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How Does Salva Survive In A Long Walk To Water

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In the novel “A long walk to water” by Linda Sue Park, Salva, a young man that lived in South Sudan throughout his childhood to his young-adult years, had faced many difficult challenges the young age of eleven. Salva had to flee from home because of Sudan’s civil war. He soon experienced a horrifying and dreadful life, his family gone, no resources in his group, he watched people die, walked for months, and lead twelve hundred boys to a refugee camp in Kenya. Salva survived this terrible life with the help of three factors, perseverance, luck, and relationships with others. Without any of these factors, Salva might not have been able to survive or possibly become the leader he is today. A factor that made survival achievable for Salva …show more content…

In the novel, it states, “A lion had been hungry enough to approach the group as they slept…It sought out pray that was small and motionless: Marial, sleeping” (Park 41). Thus proves, that Salva was lucky that he wasn't eaten by a fierce lion when he was sound asleep, though he could have easily been eaten just like Marial. Salva rested for the night near Uncle Jewiir who would protect them from predators. On the other hand Marial slept further away from Salva and Uncle so he was vulnerable and was easily eaten by a lion. Additionally, the text states, “Stunned, Salva realized that being forced under the water have probably saved his life” (Park 78). This illustrates that when Salva was attempting to swim across the Gilo River, a boy cling to his neck and quickly forced Salva under water without warning him. Soon the boy was shot in the back of the neck, being pushed under water saved Salva from being shot and killed while crossing the Gilo River He was one of the few lucky refugees to survive crossing the crocodile-infested stream, though any of them could have easily been shot, drowned by the current or eaten by the flesh hungry crocodiles. Salva had survived many of the dangerous events by pure luck, his skills, and personal traits had no involvement when surviving some of the

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