Character Analysis: A Long Walk To Water

An eleven year old boy walking from a raging civil war to find even the tiniest bit of safety from bombs, men with guns and the lack of water. An eleven year old girl walking 8 hours a day for dirty, diseased filled water. These are the stories of Nya and Salva, two children from southern Sudan in the story A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park.

Water can be positive or negative, helpful or unhelpful, or even mean the difference between life and death. For example, Akeer gets sick from drinking the water that Nya carries from the pond everyday. Nya and her family then have to walk to a medical tent to save Akeer from disease. Walking is good for them because it enables them to save Akeer from a potentially deadly disease. On the other hand,

water is a major burden for Nya because she has to walk to at least eight hours a day for dirty, disease filled water for drinking. It takes up most of her day so she can’t do anything else, such as go to school, have fun or make friends. Salva’s walking is negative because he is walking for hours on end, even sometimes without water. He is walking to a refugee camp in Ethiopia, and he has already had to face roaring rivers, thieves and thousands of blood sucking mosquitoes. Salva’s walking has a bit of motivation though, he is walking to safety, and without walking that would not happen. He is also motivated to walk because he wants to find his Family, if they make it to the refugee camp. He is also motivated because his friend Marial died by being attacked by a lion, and he wants to make it to the refugee camp for him.
Water is a burden.

Firstly in Chapter three, after walking for four straight hours looking for water, she finally comes upon the lake that her entire family depends on for water. It is described as “There is always so much life around the pond… Many kinds of birds all flap and twitter.” This shows that the water is where there is life and Nya probably thinks that the water as a relief, as she does not have the security of knowing that there will be water in the lake. What is interesting is that the author described the pond as lively and mostly everywhere else as drab and dull. DUring chapter 6, Nya and her family has to move because of the water. The water, and the lack of it, causes nya and her family to move to a pond with water. Nya realized that her mother does not like moving because they have to leave almost everything that is at their house and live in a makeshift shelter. Her mother is also afraid that when her son and husband go hunting they will not come back. Her mother ives the entire day in fear until they come home. On the other hand, Nya likes moving because it means that she doesn't have to walk four hour to water everyday and she doesn't have to face the dangers of walking, such as thorns and the scorching heat. Water gives a sense of security and makes him move to Salva when he is abandoned in a barn. In Page 18 and 19, Salva is traveling with a group of refugees from his village, when they decide to spend the night in a barn. When Salva wakes up though,

everyone had left him. The owner of the barn, an old woman whom he calls “Auntie” feeds him and lets him stay in the barn again. The old woman then has to leave, because her water source, a small pond, is drying up. She says she cannot take Salva with her because it would be more dangerous for her. Salva then continues walking to nowhere with some other refugees.
All in all, Nya and Salva endure hardships beyond imagining in the book “ A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park. But in spite of that, they still get small moments of ease, where they can relax and enjoy even the tiniest of things.