Survival and Determination: Lessons from 'A Long Walk to Water'

Many people around the world have experienced a loss of family due to tragic wars. In A Long Walk to Water, written by Linda Sue Park she shows how Salva loses his family and friends and is depressed from the tragic war that threatens his survival in Southern Sudan. The factors that made survival possible for Salva was his persistence and determination, his ability to preserve food, and show caution in dangerous situations.
As Salva is walking these horrific things are happening, he keeps going and that is called determination and persistence. His uncle had just died but “Despite the numbness in his heart, Salva was amazed to find himself walking faster and more boldly than he had before.”(65) Even though his most reliable friends and family died he was still determined and persistent to reach his objective or his location. He shows it here too “Sure,

He was rounded up by the rebels “Salva took a few steps toward the men. Hey! A soldier approached Salva and raised his gun. Salva froze.”(11) If he had done something not intelligent and would have kept moving he could have gotten seriously injured or worse. When the bad people came ”Everyone in the group sat down at once. Salva was afraid of the weapons, and he could see others were too.”(62) He was being safe and cautious because if he was not then he could have gotten hurt, and he was not the only one who was scared lots of other people in his group was scared of them too. When he was in the women and children’s group “Salva watched as one man protested that he did not want to go with the rebels. A soldier hit him in the face with the butt of a gun.”(12) If he would have done the same thing that the older man had did about being with the kids and women he could have been in the same position of the man and could've gotten hurt but he did not because he was cautious. His caution saves him and if he did not he would have