Imagine being on the run from war for almost twenty years. Imagine finding a place where you think you are safe, but are later forced to move. One of the main characters in Linda Sue Parks’ novel, A Long Walk to Water, Salva, experienced this. Salva was once one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The young man was constantly moving and had tenacity, but on his way, he lost many of those he trusted most. Salva had many factors that helped him survive, and three of them were hard work, relationships, and perseverance. Salva survived the years of struggle and got to America by working hard. On page 43 we read, “Salva staggered forward with yet another enormous load of reeds in his arms. Everyone was busy. Some people were cutting down …show more content…
On page 22, the text shows, “Then he caught up with the group, determined not to lag behind, not to complain, not to be trouble to anyone.” The word “determined” means ,“having a strong feeling that you are going to do something and that you will not allow anyone or anything to stop you.” This shows that Salva is focused on his own survival and will do whatever it takes to make it to safety. Secondly and suddenly, on page 63, Uncle Jewiir gets shot, ““Three shots rang out, then the men ran away” and on page 65 the text shows, “Time for grief was short, and the walking began soon after dark.” This shows that Salva had perseverance and had faith that he was not going to die-that he was going to avenge what he thought was his dead family. Additionally and lastly, on page 79, Salva speaks to himself,“ ‘Kenya. There are supposed to be refugee camps in Kenya.’ ” This shows that Salva was not as strong and confident that he could fend for himself as he was able to in the later parts of the book;but he was determined to get somewhere he could survive. He felt he needed the protection form a refugee camp at all times and felt he could not defend himself out by himself. We can conclude from the book that perseverance is a major factor that helped Salva survive his long and hard