Introduction
“A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park was first published in 2010. It is a short novel that tells the true story of Salvador. It also tells the imaginary story of Nya, a young village girl who is a part of the Nuer Tribe. In this book, the setting, being a desert, takes effect in influencing the various characters, plot, and mood throughout the story (Park, 2010). Through this book, the author has attempted to support Dut’s program which is Water for South Sudan as he portrays the numerous obstacles Salva and Nya face to their survival. This includes a lack of clean water, escape from war, and crossing the Gila River.
Discussion
“A Long Walk to Water” is primarily based on two stories that the author weaves together in a very skillful way. Each chapter has two separate storylines narrated by a third-person limited narrator. The first story is of Nya, a girl from Sudan, and the second story is of Salva, a Sudanese boy. Salva Dut’s story begins in the 1980s and continues into the 2000s, and Nya’s story covers the time period between 2008 and 2009 (Park, 2010). The overall tone and mood of this book are sympathetic since one can see the hardships of walking all day for just a small amount of water in the heat and dryness of the desert.
The major conflict in this book is Man vs. Nature. For Salva, he has to walk through dangerous terrain to reach safety, having to walk to Ethiopia and then to Kenya. Despite missing his family, Salva shows that he is able to remain strong, brave, and able to persevere through hardship. There is also a conflict between Man Vs. Man in the dorm of a civil war which is the cause of Salva’s fleeing to Ethiopia (Park, 2010). Initially, the war causes him to flee his village, thus leaving his family behind. He does not know what happened to his family until later in life when he learns that his family actually survived the attack on that fateful day.
Nya’s major conflict is also Man Vs. Nature for Nya’s life revolves around water. However, the water that is available to her and those in her village has the potential to be dangerous. To Nya, water represents both life and death, for they must have water to survive, but the water has the potential to kill them too (Park, 2010). The story of Nya and Salva converge in the final chapters of the novel, though the reader is not initially aware of this until the very end. There are different groups in the novel, namely the Dinka and the Nuer. Slava is a Dinka and Nya is a Nuer. At times, fighting emerges between the two groups, but they become united by a common need which is water (Park, 2010). Salva formed a company, Water for Sudan, which will be crucial in bringing water wells to the villages in Southern Sudan. This well will forever change Nya’s life including the lives of those around her.
Conclusion
Conclusively, Nya and other Nuer tribal members were strong individuals who benefitted from foreign aid help to survive in their region. For example, the ability of Nya to personally deal with difficult circumstances to help provide her family with the needed resources proves she is a strong and brave individual. Additionally, it can be seen that the medical assistance from foreign aid agencies and the implementation of the clean water well from Salva’s foundation have enabled Nya and her people to survive the difficult surroundings in Sudan.
References
Park, L. S. (2010). A Long Walk to Water: Based on a true story. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.