Thursday, March 12, 2015
'A Long Walk to Water' Theme CQE - Mod 8
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park explores a number of themes. Choose one theme/central idea that you believe is strongly conveyed in the novel. How does Nya’s story get this message across? How does Salva’s? Use the outline below to organize your thoughts in CQE format. Post your completed paragraph(s) below. In order to receive credit, please include YOUR NAME when posting.
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The theme of the book “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park is that individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways and is conveyed in many different ways. Nya’s story conveys this theme. Nya and her family didn’t have a lot of water near them. Nya and her family have to drink dirty water in order to survive. They manage to do it, but would sometimes get sick. This was a hard way to live. “‘Her sickness came from the water,’ the doctor explained. ‘She should drink only good clean water. If the water is dirty, you should boil it for a count of two hundred before she drinks it.’” (p. 45) This quote shows that the water that Nya and her Family were drinking wasn’t healthy. Nya’s sister got sick because of the unsanitary water. As well as Nya, Salva also had to learn how to survive in remarkable ways.
ReplyDeleteSalva lived in a part of Sudan that was filled with fighting. Salva was forced to leave and walk to a better life. Salva had to learn how to survive in places such as a desert and a mosquito infested island. Salva had to do many different things to survive. “None of the travelers had money or anything of value to trade, so they had to beg for food.” (p. 47) This quote shows that survival was hard. Salva and the group he was in had to do some desperate things to survive. They needed food, water, a place to stay and safety. They had to get these things in many different ways. Nya and Salva in “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park were able to survive in remarkable ways. They did things to help themselves and others survive.
David Goldman
"A Long Walk to Water" is a novel written by Linda Sue Park, that conveys the central idea that sometimes we have to abandon things that are important to us in order to survive. Nya is a young girl who lived in Southern Sudan, and had to take multiple long trips each day to get water for her and her family. "Every year when the rains stopped and the pond near the village dried up, Nya's family moved from their home to a camp near the big lake." (26) This quote is effective towards the central idea because it shows that Nya and her family have to abandon their home to move closer to water. This is important for survival because water is essential, and without it Nya and her family would die.
ReplyDeleteNya is not the only character in the book who has to sacrifice things in order to survive. Salva is a "Lost Boy" who is forced to run away from his village in order to survive the war. With his confidence, he is determined to cover Africa on foot, with the hope that he might one day be able to see his family again. "Go quickly, all of you, the teacher said, his voice low and urgent. Into the bush. Do you hear me? Not home. Do not run home. They will be going into the villages. Stay away from the villages - run into the bush." (6) This quote shows that Salva is forced to run away, away from his family and home. Salva has to abandon his family and his home if he wants to survive, even if it means never seeing them again. As you can see, Nya and Salva both had to abandon things that were important to them in order to survive, in "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park.
Nicole Kopfensteiner
I think the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park portrays the theme "Nature can present many challenges to humans" best. Nya lived in Southern Sudan in a small hut with her family. Water and food were scarce and Nya had to walk for many days for little amounts of dirty water that barely kept her and her family alive. The walk was very harsh and hot and I think the theme matches very well with Nya's life. " There was little weight, going. There was only heat, the sun already baking the air, even though it was long before noon. It would take her half the morning if she didn't stop along the way. Heat. Time. And thorns." This shows us how harsh the environment that Nya has to walk through is and that nature definitely can present many challenges to humans. Salva also lives in Southern Sudan and faced many other nature related challenges too.
ReplyDeleteSalva lived in a small village that was attacked one day because of the war. he was forced to run away into the woods with many others but not his family. He faced many challenges along the way such as long, hot, deserts, crocodile infested rivers and having to travel thousands of miles on foot, changing refugee camps constantly. " The way they were treating him made Salva feel stronger still. There was no one left to help me. They think I am weak and useless. Salva lifted his head proudly. They are wrong, and I will prove it." After Salva was left on his own, he grew confident in himself and persevered through the war. this helped him survive all the problems he faced on his long journey. This shows how the theme " nature can present many challenges to humans" also explains Salva's life. The theme " nature can present many challenges to humans" is a good theme for the book A Long Walk for Water by Linda Sue Park because of the setting of the book.
Jack Kid
Mod 8
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ReplyDeleteIn the book “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park one of the themes that was explored was “Individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways. Nya is a girl who has to walk to the pond to get water for her family to survive. Nya is facing a challenging environment because the pond water is muddy and not clean plus it can make you really sick. “Her sickness came from the water” “She should only drink good clean water”. The quote show that the water Nya’s family is using is dirty. Nya’s family and Nya herself has survived years with drinking dirty water. They got sick but the always fought it. Nya is not the only one that survived in challenging environments. Salva also had this challenge.
