essay topics for long walk to water

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Book Review — “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park: Analysis

"A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park: Analysis

• Categories: Book Review

About this sample

Words: 478 |

Published: Mar 16, 2024

Words: 478 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Perseverance, power of hope.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

4 pages / 1898 words

1 pages / 378 words

4 pages / 1663 words

5 pages / 2303 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Book Review

In conclusion, "Where The Crawdads Sing" presents a nuanced portrayal of human resilience, societal prejudices, and the intrinsic connection between individuals and the natural world. The novel's profound exploration of themes [...]

"The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benét is a compelling short story that delves into the themes of power, morality, and the struggle between good and evil. This essay aims to critically analyze the historical and [...]

"Jurassic Park" is a science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton, first published in 1990. This literary masterpiece takes readers on an unforgettable journey into a world where science, genetics, and nature collide, [...]

In the realm of short stories, "What of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?" by Etgar Keret stands as a captivating narrative that delves into themes of greed, human connection, unintended consequences, and more. Through the tale of [...]

Mental illness does not discriminate. Despite Nathanial Ayers’ talent as a musician, artist, and generally good upbringing, schizophrenia still found a way to enter into his life. Through meeting compassionate journalist Steve [...]

The title of this book is The Hunger Games and was made by Suzanne Collins in 2008. This book is set in a fictional version of America. In the nation of Panem at a date of which is not specified. With characters all along the [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

A Long Walk to Water

By linda sue park.

• A Long Walk to Water Summary

Park weaves two stories together: that of Nya , a young girl from Sudan in 2008-09, and that of Salva, a Sudanese boy whose story begins in the 1980s and continues into the 2000s.

In Nya’s story, she is of the Nuer tribe. Her responsibility is to walk to the pond twice a day every day to fetch water for her family; it is a long, hot walk, but water is scarce in the region. She wishes she could go to school but that is only for boys. She worries about her sister, Akeer , who is sick from the poor water, but there is little that can be done.

One day, two men come to Nya’s village. They talk with the elders and construction begins in the ground between two big trees. When Nya learns there is going to be a well built, she is skeptical. The drilling process is arduous, and one of the men who is clearly the leader has to coax and encourage the workers.

Finally, the well yields fresh water and the entire village celebrates. One at a time, people bring their bottles to taste the clear water. Nya is also excited to learn that there is going to be a school built, and since she does not have to fetch water anymore, she can go to school.

Nya walks over to the man who helped bring the well about and thanks him. He asks her name and she tells him. He tells her his name is Salva.

Salva’s story starts with him being in school, daydreaming about the walk home. Suddenly, his thoughts are interrupted by the patter of gunfire and the teacher shouts for all the boys to get down. When the shooting stops, he urges the boys to run into the bush so that they will not be conscripted into the fighting between the rebels and the soldiers in the Sudanese civil war.

Salva obeys and runs into the bush, but he is stressed that he is separated from his family. He joins up with others on the run, but they eventually leave him because he is too young. He is able to join another group, however, and promises to keep up.

The group decides to journey to Ethiopia, where they will be safe and stay in refugee camps. Salva is distressed about his family, but one day he discovers his uncle Jewiir has joined the group. Uncle is very kind to Salva and encourages him when the times get tough. However, he also tells Salva it is likely that his family was killed because the village was burned.

Salva hopes Uncle will stay with him once they arrive in Ethiopia, but Uncle says he is going to return to the fighting.

Salva makes a close friend named Marial on the journey, but, one night, ravenous lions take Marial. Salva is very upset. Uncle never makes it to Ethiopia: a couple of men ambush the group, take their supplies and Uncle’s gun, and kill Uncle.

With the losses of Uncle and Marial, Salva actually feels stronger, as if they were helping him. He makes it to the refugee camp, where he is shocked at the number of people who are there.

Salva ends up being in the camp until he is seventeen. Then, one day, the Ethiopian soldiers arrive and say they have to leave immediately. They use their guns and start pushing the people toward the rushing river nearby. Salva knows there are crocodiles and that the current is strong, but when the soldiers start shooting, the people have no choice but to dive in. Salva barely makes it, and he does not know why he was spared.

Once back in Sudan, he decides he will walk to Kenya where there are refugee camps. May other boys join him and he becomes a de facto leader. These are the “lost boys,” and there are over twelve hundred who make it to Kenya.

Salva lives in two different refugee camps for several years. He learns to speak English thanks to an Irish aid worker named Michael . One day, rumors begin sweeping the camp that some of the boys will be sent to America to live. Salva’s name eventually ends up on a list and he is excited to learn he will be going to Rochester, New York.

The flights are long and Salva is amazed at the big world below him in the plane. He meets Chris, Louise, and their four children. He lives with them for a couple of years and decides to attend college and study business. He wants to do something for Sudan but is not sure what.

One day, a cousin in Zimbabwe emails him and tells him his father is in a medical clinic in Sudan. Salva is astonished that his father is alive, and he immediately starts planning a trip. It takes many months, but finally, he is able to go.

