Excerpts from A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

 

Background: This book is about what happens to an eleven-year-old who lives in Sudan during a time in which rebels are raiding villages. In a scene early in the novel, eleven-year-old Salva has become separated from the rest of his family after rebels have attacked his small Sudanese village, and he’s now alone and scared and running.

 

                Salva lowered his head and ran.

                He ran until he could not run anymore. Then he walked. For hours, until the sun was nearly gone from the sky.

                Other people were walking, too. There were so many of them that they couldn’t all be from the school village; they must have come from the whole area.

                As Salva walked, the same thoughts kept going through his head in rhythm with his steps. Where are we going? Where is my family? When will I see them again?

 

Background: At this point, Salva has been on his own for a while, but has now found a small group of people who are trying to survive.

 

There were now three women giving water to the men on the ground.

                Like a miracle, the small amounts of water revived them. They were able to stagger to their feet and join the group as the walking continued.

                But their five dead companions were left behind. There were no tools with which to dig, and besides, burying the dead men would have taken too much time.

                Salva tried not to look as he walked past the bodies, but his eyes were drawn in their direction. He knew what would happen. Vultures would find the bodies and strip them of their rotting flesh until only the bones remained. He felt sick at the thought of those men—first dying in such a horrible way, and then having even their corpses ravaged.

                If he were older and stronger, would he have given water to those men? Or would he, like most of the group, have kept his water for himself?

                It was the group’s third day in the desert. By sunset, they would be out of the desert, and after that, it would not be far to the Itang refugee camp in Ethiopia.

 

Background: In this scene, Salva is alone.

 

                I am alone now.

                I am all that is left of my family.

                His father, who had sent Salva to school…brought him treats, like mangoes…trusted him to take care of the herd…. His mother, always ready with food and milk and a soft hand to stroke Salva’s head. His brothers and sisters, whom he had laughed with and played with and looked after…. He would never see them again.

                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.