Grief In Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk To Water

Grief, (n) a strong mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss. Grief is what Salva burdened in his long and exhausting journey. The novel A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park begins in 1985 in Sudan, with Sudanese cultures growing tense with one another, a civil war breaks out. Finding refuge from the war Salva trekked through harsh conditions and rough terrain through Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Determination is one of the key factors that led to Salva’s survival.
The novel starts in Salva’s classroom, two days subsequent to the civil war reaching his village. Then suddenly, rebellious soldiers fired short bursts of rounds as the teacher said, ”Go quickly all of you… Into the bush… Not home. Don’t run home. They will be going to the villages.” (6) Salva quickly ran away from the attack and was separated from his family, away from home. Salva, being 11 years of age, had no adult accompanying him as he marched across a Sudanese desert. Fearful but determined to survive, Salva kept walking and

Salva’s uncle had been killed and Marial went missing. Salva had to recover from the loss and continue walking with his group ignoring him. Although salva arrives to the refugee center, he only stayed for 6 years prior to the collapse of the Ethiopian government. The Ethiopian soldiers, armed and ready, pursued the refugees across the Gilo river and massacred a large portion of them. Salva, obscure of the situation, escaped heaven’s clutches and dove in the river, nearly shot. As the text says,”Why were they shooting at us? Salva had no choice. He jumped into the water and began to swim. Nevertheless, Salva prevails and starts to walk to The Kakuma refugee center in Kenya being the leader of thousands of children. However, conditions in Kakuma were worse. Salva decided to walk to another refugee center called Ifo. Ifo gave a better opportunity for Salva because he had a chance to go to