ReplyDeleteSalva is a boy he is forced to leave his village and family an order to survive. Salva had not face barley any food at the refugee camps, mosquitos, no water in the desert and jumping into a river full of crocodiles. “People were jumping into the river as they fled with soldiers. The current was too strong for many and they were swept away. Crocodiles were also attacking people who jumped in the water. The soldiers then started shooting at the people trying to cross the river. Salva jumped into the water.” The quote shows in order for Salva to stay alive, he had to jump into a death zone meaning he would most likely die. Salva survived the unlucky environment of a river and crocodiles as well as many more challenges. Nya and Salva in “A Long Walk To Water” by Linda Sue Park had to survive obstacles in remarkable ways even if they tried to do it and died.
Kyle Gonda
In A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, one theme explored is to keep going no matter how bad things get. Nya is a girl living in Sudan. Her family has very little water. She has to walk 8 hours every day to get water. Although it was tiring and there wasn't always water, Nya never gave up. "Nya sighed and picked up the big plastic can. Yet another walk to the pond." This quote shows that Nya doesn't want to walk long to get water, but she does anyway, and her family survives because of it. Salva also doesn't give up. Salva is a boy in Sudan who is in school when a shooting happens nearby. He is forced to flee without his family. His journey to survival is unlike any other. He does anything to survive. "To young people, I would like to say: Stay calm when things are hard or not going right with you. You will get through it when you persevere instead of quitting. Quitting leads to much less happiness in life than perseverance and hope." This quote proves that if you don't give up, good things will happen and you will survive. In A Long Walk to Water, Nya and Salva both don't give up, no matter how bad things get.
ReplyDeleteRyan Leech
Mod 8
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park consists of the theme that nature can present many challenges to humans. The story of a little girl named Nya involves her walking to a pond more than twice a day to fetch water for her family. Nya’s story gets the theme across because she has to make sure the water isn’t filled with bacteria. “She untied it, scooped up the brown muddy water, and drank it. I believe this quote is effective because it shows that the water isn’t clean and therefore nature has presented a challenge to humans. Like Nya,a boy named Salva with his story has the same theme. Salva is a boy who ran away from his village during a civil war and tries his hardest to cross southern Sudan to reach the refugee camps. Salva’s story gets the theme that nature can present many challenges to humans across because Salva has to cross rivers and deserts. “ Every movement in the grass was a lion stalking, every stillness a lion waiting to spring.” I believe this quote is effective because nature has presented the challenge of watching out for lions. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park has the central idea that nature presents many challenges to humans. This central idea was gotten across through the use of elements or animal posing a threat to humans.
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DeletePs:Read the instructions
In the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park has a great theme. The theme is water is our most important resource. Nya walks eight hours a day to just get water for her and her family. She goes to the pond for seven months a year and goes to the lake for the dry season for 5 months a year. “ there was only heat, the sun already baking the air, even though it was long before noon. it would take her half the morning if she didn’t stop on her way. Heat. Time. And thorns.” This shows that she will walk for half a mourning in the blistering heat and she doesn't even have shoes. There are thorns on the ground and she can step on them. Nya and Salva both have the same theme. Salva roams the desert for many years. When he was 11, his village in Southern Sudan was raided by rebels. He then fled to a refugee camp. When he was kicked out he roamed for years. He was low on water and food. “ Salva reached for his gourd. He knew it to be half full, but suddenly it felt much lighter, as if there was hardly any water left in it.” This shows that he has not enough water to share with other people and needs it for himself. Water is our most important resource in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, there are many ways you can interpret this.
ReplyDeleteBeckett Herman
Mod: 8
“A Long Walk to Water,” a novel by Linda Sue Park, is a novel about two characters overcoming several challenges. The theme I chose to review is, “Water is our most valuable resource.”
ReplyDeleteNya’s story got the theme about water as a valuable resource across because in the story, she gathers water by walking to the pond almost every day during the story. If she is not gathering it at the pond, she is collecting it at the camp. One quote that best represents this theme is, “Nya filled the container all the way to the top…the doughnut went on her head first, followed by the heavy container of water…she might reach home by noon, if all went well.” (p. 14-15). This quote is effective because it shows that Nya is dedicated to collecting a lot of water for her family, and it demonstrates how difficult it is to bring it back home.
