Nya Character Analysis in A Long Walk to Water

Nya is the other main character in A Long Walk to Water, also based on a real person. A young girl, Nya spends much of her waking life walking to and from a large pond, miles away from her family’s village. She collects water from the pond into a gourd, balances the gourd on her head, and walks home, where she immediately deposits the water, turns back, and does it all over again. Linda Sue Park doesn’t spend much time describing Nya’s personality—readers know that she’s a devoted sister and a loving daughter, but don’t know much else about her. In many ways, Nya’s role in the book is to serve as a witness to the enormous changes affecting her village in the early 2000s: thanks to Salva Dut’s activism, wells are being built, bringing safe drinking water to thousands and saving Nya countless hours of work, which frees her to begin attending school.

Nya Quotes in A Long Walk to Water

The A Long Walk to Water quotes below are all either spoken by Nya or refer to Nya. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Nya filled the container all the way to the top. Then she tied the gourd back in place and took the padded cloth doughnut from her pocket. The doughnut went on her head first, followed by the heavy container of water, which she would hold in place with one hand.

Related Characters: Nya

Related Symbols: Water

Page Number and Citation: 14

Explanation and Analysis:

In this brief passage, readers begin to get a sense for what Nya’s daily life is like. Nya, a young girl who lives in a South Sudanese village, must walk many miles every day just to fetch water for her family. The nearest pond is so far away that Nya needs a good method for transporting the water back to her home, lest she spill some of it. She keeps the water in a gourd and then balances the gourd on her head. Throughout the book, Park conveys the immense difficulty of Nya’s life: she’s very young, but she must Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolor

Nya nodded. She picked up the plastic container and took Akeer by the hand. Home for just long enough to eat, Nya would now make her second trip to the pond. To the pond and back—to the pond and back—nearly a full day of walking altogether. This was Nya’s daily routine seven months of the year.

Related Characters: Nya, Akeer

Related Symbols: Water

Page Number and Citation: 20

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, Park captures the monotony of Nya’s life. Because Nya’s family lives far away from the nearest pond, Nya spends much of her waking life walking to or from the pond. She has no time to go to school or play with other children. Her family, and her community, is so impoverished that everyone, no matter how young or old, must contribute something to the greater good. Thus, Nya must do her part for the family, fetching water all day long. This may is not a happy way to live one’s life—but without real change in the region in the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores s

The water from the holes in the lakebed could be collected only in tiny amounts. If her mother tried to boil such a small amount, the pot would be dry long before they could count to two hundred.

Related Characters: Nya

Related Symbols: Water

Page Number and Citation: 45

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage. Nya’s family learns why Akeer got sick: she drank water that had become infected with bacteria. Bacterial infections stemming from unclean water are a major problem in Sudan. It is a particularly poignant problem because the solution is seemingly so simple: boiling the water is an effective way of killing the bacteria. Unfortunately for Nya’s family, however, there’s so little available water that it can’t be boiled, since doing so causes too much water to evaporate. Therefore, Nya’s family has no choice but to continue drinking the dirty water, knowing full-well that they’re rolling the dice every Dolorem et quae.

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

Related Characters: Nya

Page Number and Citation: 104

Explanation and Analysis:

Nya discovers that the mysterious men who’ve been building a well in her village will also design other facilities, such as a school. With all the extra time the villagers will have (as a result of not having to walk miles every day to fetch water), the village children, both male and female, will now be able to attend school. Nya is overjoyed to be able to learn how to read and write along with her brothers. The passage implies a couple things about development in developing nations. First, it suggests that impoverished villages tend to stay impoverished because there Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi

In a few more days, the school would be finished. Nya and Dep and Akeer would all go to school, along with the other children. Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday—a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill.

Related Characters: Nya, Akeer

Related Symbols: Water

Page Number and Citation: 113

Explanation and Analysis:

The chapter begins with the completion of a well in Nya’s village. The well, Park makes very clear, is going to change life for the villagers in almost every way. No longer will the female villagers have to spend their days walking dozens of miles in the hot sun to fetch water. Instead, they’ll only have to walk a few paces, to the center of the village. Park also suggests that the well is going to cause a “domino effect” of innovation in the community. For example, the availability of water will enable the villagers to build a school, as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam offic

The Dinka and the Nuer were enemies—had been for hundreds of years.