He arrives in Sudan and takes a jeep several hours to the clinic. He walks in, asks for his father, and confronts him. He recognizes him even though he looks older, and the two have an emotional reunion. His father tells him that his mother, brother, and two sisters are still alive, though two other brothers died in the fighting. Salva wishes he could see them, but he cannot return to the area while the fighting is still going strong or he would be taken.

On the way home to America, Salva has an idea, which he pursues for the next couple of years. It takes a lot of planning, advice, forms, and more, but finally Salva is ready: he is going to build wells in Sudan with his nonprofit Water for Sudan.

This is how he encounters Nya.

A Long Walk to Water Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for A Long Walk to Water is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What are uncertainties in Salva's life

Salva did not want to get left behind again. He feels unsure if anyone will take him. He sees strangers and nobody is family. An old woman tries to convince the group of men to take Salva, but they claim he will be a drain on their resources. They...

How did Salva’s circumstances change from good … to bad … to good?

You can check out the short summaties of these chapters below:

https://www.gradesaver.com/a-long-walk-to-water/study-guide/summary-chapters-1-4

What is the main event in chapter 14-16

The main event is Salva as a young man. Now an engineer, he is finding water for his countrymen. This is really Salva's transition from boy to man both in the United States and in Africa.

Study Guide for A Long Walk to Water

A Long Walk to Water study guide contains a biography of Linda Sue Park, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About A Long Walk to Water
• Character List

Lesson Plan for A Long Walk to Water

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to A Long Walk to Water
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• A Long Walk to Water Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for A Long Walk to Water

• Introduction

A Long Walk to Water

65 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-9

Chapters 10-11

Chapters 12-13

Chapters 14-15

Chapters 16-18

Epilogue and Author’s Note

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

The middle-grade novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park follows the life of one of the Lost Boys from South Sudan during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Based on a true story, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published the bestselling novel in 2010, and Park later wrote a companion picture book, Nya’s Long Walk . The story follows Salva Dut, based on a family friend of Park’s, who is chased from his village and family by militants at age 11. He becomes a “Lost Boy” of Sudan and completes many dangerous treks to refugee camps before being adopted into an American family. Salva’s narrative parallels that of Nya , an 11-year-old Nuer girl who walks eight hours a day to retrieve life-saving water for her family. This guide references the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2010 Scribd version of the novel.

Content Warning: This study guide and the source text contain depictions of war and violence.

Plot Summary

The book opens with Salva daydreaming during Arabic class. Jolted back to reality by gunfire, Salva obeys his teachers, who direct the children not to run back home to their villages but to run for the bush instead. Throughout most of the novel, Salva and the companions he meets along the way always move away from the sounds of armies. The young boys fear losing their lives and being forced to fight in this Second Sudanese Civil War.

Salva first joins a group of internally displaced refugees who soon abandon him as he sleeps in a barn. However, he then meets an older woman from his tribe, the Dinka, who feeds him peanuts. When the fighting gets too close and the Dinka woman flees, Salva begins traveling with a group of Dinka headed for a refugee camp.

One day, his Uncle Jewiir meets up with the group. He is a member of the rebel forces and carries a rifle. For these reasons, he becomes the leader of the travelers. He teaches Salva the most important lesson of the book—that you can get through even horrible, painful things by setting small goals.

Salva experiences many horrors as he walks, swims, and canoes from camp to camp. His friend Marial is dragged away from the camp by lions one night, and Salva witnesses many men dying of dehydration in the desert. The Nuer, a rival tribe, attacks the group and kills Uncle Jewiir. After the travelers make it to a refugee camp, soldiers force them into a crocodile-infested river, where thousands die.

Salva’s experiences all give him a philanthropic spirit, and after learning English from an Irish aid at one refugee camp, Salva is adopted by an American family in Rochester, New York, and goes to junior college. While in America, Salva learns that his father is alive, and he travels to a Sudanese hospital to see him. His father is recovering from a water-borne illness and tells Salva that most of his family survived the war, but Salva can’t visit them because he would risk being impressed into service.

On returning to New York, Salva travels to schools, telling his story and raising money for his charitable project. After a few years, he raises enough money to return to Sudan and dig wells for the impoverished villages there. This is where Salva and Nya’s stories intersect, as Nya’s narrative describes her struggle to carry water to her family each day and explains how her younger sister gets very ill from drinking the polluted water. Nya’s conflict is resolved when a group of men come to drill a well for her village, and the leader of the well-drillers is Salva.

The novel explores many themes, including perseverance as a “long walk” that involves focusing on smaller steps to achieve a larger goal. The importance of family also appears frequently, as Salva desperately longs for his family, and Nya risks her health to provide water for her family.

Related Titles

By Linda Sue Park

A Single Shard

Prairie Lotus

Project Mulberry

The Kite Fighters

When My Name Was Keoko

Featured Collections

7th-8th Grade Historical Fiction

View Collection

African History

Audio Study Guides

Juvenile Literature

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

A Long Walk to Water

Linda sue park.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

In addition to focusing on the physical realities of people struggling to survive—such as the need for water and shelter— A Long Walk to Water focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of the struggle for survival. It’s not enough to have food and water , Park suggests. Rather, to survive in dangerous times, people need to want to survive, which requires finding a source of strength, determination, and hope.