Another main character named Salva also demonstrates this theme because during the story, because of her struggle to survive and the group trying to collect water (and food) which is very challenging in Sudan. Salva also struggles with water in refugee camps. A quote that best connects Salva to the theme is, “If you give them water, you will not have enough for yourself….it is useless…they will die and you will die with them.” This quote is effective because it shows desperation of the woman trying to ‘revive’ the men and saving enough water for herself. This quote reinforces, “Water is our most valuable resource.”
“A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park displayed the theme, “Water is our most valuable resource” throughout the story as demonstrated above.
Ethan Courtney
Mod 8
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park theme is that individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways. Nya is an 11 year old girl who lives in Southern Sudan with her family. Everyday Nya walked 2 hours to collect water from the pond and 2 hours back for her and her family. She would do this for 7 months. Nya didn’t go to school but her brothers did because only boys could go to school. Nya was a Nuer. Nya’s story got this theme because when she would walk for 2 hours to go get water, she would always get thorns on the bottom of her feet. This would happen because she didn’t have any shoes to wear but she would always be strong and brave with the thorns on the bottom of her feet. “ Nya put the container down and sat on the ground(...) She looked at the bottom of her foot. There it was, a big thorn that had broken off right in the middle of her heel. Nya pushed at the skin around the thorn. Then she picked up another thorn and used it to poke and prod at the first one. She pressed her lips together against the pain.”(p.8) This quote is so effective toward reinforcing this message because it explains how Nya has to survive and be brave when it comes to challenging moments. She has to be brave to with what comes throughout her life.
ReplyDeleteSalva was also like Nya. Salva is an 11 year old boy who lives in Southern Sudan with his family.Salva is Dinka. He lived in a village where war comes and he had to run off. He had walked with people he didn’t know but that were part of his tribe. Later, he finds a friend which is then attacked by an animal and dies. He then finds his uncle and his uncle stays with Salva. They cross the Nile River and the Akobo desert. They walk again to kenya to the refugee camps. They reached it and stay there for 6 years and have to leave because they are old enough to take care of themselves. When Salva is still at the camp, they had a list of people who are his age and younger or older that can go to America. Salva was one of the 3,000 people who can go to America. He then finds out that his father and the rest of his family, except for one of his brother, is alive. He goes back to Sudan and finally meets up with his family. Salva’s story got this theme because when Salva, his uncle, and some other Dinka people where walking in the desert, it felt like the longest they have ever walked. The sun was relentless and eternal. There was neither a wisp of cloud nor a breeze of relief. Each minute of walking in that arid heat felt like an hour. “ Thorns gored his feet. His lips became cracked and parched. Salva stubbed his bare toe on a rock, and his whole toenail came off. The pain was terrible. Soon he was crying so hard that he could hardly get his breath. This quote is so effective toward reinforcing this message because it explains how Salva has to survive and be brave when it comes to challenging moments. He has to be brave to with what happens throughout his life. He has to be strong when pain comes. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is about two African Americans, Nya and Salva, and it talks about both of their lives.
Stephanie Gaviria
Mod 8
“A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park conveys the message of how individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways. Nya’s story is about a girl who makes long trips twice a day to get water so her family could survive. Nya’s story got this message across because her family was always in need for clean water and food. Where she lived, it was hard getting water, so they were moving constantly trying to stay close to the water. People would get sick from drinking the muddy contaminated water and it would be miles of a walk to get to a medical center. “Most of the adults and older children who fell ill recovered at least enough to work again [...] For the elderly and for small children, the illness could be more dangerous.” I believe this is so effective because although it was hard to get a little water, the water could harm the people. Even though the people who were ill had lots of pain, they had to work through it and get their job done.
ReplyDeleteSalva also demonstrated the theme in many ways. Salva’s story is about a boy who had to leave home because of the fighting and war going on and faced many challenges trying to get to survival. When he left his home and couldn’t find any of his family, he has to try and survive with a large group of strangers. They faced many challenges like trouble getting food or water. They faced many more challenges on their way to the refugee camp including crossing the desert. “Salva had never been so hungry. He stumbled along, somehow moving one foot ahead of the other not noticing the ground he walked on or the forest around him or the light in the sky. Nothing was real except his hunger, once hollow in his stomach but now a deep buzzing pain in every part of him.” I believe this quote is so effective because it shows a time where Salva is very hungry and can’t think about anything else. In “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park the theme, individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways, is very effective towards the story about Nya and Salva.
Sofia Azizi
Mod 8
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ReplyDeleteSamantha Mager
ReplyDeleteEnglish Mod 8
March 16, 2015
The novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park has two different parts of the story. The theme of the novel is nature can present many challenges to humans. Nya is a girl from the Neur tribe who has to walk everyday to get water. Nya’s story was able to get the following message across to the reader: nature can present many challenges to humans because of her struggle for water. She had to walk very far each day so her family could have water. “Going was easy. Going, the big plastic container held only air. […] It would take her half the morning if she didn’t stop on the way.” (1) Nya had to walk far to get water and it took her a lot of time. That means that she did not have water close to where she lived which can be considered a struggle/challenge.
In Nya’s story, she had troubles like getting water. In Salva’s story, he also had challenges that he had to face. Salva is a boy from the ‘Lost Boys’ who had to run away from his village during the conflict in Sudan. Salva’s story was able to get the message across because of his journey from Sudan to Ethiopia, and then back through Sudan to Kenya. He faced many challenges like the Akabo desert, the Gilo River, being kicked out of refugee camps, and the thought that he lost his whole family. “More crocodiles were launching themselves off the banks. The rain, the mad current, the bullets, the crocodiles, the welter of arms and legs, the screams, the blood…. He had to get across somehow.” (79) During Salva’s life, he was faced with many difficult challenges that no one should have to experience. He walked in a desert with almost no water, got kicked out of a refugee camp and pushed into a dangerous river, and thought that his family was gone. The quote is one of the many challenges that Salva had to face in his lifetime. The central idea of the novel, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, is nature can present many challenges to humans. It was made clear throughout the challenges/struggles of Nya and Salva.
One of the themes of the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Parks is that nature can present many challenges to humans. Nya is a young girl who lives in southern Sudan. To get water for her family, she has to walk to a far away pond 2 times a day everyday for 7 months. Nature presents a problem for Nya because she can't decide if there is clean water or if there are thorns on the ground. All Nya can do is adjust to it or try to avoid it. "She always tried to avoid not to step on the spiky plants that grew along the path, but thorns littered the ground everywhere... There it was, a big thorn had broken off right in the middle of her heel."(8) I feel that this quote is so effective toward the message because thorns which are apart of nature prevented a challenge for Nya because the thorn made a delay to her trip to the pond and made Nya's heel hurt when she walked. She also had to figure out how to get the thorn out safely.
ReplyDeleteThe theme, nature can present many challenges to humans can also be used in Salvas story. Salva is a young boy who had to run away from his home and family to find a safe haven during the war. Salva get the message across because Salva had to face many obstacles that involved nature like the one where he was forced to cross the Gilo River."It was the rainy season. Swollen by the rains, the Gilo's current would be merciless. The Gilo was well known for something else too. Crocodiles... Salva had no choice. He jumped into the water and began to swim."(75, 78) This quote portrays the message because it shows that nature was a challenge to Salva. The rain, current , and crocodiles were the obstacle for Salva. Salva couldn't change the rain or crocodiles. It's all up to nature. One of the themes for the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Parks is that nature can present many challenges to humans.
Jess O' Reilly
Mod 8
In the novel, A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park one of the themes that is conveyed is individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways.Nya is a girl who lives in Southern Sudan where neither her or her family have food or water. She has to walk to a far away pond for 7 days 2 times a month. Nya overcomes this struggle of getting water for her family at the end of the book because she survived through the war with the little resources her and her family had and people found water for her village and her family in the end. "Everyone cheered at the sight of the water. They all laughed at the sight of the two workers who had been operating the drill, They were drenched. Their clothes completely soaked through." This quote is so effective towards reinforcing the message because it shows a beginning of a great breakthrough for Nya's village.
ReplyDeleteSalva is also a young boy residing in Southern Sudan. His village gets attacked and he must abandoned his family in order to survive. He finds a tribe like him and resides in 2 refugee camps on the way as well. While he is on his quest to survive he struggles against starvation and dehydration. "Uncle had cautioned him to make the water in his gourd last as long as possible. It was the hardest thing Salva had ever done, taking only tiny sips while his body cried out for huge gulps of thirst-quenching, life-giving water." (53) This quote is so effective towards reinforcing this message because it explains how Salva is struggling with the little amount of water that his resources provide. Also, at the end of the book he has enough water to provide for his home village of Southern Sudan. Salva and Nya, the two main characters were strong enough to survive these harsh conditions. In the novel, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park one of the themes conveyed is individuals are able to survive in challenging environments in remarkable ways.