“Why would a Dinka bring water to us?” she wondered aloud.

“I heard Uncle and Father talking about him,” Dep said. “He has drilled many wells for his own people. This year he decided to drill for the Nuer as well.”

Related Characters: Dep (speaker), Nya (speaker), Salva Dut

Related Symbols: Water

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 114

Explanation and Analysis:

One of the most important aspects of the initiative to build wells in South Sudan is its lack of partisanship or tribalism. Instead of favoring one tribe over another, the well-builders are trying to bring clean water to all South Sudanese people, regardless of tribal affiliation. By refusing to favor one tribe over another, the well-builders may permanently change the status quo in Southern Sudan. At the beginning of the book, Park emphasized the tribal rivalries that have left the region unstable and violent. Many of these rivalries, Park suggests, are based on disputes over areas of land with plentiful Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequunt

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. "

Related Characters: Salva Dut (speaker), Nya (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 115

Explanation and Analysis:

In the final sentences of A Long Walk to Water, the two separate storylines (Nya’s and Salva’s) merge together. The mysterious man who’s been planning to drill a well in Nya’s Sudanese village turns out to be Salva Dut, who readers first encountered as a frightened eleven-year-old boy. Over the years, Salva has endured a lot of traumatic experiences. However, he’s refused to give up on his dreams of helping the people of South Sudan. Years after the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War, Salva has returned to his country of birth to build wells for the small villages Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciu

Nya Character Timeline in A Long Walk to Water

The timeline below shows where the character Nya appears in A Long Walk to Water. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

In South Sudan in 2008, an eleven-year-old girl named Nya walks through a hot, dry environment. She knows that she needs to move quickly. (full context)

In South Sudan in 2008, while going about her chores, Nya walks along a path and accidentally steps on a thorn, piercing her foot. (full context)

In 2008, Nya approaches a pond in the middle of the desert. Many other people are gathered around... (full context)

In 2008, Nya has returned to her mother, carrying water from the tiny pond. Her mother gives her... (full context)

In 2008, Nya and her family are living a three days’- walk from a big lake. Most of... (full context)

Nya’s family has been coming to the lake for decades, so Nya has gone to the... (full context)

Nya notices that her little sister, Akeer, is quiet. Akeer has been complaining about her stomach... (full context)

Nya’s family decides that Akeer needs to see a doctor after all. Nya and her mother... (full context)

One day, visitors come to Nya’s village. The visitors arrive in a jeep, and speak to the village chief, Nya’s uncle.... (full context)

The visitors to Nya’s village finish their meeting with the village chief. They walk through the village toward a... (full context)

In Nya’s village, people are hard at work clearing the land between the two biggest trees. Meanwhile,... (full context)

The visitors have returned to Nya’s village with an “iron giraffe”—a huge drill designed to create a well. The villagers spend... (full context)

The year is 2009, and Nya’s village is still busy trying to draw water up from beneath the ground. The drilling... (full context)

In 2009, Nya’s village is full of the sound of drilling. After three full days of drilling, the... (full context)

In 2009, a well has just been completed in Nya’s village. Although the water is brown and murky, some of the younger children try to... (full context)

In Nya’s village, Nya’s father organizes the well-builders. He hints that they’re about to build something new. (full context)

In Nya’s village, Nya’s father tells her that the men are building a school. With the added... (full context)

The year is 2009, and Nya is standing in line at her village’s new well, holding a plastic bottle. Today is... (full context)

...a medical clinic. People from across the country will come to use the village’s well. Nya is overjoyed that she won’t have to spend her days walking miles to the pond. (full context)

Dep informs Nya that the operator of the well is a Dinka man. This surprises Nya, since the... (full context)

Nya notices the well operator, and shyly says hello to him. She thanks him for bringing... (full context)

Nya Character Analysis

Nya Quotes in A Long Walk to Water

Chapter 3 Quotes

Chapter 4 Quotes

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 17 Quotes

Chapter 18 Quotes

Nya Character Timeline in A Long Walk to Water