Character Analysis: A Long Walk To Water

Charles Darwin once said, "Your survival depends on whether you." Essentially, you must put in the work to survive and thrive; otherwise, you will perish. The novel A Long Walk to Water follows a young boy’s journey in Sudan where war had broken out. Separated from his family, Salva had a mission to find them. However, Salva was just a child with no idea on how to survive on his own. Thus, he faced many obstacles trying to stay alive. There were several factors that contributed to Salva's survival including help from others, Uncle Jewiir's motivation, and his self-determination.
When Salva lost his family he was forced to flee and he relied on others for support. Salva approached a woman and in return, she “gave him two handfuls of raw peanuts,” thinking that he “must be hungry” to which he responded “‘Thank you, auntie.’” To explain, Salva was dependent on others to obtain the food and water he needed to survive. If it weren't for these people, Salva would be suffering to survive and would eventually die without sufficient resources. At this point, Salva clearly did

According to the text, it states “If I die now, I will never see my family again. Somehow, this thought strengthened him enough to keep him from collapsing in terror.” Salva was very persistent because he reminded himself of his motivation: finally reuniting with his family. If it wasn’t for Salva’s self-determination, he would not have survived or found his family. Furthermore, Salva thinks, “I am alone now. I am all that is left of my family.” Assuming that Salva’s family was dead, Uncle Jewiir had told Salva that he was the only one of them left even though they were actually alive. Salva still had strong motives to continue his journey to the refugee camp, showing that he is built to be a leader. Salva never gave up and he always took risks. All in all, Salva’s ability to persevere through hardships aided in his