What would you do if you were a young boy whose whole life changed in the blink of an eye? Do you have what it takes to make it through near death situations and starvation all alone? Would you give up or would you choose to fight to survive each day? Linda Sue Park’s novel, A Long Walk to Water, puts Salva the main character to this test when he had to flee from school during the Civil War. Separated from his loved ones, a small young boy all of a sudden had to learn how to survive on his own, hoping to one day reunite with his family. On his long journey he was faced with very challenging situations but he manages to survive by being resilient, resourceful and by utilizing the help of adults, mainly his uncle. On the run, he met a group of refugees he joined. Because he was still a young …show more content…
He was low on water and could only take tiny sips. He hurt his toe, and the pain was terrible. He cried so hard that he could barely catch his breath. For the first time on his journey, he lagged behind while the group moved farther away. He heard his uncle's voice. “Salva Mawien Dut Ariik!” he said, using Salva’s full name, loud and clear. “Do you see that group of bushes?” “You only need to walk as far as those bushes. Can you do that, “Salva Mawien Dut Ariik?” (Park, 53) In one of Salvas dark moments when he was about to give up from thirst, weakness, and pain, he heard his uncle’s voice. His uncle once again came to his aid and with his help, Salva was able to push through and keep moving forward. The group continued their journey to the refugee camp with little water and no food left. They were ambushed and Salva’s uncle was killed. The group had to continue moving and once again Salva became a burden. The group’s attitude toward him changed and he realized he no longer had his uncle’s protection and had to fend for himself once again. “There is no one left to help
The author Linda Sue Park's book, A Long Walk to Water, tells a story of a boy named Salva who was a lost boy in the Second Sudanese civil war in 1980. Salva managed to survive the war along the way without his family and survived on his own following ways to go on in life no matter what bad situation he was in.
There are three main characters in my story, their names being; Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak. These three boys, young as they were, are driven away from their own home with violence. This caused a significant change in how they viewed the world.“I couldn't understand why people were killing us. Did Alchol deserve to die? What wrong had we done to these people? Oh, Ma, why the killing?” The three boys also act so different compared to how we do, when around their own home they are expected to never cry, even this is put to the limits during some everyday tasks. One thing that is way different from the way we live is that, to be seen as a man, you must have your teeth pulled out… with a fish spear! “My gum felt like it was being torn apart by a sharp razor blade. My mouth filled with blood. Then the fish spear penetrated my teeth, splitting one in two and leaving half of it in the gum.” Also, they speak in quite a foreign way, they talk as if they fear that the other speaker will punish them if they are to mess up. This is what the characters are like in my book, hardened to the core like true people of this time, they were brave and willing to do whatever it takes to keep safe. Throughout the journey, the characters just get harder and harder, tougher and tougher. They will have more hard life experiences during the time period that this book covers than most people in America have in their entire life.
In the story, A Long Walk to Waters, written by Linda Sue Park, the readers are introduced to many different individuals that were able to survive challenging environments. Those individuals used those factors, perseverance, cooperation, and independence. Those factors have allowed individuals to make it past through the harsh environments throughout their journey. Perseverance shows how those individuals kept on going without giving up. Meanwhile, cooperation represents how struggling individuals are able to work together in order to achieve their goal. Last but not least independence shows how individuals can conquer a hurdle by him or herself.
A man who was emotionally hardened by the war, learned how to care for someone deeply. When Kanaalaq’s health was deteriorating he allowed her to rest and tried to feed her.
In the book “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, Salva goes through a lot of loss and gains hope and persistence, which he learns will be necessary to succeed. This included the loss of loved ones, harsh changes in the weather, and the doubt of his ability which this helped him move through his long journey. In Linda Sue Park’s book, Salva deals with these obstacles, and other plot events by using hope and persistence which illustrates the main idea of the book.