In tough times, the book shows, hope can be as important as food and water, if not more so. First and foremost, Park dramatizes the importance of hope through the relationship between Salva Dut and his uncle Jewiir . Uncle Jewiir teaches Salva how to remain optimistic, even when it seems circumstances could not be any worse. In one of the most poignant scenes in the book, Salva collapses in the middle of the desert, overcome not only by hunger and thirst, but by despair. Jewiir compels Salva to keep moving, urging him to make progress by focusing on taking one step at a time. As Jewiir sees it, the key to holding onto hope is concentrating on concrete tasks instead of becoming overwhelmed by the enormity of the greater goal. If Salva were to stop and think about the magnitude of what he has to do—i.e., walk all the way into Ethiopia—he might give up. Instead, with Jewiir’s help, Salva concentrates on doing as much as he can, each moment. At the same time, Salva finds motivation in his desire to reunite with the rest of his family. Even after years of not seeing them, he continues to hope that they’re still alive. As A Long Walk to Water portrays it, hope is both idealistic and practical, universal and particular. Salva’s hopefulness keeps him focused on the long-term goals of surviving the civil war and reuniting with his family, but it also helps him concentrate on short-term necessities, like continuing to place one foot ahead of the other.

As the story goes on, Park shows that hope, in addition to being a powerful force for survival, can be passed on to other people. Just as Uncle Jewiir’s calm, cautiously optimistic leadership inspires Salva to stay strong, Salva’s hopefulness inspires other people. As a young man, Salva successfully leads over a thousand younger children to safety in Kenya. He takes inspiration from Uncle Jewiir by encouraging the children to concentrate on moving “one step at a time.” Later, when he moves to the United States, Salva’s hope leads to even more remarkable progress. Speaking in schools, universities, and churches, Salva inspires Americans to donate their time and money to improving the situation in Sudan. His actions—grounded in his confidence that Sudan can be made safer and better—result in hundreds of wells being built throughout the country, helping many thousands of Sudanese people. In this way, the book shows that hope isn’t just an emotion—but, on the contrary, it can make possible the enactment of real, tangible changes for the better.

Hope and Resilience ThemeTracker

Hope and Resilience Quotes in A Long Walk to Water

As Salva spoke, Uncle nodded or shook his head. His face became very solemn when Salva told him that he had not seen nor heard a single word of his family in all that time. Salva's voice trailed of, and he lowered his head. He was glad to see Uncle again, but it looked as if he might not be much help either. Uncle was quiet for a moment. Then he patted Salva’s shoulder. "Eh, Nephew!" he said in a cheerful voice. "We are together now, so I will look after you!"

Soon he was crying so hard that he could hardly get his breath. He could not think; he could barely see. He had to slow down, and for the first rime on the long journey, he began to lag behind the group. Stumbling about blindly, he did not notice the group drawing farther and farther ahead of him. As if by magic, Uncle was suddenly at his side. […] Salva lifted his head, the sobs interrupted by surprise. "Do you see that group of bushes?" Uncle said, pointing. "You need only to walk as far as those bushes.

He knows it will be hard for me , Salva realized. He does not want to leave me there, but he has to go back and fight for our people. I mustn’t act like a bay—I must try to be strong …

How can I go on without them? But how can I not go on? They would want me to survive. . . to grow up and make something of my life, . . . to honor their memories. What was it Uncle had said during that first terrible day in the desert? "Do you see that group of bushes? You need only to walk as far as those bushes . . .” Uncle had helped him get through the desert that way, bit by bit, one step at a time. Perhaps . . . perhaps Salva could get through life at the camp in the same way.

Salva stood still inside the terminal doors for a few moments. Leaving the airport felt like leaving his old life forever-Sudan, his village, his family. . . . Tears came to his eyes, perhaps from the cold air blowing in through the open doors. His new family was already outside; they turned and looked back at him. Salva blinked away the tears and took his first step into a new life in America.

Nya went back and picked up the plastic can. She felt as if she were flying. School! She would learn to read and write!

Whenever he found himself losing hope, Salva would take a deep breath and think of his uncle’s words. A step at as time. One problem at a time—just figure out this one problem. Day by day, solving one problem at a time, Salva moved toward his goal.

The man smiled. "What is your name?” he asked. "I am Nya." "I am happy to meet you, Nya," he said. "My name is Salva. "

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

• study guides
• lesson plans
• homework help

A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the narrative style of A Long Walk to Water. From what perspective is the story told? How does the narrative shift between the stories of Nya and Salva? Is the story related in the present or past tense? What are the impacts of each of these choices by the author?

Essay Topic 2

When does Salva's story begin? How would you describe Salva in the beginning of his story? Where does Salva live? How old is he in the beginning of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Nya's character in A Long Walk to Water. How old is Nya? Where does she live? What is Nya's family like? How does Nya's character change in the course of the story?

Essay Topic 4

Describe and discuss the history of politics and conflict in South Sudan from the 1980s to today. When did the Second Sudanese Civil War...

(read more Essay Topics)

FOLLOW BOOKRAGS: