While most children would give up in the face of daunting circumstances, one 11-year- old boy confronted them non-stop and heroically. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park chronicles the journey of Salva Dut, one of thousands of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The Lost Boys fled from their homes because of the Second Sudanese Civil War during the 1980s. To be safe from the dangerous war, they migrated through different countries. Salva’s factual story shows how he survived his journey across Africa to make it to protection. Salva finding cover, finding food, and being a leader are the three factors that made survival possible in A Long Walk to
Water.
One crucial factor of Salva’s survival was finding protection. Salva was having an ordinary day at
…show more content…
Salva was told to hide and seek safety in a bush, as well as not going into the war-ravaged villages. The bush helped protect Salva because he wouldn’t be seen by soldiers armed with firearms. As well as finding safety, Salva survived his hardships by finding food. Acquiring food was another factor that aided Salva’s survival. There was a scarce amount of food during the war, so Salva couldn’t just gather food by scavenging for it. Consequently,
“Salva now had to beg for scraps.” (Park 66). Salva had nobody to voluntarily give him food.
Therefore, he resorted to supplicating people in the group he was part of for food. He was willing to do something desperate for a beneficial morsel of a meal. In essence, obtaining food furthered
Salva’s ability to survive, along with being a leader.
The final aspect that made survival possible was Salva being a leader. Salva became the head of a group of boys who escaped the dangers of Ethiopia and had to travel to Kenya. But, they were disoriented and lost. Thus, “Salva organized the group of boys with jobs so they could have food, water, fire, and safety.” (Park 81-82). Unifying the group of boys (who are now known as the Lost Boys) and assigning them different tasks helped Salva and the boys