Makayla Zambrano
Mod 8
Nya was not the only character that had trouble with water. Salva lived in a part of Sudan that was attacked of a war. Salva was force to leave the village in order the survive the war. He had to run away without his parents. "Go quickly,all of you the teacher said, his voice low and urgent. Into the bush. Do you hear me? Not home. Do not run home. They will be going into the villages. Stay away from the villages- run into the bush."(page 6.)This quote means that he was forced to run away the village,family, and home. He had to run, even if it means never seeing his family again. Therefore, Nya and Salva had difficult on survivinging but they had a remarkable and intelligent things to help the tans others to able to survive.
ReplyDeleteIn the book A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park the central idea is that nature can present many challenges to humans. Nya who is one of the 2 main characters is a little girl surviving in Southern Sudan. Nature challenges her because there is no water in her village. Every day for 7 months she has to walk an 8 hour walk to get water. This shows a very difficult task nature has presented to Nya. “There was only heat the sun baking the air, even though it was long before noon." [1] This right at the beginning is telling you she is in a dry dessert with no water. It helps reinforce the central idea of the book that the nature has her going on a scorching 8 hour hike just to get unclean water.
ReplyDeleteThen the other main character is Salva a little Sudanese boy who finds himself running from home due to outbreak of war. He run right into the woods where he finds himself facing thirst, hunger, bees, lions and thirst. This shows many ways nature challenges Salva to the absolute maximum. "The first day n the dessert... He sun was relentless and eternal: there was neither whisp of cloud nor whiff of breeze for relief."[52] This is in itself a description of the horrible ways nature challenged Salva as he is in the dessert where there is extreme heat and no water. That concludes the fact that in the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park the theme is nature can present many challenges to humans.
In the book A Long To Water by Linda Sue Park the central idea is that nature can present many challenges to humans. Nya who is one of the main characters who is living in Southern Sudan. Nature in Nya's case is that they do not have water in her village. Nya has to walk long distances for a long period of time to get water and the routes that she is walking on are really dangerous like she got a thorn in her foot! This shows that nature makes it hard for Nya. "She always tried not to step on the spiky plants that grew along the path, but their thorns littered the ground everywhere. She looked at the bottom of her foot. There it was, a big thorn that had broken off right in the middle of her heel." This told me about the nature of Nya is that it ruined her trip to the pond because she stepped on a big thorn and it also delayed her trip to the pond. She had to find out how she can get the thorn out safely and does not hurt her more.
ReplyDeleteThen there is another very important character named Salva. The central idea is like Nya's. Nature can present many challenges to humans. Salva is a Sudanese boy who runs away from home when his teacher says go hide and run do not go back to your family. He runs into the woods and does not have any water and does not have any food. This shows many ways nature challenges to Salva. "Crocodiles. Salva had no choice. He jumped into the water and began to swim." This explains that nature has many challenges to humans because they had crocodiles and it was raining during this time and they actually had water. One theme from A long Walk To Water is Nature can present many challenges to humans.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel a Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park the message evokes is people often do not appreciate what they have until its gone.
Nya is a girl who lives in Southern Sudan in 2008. Nya is living in a time when the war just ended and there was peace. She had a little water to keep her alive and now she has no more water. She appreciates the water because it keeps her family alive and now its gone. Nya is experience a major obstacle when the pond dries up how she needs to find a new water source.. “the water wasn't clean it was brown and heavy it was full of mud”p(84). This quote means that the water wasn't good enough to drink, if they drank it they could die from drinking contaminated water. They are trying to survive and trying to get a new water resources.
Salva lived in Southern Sudan 1985 and living during a time when the war has just started .He ran away from home he lost his uncle and is having no water at time.”Early that afternoon,they came across the first evidences that the dessert residing. A few stunted tree near a shallow pool of muddy water. The water was unfit to drink”p(61). Salva left his home and he lost all the water when he left his home and he has no more water because his tribe they search for water some of ti is muddy groose and then it dries up and theres no more water. Salva proved he is brave and safe. Nya has found water for her tribe and now Nya and her family are safe and now she can survive on her own
In the book a long walk to water by Linda sue park two characters face moments were the have to keep moving. The first character nya faces moments where she has to keep moving in order to survive. Nya has to walk a long way to a lake to get her water. She shows this skill of keep on moving when she is walking and she steps on a thorn and takes it out. This shows the skill because if she does not get that water nya and her family will die. Another character salva faces this skill when he is walking in the desert and he stubbed his bare toe on a rock and begins to cry. This is bad for two reasons one he cant walk without a toenail and two if he crys he does not have enough water in his body. But he gets moving by the increment from his uncle that there’s only a little more steps left. So as you can see there is a lot of times were these characters in the book keep moving.
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