The people who did survive started following Salva.  Pretty soon, Salva walk for a year and a half to reach a camp in Kenya. Years later, he was one of the few orphans who were chosen for adoption. Will he easily adapt to his new family in New York?  Will he ever see his family again? Will he be able to accomplish anything for his country? 

·         Genre:  A Long Walk to Water is a biography, since the whole novel explains Salva's journey through time. Linda Sue Park is the author. Linda and her husband, who is a journalist, met Salva Dut in USA. She based this story on his childhood experiences. It is a dual narrative about two children, Nya and Salva, who lived in the same country but in two different times.

Every chapter began with the place and time for Nya's story followed by her story, then the place and time for Salva's story, then his story would be told. Marvelously, the two stories are finally connected. Salva's story is amazing and inspiring; I think it's wonderful how he helped many people. An example in the book is on page 84:

  'Ifo refugee camp, Kenya, 1992-96.

Salva was now twenty-two years old. For the past five years, he had been living in refugee camps in northern Kenya: first at Kakuma camp, then at Ifo.'

·         How the main character developed throughout the story: At the beginning of

A Long Walk to Water, Salva was a young, helpless boy. One example is on page 7, when Salva was at school and suddenly the rebels attacked. His teacher told all the boys in his class to run away, away from their homes. Salva was scared about not seeing his parents ever again.

'The boys scrambled to their feet. Some of them were crying. The teacher began hurrying the students out the door. Salva was near the end of the line. He felt his heart beating so hard that its pulse pounded in his throat and ears. He wanted to shout "I need to go home!" But the words were blocked by the wild thumping in his throat.'   

Through Salva's long walks to different refugee camps, he learned a lot of new things. Salva learned how to have patience, hope, and perseverance.  In the novel, on page 73 Salva told himself:

 'I need only to get through the rest of this day. This day and no other…

If someone had told Salva that he would live in the camp for six years, he would never have believed it.'

This was said when Salva was having a very hard time in Itang refugee camp in Ethiopia. He tried comforting himself by living life one step at a time and always having hope.                

·         Author’s characterization techniques: Linda Sue Park used many different methods to show what Salva, Nya, and the people around them felt or thought. One example is when a character is talking to another character, like what Salva's uncle was doing on page 36, when Salva wasn't answering him because he was so hungry, since he hasn't eaten in days:

'As the smoky, meaty aroma filled the air, he had to keep swallowing the saliva that flooded his mouth. Uncle laughed as he watched Salva gobble down his first piece of meat. "Salva, you have teeth! You are supposed to use them when you eat!" Salva could not reply; he was too busy stuffing another chunk of the delicious charred meat into his mouth.'      

·         Setting:  This dual story starts in Southern Sudan in two different time frames, 1985 and 2008. Then, Salva moves to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, then Rochester in New York, USA. Nya's story remains in the same setting.

In A Long Walk to Water on page 52, it says:  

'Southern Sudan, 1985

Salva had never seen anything like the desert. Around his village, Loun-Ariik, enough grass and shrubs grew to feed the grazing cattle. There were even trees. But here in the desert, nothing green could ever survive. Uncle said it would take three days to cross the Akobo.'  

·         Point of view: This novel is written in third person point of view. The story is told from the narrator's point of view, showing Salva's and Nya's day to day suffering and struggle to survive. This helps the reader understand what the main characters, Salva and Nya, think and feel.

·         Theme: There are many themes in this story; they all revolve around empowerment of the reader with hope and perseverance. The main theme of this novel is to show the reader that a feeble child can achieve miracles with the will to survive.

As written on page 73:

'I need only to get through the rest of this day. This day and no other…

If someone had told Salva that he would live in the camp for six years, he would never have believed it.'

Another example is on page 109-110:

'A year passed, then two…then three. Salva spoke to hundreds of people-in churches, at civic organizations, in schools. Would he ever be able to turn his idea into reality? Whenever he found himself losing hope, Salva would take a deep breathe and think of his uncle's words.

A step at a time. One problem at a time-just figure out this one problem. Day by day, solving one problem at a time, Salva moved toward his goal.'     

·         Reflection: This book is important because it teaches the reader many lessons. When I read A Long Walk to Water, I began appreciating the clean water that is always accessible and available. I'm also thankful and grateful for having all my family and relatives around me. I enjoyed every part of this novel. It has a very touching moral, which I feel has changed my life. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, and especially ones who like knowing what happened during a war, or how people continued their lives after war. While I was reading, I felt like I was in a different world, like I was Salva's friend in one of the refugee camps he settled in. Throughout the story, I wanted Salva to achieve his ambitions, help humanity, and find his family. Without doubt, I would rate A Long Walk to Water 10 over 10.