A Long Walk to Water

Salva’s determination in the face of difficulties creates the narrative structure for the book. Salva encounters multiple obstacles that could prove to kill or injure him, and yet, he perseveres. At the novel’s start, Salva runs into the bush to escape the combatants, separating him from his home, family, and safety for nearly 20 years. Thus begins his “long walk,” as the title describes—the long walk symbolizing Salva’s perseverance. His first obstacle occurs when the first group he meets, who might have aided him on his way to a refugee camp, abandons him. An old Dinka woman feeds him peanuts, possibly saving his life, but she too must leave him, and he joins with another group. Salva makes a young friend in Marial, who is then eaten by a lion, and he comes to rely on the protection and extra food that his Uncle Jewiir provides, only for Jewiir to be killed by Nuer tribesmen. When Salva finally makes it to a refugee camp, his safety is again taken away when soldiers force the refugees into the crocodile-infested Gilo. Salva sees over 1,000 people die along his journey, including friends and family, but he must carry on.