ipl-logo

Character Analysis: A Long Walk To Water

479 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays in perseverance

In the book, A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park, Salva learns it is okay to rely on others for help. This essay view’s on how Salva was able to make it through the desert, despite all the difficulties, using motivating words from his uncle. “He had to slow down, and for the first time on the long journey, he had began to lag behind the group.” (Linda Sue Park,53) At this point in the walk through the Akobo Desert Salva was behind the group thirsty, injured, and tired, not sure if he could keep walking. “When they reached the bushes, Uncle pointed out a clump of rocks up ahead and told Salva to walk as far as the rocks.”(Linda Sue Park, 54) Salva’s uncle didn’t let him stay behind and motivated him with small checkpoints to keep going through the heat of the desert. In addition, Salva thought it was impossible to make it through the desert yet he was able to make it to the end. …show more content…

“So Salva learned two things Michael: how to read and how to play volleyball.” (Park, 87) It can be seen that Salva received help from an Ireland aid worker name Michael, a guy who noticed that Salva needed help with improving his English, and that Salva was determined to learn. “Salva! Come quickly! Your name is on the list today!” (Linda Sue Park, 89) Michael comes running to wake Salva and let him know that his name had been put on the list for people to go America. In brief, accepting someone's help isn’t bad it’s rather

Show More
Related
643 Words | 3 Pages

The first big problem he deals with is thinking his family is dead in this war and not being with them (Park, 22). The second big problem is Salva losing the close people he was with like his only friend Marial (Park, 40) and Salva's uncle (Park, 63). The next problem is when Salva had a near-death experience (Park, 78,79). The last problem is when Salva had to deal with terrible refugee camps (Park, 84). Even with all of these issues (and more), Salva continued his journey and persevered as by the end of the book, he was in a good situation, living in New York City (Park, 98, 99), performing talks for his company (Park, 109) and being the CEO of a company that was helping South Sudanese villages with their water problems (Park, 115).

Read More
856 Words | 4 Pages

This shows that Salva is strong and with someone by his side he will can fight through harsh conditions. Another example comes from his friend Buksa, Park describes this situation like “Buksa’s smile was even bigger now. ‘You see that?’ He pointed up at the branches of the tree. ‘Beehive.

Read More
502 Words | 3 Pages

It was almost as if they had left their strength with him, to help him on his journey.” Another example is “ So he had to shake the fear of to continue the journey” These examples prove that Salva was determined because he knew that his family would want him to make the trip.

Read More
598 Words | 3 Pages

Another important survival factor that Salva had to do to survive was to be stronger physically and mentally. Salva was getting stronger physically and mentally by not only his friend and his uncle dead but also the attitude that the group give to Salva which made Salva to feel physically and mentally stronger “Marial was gone. Uncle was gone, too, murdered by those Nuer men right before Salva’s eyes. Marial and

Read More
774 Words | 4 Pages

The last peice of evidence is when he became friends with Marial. “Im Marial”,It was good to make a friend”(30) . This quote showes that Marial helped him get comfortoble. In conclusion, it was very clear that relationships with family and tribesmen helped him get through Salva hard

Read More
967 Words | 4 Pages

(63) After both Marial and Uncle died it became difficult for Salva to continue on but in spite of all his doubts Salva knew that Marial and Uncle would want him to go on. “ …Salva knew that both of them would have wanted him to survive, to finish the trip and reach the Itang refugee camp safely. It was almost as if they had left their strength with him, to help him on his journey.”

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

Now he has to travel the desert. These next 3 paragraphs are about the traits that Salva has used to survive the desert. First, Salva’s hard work saved his life in the desert. In the story Salva grows closer to an older woman ‘Auntie’ and works to not burden her. ‘Salva stayed in the woman’s barn again that night...water from the pond.’

Read More
993 Words | 4 Pages

“Quitting leads to much less happiness in life than perseverance and hope.” (Page 117) -Salva Dut In Sudan the water is the hardest thing to get, imagine you going to walk 5 miles to get a 45lb water jug then put on your head and walk another 5 mile all the way back home but the water in jug is full of insects and bacteria that can make you sick or even death after while the natural water will dry up so you and your family have to move with it and you walk again for miles they hope to find water and they won’t get killed by humans or animals. Salva is changing this cycle of moving with the water by raising money for them but he could not have done it if he was not a water follower himself and his story shows how he has become a leader.

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

One of the reasons they struggled so much is due to lack of water. As stated above the heat and harsh conditions that they had to live through for the 3 day walk was intense and challenging. Salva might not have been able to do it without his Uncle’s motivational tactics to get him through

Read More
468 Words | 2 Pages

Page 5 of “A Long Walk to Water”, at Salvas school they heard gunfire near the school, so they had to run away, while they are running away the teacher said not to come back home. Salva wonders if he is going see his family ever again. Chapters 9 in the story, Salvas uncle said it will take three days to cross the Akobo desert, looked down, and saw his shoes falling apart, after seeing his shoes he took them off and walk the rest of the way

Read More
724 Words | 3 Pages

Salva is trying to figure out what to do with his life now, and he finds himself losing hope. When Salva loses hope, Salva remembers his uncle's words. “Whenever he found himself losing hope, Salva would take a deep breath and think of uncle’s words. One step at a time. One problem at a time-just figure out this one problem” (Park 110).

Read More
838 Words | 4 Pages

Many times has Savlas uncles words helped him through hopeless times. Salvas uncles words had encouraged Salva to go “ bit by bit, one step at a time”, so Salva thought, “ Perhaps…perhaps Salva could get through life at the camp in the way.” (72) As a result that Salva feels this way he is being encouraged by his uncles’ words, so that makes Salva feel stronger in a way. His uncle’s words help Salva, and encourage him through many of his challenges. Also in the book Salva remembers, “Most of all, he remembered how Uncle had encouraged him in the desert,”when

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

On this journey of running from war he lost his group of people that are Dinka’s that he was with and stayed in a barn with a woman. He also couldn’t find any of his family at this hard time but when he found a new group of Dinka’s to stay with Salva had found his Uncle. He also made a really good friend. Until they both died and Salva was by himself again with nobody he knew. Some hardships that Salva faced during this time in A Long Walk to Water were lots of water problems, wild animals, and no family.

Read More
736 Words | 3 Pages

While his uncle was alive, he helped Salva do everything throughout the journey. Even when he died nobody forgot him and Salva’s memory of his loving uncle gave him the strength to finish the journey. Food and water was the most important factor that led to his survival. He knew that there was barely any water in the desert and that it was hard to find food which taught him to treasure everything he was given. Throughout the book we are led to believe that Salva’s parents and siblings had passed away but he never lost hope that they were still alive.

Read More
323 Words | 2 Pages

(pg 73) This shows that Salva is persevering because even though he hates the refugee camp, he

Read More

More about Character Analysis: A Long Walk To Water

Open Document