A Long Walk To Water Essay Example

The inspiring short story, A Long Walk To Water,  shares two stories. One of a young girl, Nya, who goes on journeys for water. The other, Salva, is about a boy who leaves his home from a war going on in his town. Salva wanted to be safe and find his family yet he was forced to leave because of the war going on. But, Salva could not wait and look for his family as the fighting was getting closer and closer. So, he had to leave his hometown without anything and his family. Then, Salva continues his journey with hope for his family and for himself. Nya on the other hand, Nya wanted to get her family water. But, one day when she went down to the pond, there was a problem. The water in the pond had vanished leaving nothing behind. So, Nya was full of concern knowing that there was basically no water left. Then, she came across a group of hard-working men and they had provided a clean water pump. Although they are different stories and different characters, this novel showcases many physical and emotional challenges that both characters faced in their lives. 

To start with, Nya and Salva both faced physical challenges such as having a hard time finding water and traveling up hills and mountains. To prove this, the author writes, “Every year when the rains stopped and the pond near the village dried up” (Park 26). This shows how Nya had a hard time getting water. Also, this shows how Nya would walk down the lake by her village and see nothing but dry, crinkly dirt, she would not have any water to give to her family and or herself. To add on, The author also includes, “Nya would make her second trip to the pond” (Park 20). This shows that Nya had to make more than one trip to the pond. This pond was further than the lake by her village, so she had to travel up and down hills and mountains multiple times because the lake in her village had dried up. Salva on the other hand was traveling countless miles to get to Sudan away from the war happening in his hometown. Since he wasn’t traveling for water and he was traveling to get away from war, water was not his top priority most of his journey, but it was something Salva needed to keep an eye out for. Salva had a hard time walking to Sudan at a young age and no water made his journey more difficult. To show, Linda Park writes, “Each time, Salva would think of his family and his village, and he was somehow able to keep his wounded feet moving forward, one painful step at a time” (Park 54). This shows that Salva had a hard time to keep walking and moving as he made his way through his journey. Salva had to keep pushing through the pain in honor of his family and for himself. Although he knew it was going to be hard, he was a fighter and kept pushing through the pain and torture. Also, to continue, the author adds, “But there was no water anywhere, though they searched for miles” (Park 37). This shows how Salva traveled miles to get to Sudan and on his way with his walking buddies, there was no water in sight. Water is a very important thing to have and Salva did not have a sip of water I a couple of days which was very bad for him. Both Nya and Slava did travel but Nya was traveling over hills to get water, as, on the other hand, Salva was traveling to get away from the war with no water in reach of him. 

To continue on, Salva and Nya both faced emotional changes during their walks. Nya changed emotionally and faced emotional challenges because Nya worries about her family. The author writes, “Fear. Her mother was afraid. Afraid that the men in the family would run into Dinka tribesman somewhere, that they would fight and get injured- or worse” (Park 33). This shows how Nyas’ mother is affecting the way Nya is starting to feel because as Nya is getting older, she is realizing how dangerous the world really is and can be.  As Nyas’ mother worries, Nya feels worried for her mother because she is scared about her family. Furthermore, the author includes, “ They had been lucky for all these years” (Park 33). This proves that Nya had been understanding how they had been safe all these years and then if something bad were to happen, Nya wouldn’t know the feeling because she would not be used to it nor would she be ready for it. This is making Nya start to realize bad things can happen pretty quickly and more often than ever. Now, Salva faced emotional challenges because he loses his uncle and finds his dad to be suffering in a hospital. To support, the author includes, “ As Salva watched, one of the men aimed his gun at Uncle. Three shots ran out. Then the men ran away” (Park 63). This is an emotional challenge for Salva because Salva has to live with the vision of his Uncle getting shot and dying. Again, Salva faces big emotional challenges when he sees his father suffering in the hospital. The author writes, “He learned more about his father’s illness. Years of drinking contaminated water had left Mawien Dut’s entire digestive system riddled with guine