Survival In Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk To Water

What would you do if you were separated from your home and your family to become a refugee during a war? Do you think you would survive? In Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water, The Sudanese Civil War breaks out in Salva’s village and he must run away from his home and family in an effort to survive. In order to overcome the many difficulties he is faced with, Salva uses three main survival factors; hope, persistence, and his uncle’s support. The first component that helps Salva survive is his hope. To hope means “to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true.”(Merriam Webster Dictionary) Although he is let down at times, he does not diminish the idea of surviving this terrible journey. Even after Marial and Uncle die, Salva still believes that they “left their strength with him to help him on his

Meeting up with Uncle makes Salva’s journey entirely easier. For example, after Marial was killed, Uncle says he will “shoot any lion that comes near.”(41) This proves that he is devoted to keeping Salva safe and alive. He won’t let anything happen to him and tells him “everything will be all right.”(41) In addition to protection Uncle also gives Salva advice and support. When they are in the desert, Uncle warns him saying to “make the water in his gourd last as long as possible.”(53) This helps him preserve his water. Otherwise he would be too weak to make it the rest of the way. This shows how much Uncle cares about him and wants him to survive. Salva is very lucky that he has Uncle to protect him on their quest for survival. In conclusion, Salva’s hope and persistence, along with Uncle’s help is what makes survival possible for Salva. Living during The Sudanese Civil War was difficult for Salva. Without these three factors, Salva probably wouldn’t have survived. Thus, in the end these three things made survival possible for