Salva Mawien Dut Ariik was a “Lost boy” during the second Sudanese War and the true story of his journey is also conveyed in A Long Walk to Water. In the beginning of Salva’s story, after Salva’s friend, Marial, died overnight by a lion, Salva was terrified but he urged himself to move on and help his group instead. The text in A Long Walk to Water says, ”It was hard work running back and forth between those cutting and those weaving. But Salva found that the work was helping him feel a little better. He was too busy to worry much. Doing something, even carrying big, awkward piles of slippery reeds was better than doing nothing”, (Park, 44). This demonstrates how Salva was terrified by the incident that happened to his best friend but he was determined to move on and made himself help the others for weaving the boats because now this was for his survival and the remaining refugees’ survival. Salva also understood that the hard work made him feel a little better because when he was busy he didn’t think of the incident with Marial which would also help him get over it and not be bothered by it for a long time.At the end of Salva’s story, after Salva found his dad and learned that his father’s digestive system was riddled with guinea worms due to drinking so much contaminated water and at that time Salva had an
Your fate is not based upon anyone’s actions other than your own. Both Wes Moore’s experienced a circumstance in which they required a second chance. The decision of how to use that second chance is the vital part to succeeding, for the difficult part learning how to “distinguish between second chances and last chances” (Moore 67). Wes— The author— was given a second chance after joining military school. Although it was originally an unfortunate turn of events, Wes quickly learned the opportunities that surrounded him were to fade rapidly if he did not improve his way of life. This experience is an example of how a single person can set themselves up for success or failure based upon their individual
In the book “A Long Walk To Water” there is a kid named Salva and he and his family live in Sudan where currently there is a war between South Sudan and Sudan because of their government. The family role plays in “A long Walk to Water” are similar to my life because Salva needs to go to school and needs to help in his house like me. Salva also had to complete his journey by going through the desert with his uncle and crossing the Nile river, Salva couldn’t do it without his family because he was really close to his family like I am.
A Long Walk to Water is an engrossing true story about an African boy named Salva. It takes place in a war ravaged country named South Sudan. Soldiers scour the country, snatching children to join their ranks and burning villages in spite of the government. Salva manages to escape and join a herd of frightened people from his tribe. He encounters his uncle who quickly becomes leader of the group for having a gun and being related to the chief. Salva's uncle teaches him important lessons but meets his demise at the end of a soldier's gun. Later on in the book Salva has to become leader of a group of boys. Then a group of men. Salva shows many characteristics of being a good leader in these situations.
Everyone goes through challenges, but it is up to an individual to overcome and persevere through them. Daniel James Brown demonstrates his meaning of perseverance by writing The Boys in the Boat. Occurring around the Great Depression, this novel follows a group of boys from the University of Washington row team, who go through severe hardships to receive a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics. The novel focuses on the character Joe Rantz and his life journey to become a row team member. Joe Rantz, perseveres through a rollercoaster of hopeless situations, including rejection from his family, severe hunger, and the struggles from the Depression-era. The Boys in the Boat uses Joe Rantz’s young life to portray our ability to overcome obstacles and
When the man and boy meet people on the road, the boy has sympathy for them, but his father is more concerned with keeping them both alive. The boy is able to get his father to show kindness to the strangers (McCarthy), however reluctantly the kindness is given. The boy’s main concern is to be a good guy. Being the good guy is one of the major reasons the boy has for continuing down the road with his father. He does not see there is much of a point to life if he is not helping other people. The boy wants to be sure he and his father help people and continue to carry the fire. The boy is the man’s strength and therefore courage, but the man does not know how the boy worries about him how the boy’s will to live depends so much on his
Individuals are prone to fear regardless of whether it relates to something as minute as choosing between clothes, or it can be something life altering, such as making a bold decision to leave home in search of a better life. In the memoir, “The Iron Road”, Al Purdy describes his fear as it relates to his future in his younger days. Al Purdy describes his life when he was just a seventeen year old boy wanting to leave home in search of a Job. He was quick in his decision to leave his parents, rather judicially so in terms of his confidence to climb aboard a train without the consent of his parents. The reader can feel sympathetic for a teen who is unaware of the potential hardships of life, when
The Lost Boys of Sudan was about 17,000 boys. Some of the boys died of starvation hunger, dehydration or by getting eaten by animals during the journey to a place of safety. Although this may seem like a made-up story. it wasn’t. It was all real to salva, a lost boy in Sudan who survived the journey. This young boy (Salva) endured long walks to camps across the country, becoming a leader and making a positive impact on water in sudan which was a consistent struggle in Sudan. This boy has been written about in a book called “A Long Walk To Water” By Linda Sue Park. Salva’s life wasn’t easy as we read in the book. Salva has lived and survived with these survival factors: Hope, Persistent and Bravery.
“The Swimmer,” a short fiction by John Cheever, presents a theme to the reader about the unavoidable changes of life. The story focuses on the round character by the name of Neddy Merrill who is in extreme denial about the reality of his life. He has lost his youth, wealth, and family yet only at the end of the story does he develop the most by experiencing a glimpse of realization on all that he has indeed lost. In the short story “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses point of view, setting and symbolism to show the value of true relationships and the moments of life that are taken for granted.
He came upon a river, a body of water that was new to him. Into a canoe he went being shipped off. He describes the raw emotions he felt being so young going through such terrifying events. He was so unsure what was the change. All he knew is that the people were foreign and life would never be the way it