Living in the middle of a warzone has become second nature for the refugees living in Southern Sudan. The novel, A Long Walk to Water, written by Linda Sue Park is based on the true story of Salva and his journey to refugee camps all over Africa over the last 30 years. Salva was one of the thousands of Lost Boys to make it out of Sudan and travel to America for safety. Through all of this Salva has proven he is a survivor by enduring hostile environments, being a leader for others, and pushing forward despite the loss of his friends and family.
There are many ways Salva has shown he is a survivor, but the biggest example was him undergoing the harsh environments of Southern Sudan. The first group he was in, on his way to Ethiopia they were
…show more content…
When the war started affecting Salva and his village it became apparent to him that he may never see his family again. “If I die now, I will never see my family again.” (11) This thought helped Salva strengthen and have the instinct to survive so he could see his family again, which is one of the reasons he did survive. Not only did he think he would never see his family again, but he became friends with Marial, a boy from the group he was in, who was soon taken away from him as well. “It had sought out prey that was small and motionless: Marial, sleeping.” (41) While in the land of Atuot, the land of the lions, Marial was taken away from the camp while sleeping and eaten by one of them. Not only did Salva lose Marial and his family but he also lost the person he knew the most in the group, Uncle. “…one of the men aimed his gun at Uncle. Three shots rang out.” (63) After both Marial and Uncle died it became difficult for Salva to continue on but in spite of all his doubts Salva knew that Marial and Uncle would want him to go on. “…Salva knew that both of them would have wanted him to survive, to finish the trip and reach the Itang refugee camp safely. It was almost as if they had left their strength with him, to help him on his journey.”