Summary
Southern Sudan, 2008
Nya is an 11-year-old girl. She goes to fetch water for her family. It will take her half the morning to get there, but this part—carrying an empty water jug—is the easy part of the journey. She will endure heat and thorns in her feet along the way.
Southern Sudan, 1985
Salva, an 11-year-old boy of the Dinka tribe, is in school as the story opens. Classes are taught in Arabic, the language of the government, though not the language of Salva's family. Salva daydreams of getting home and having the bowl of milk his mother will prepare for him.
Suddenly a gunshot rings out. The teacher tells the boys to run to the bush and not to go home where they would be killed. Salva goes outside and sees the chaos. He runs away from his home, into the bush, as instructed.
Salva's family is moderately well-off and his father holds the respected position of village judge. Salva has two older brothers, Ariik and Ring; a younger brother, Kuol; and two sisters, Akit and Agnath. The boys play together and are responsible for watching over the herds.
The civil war has been going on for two years. According to Salva's understanding, rebels from southern Sudan are fighting the government in the north. The government wants the country to be Muslim. However, many different religions are practiced in the south, and they are fighting for religious freedom and independence.
Analysis
Both Nya and Salva bear responsibilities that contribute to their family's well-being. For Nya, her contribution is a matter of survival. She must bring life-sustaining water to her family. This task consumes her day, indicating the harshness of life in her environment, even for children.
Salva's childhood innocence is conveyed in the chapter. He enjoys playing games with his brothers and other children; he sits in school longing for his after-school snack. When shots ring out, that innocence is shattered. Salva's survival requires that he run away from the safety of his home and family, leaving behind his childhood pleasures and security as he is forced into the brutal reality of the civil war.
Salva doesn't understand much about the Second Sudanese Civil War, which so far hasn't really touched his village. He knows it has something to do with religion and that the government in the north, which he perceives as far away, impacts the language in which he is taught—a language that is not his own. The war has been all around him, but now it has come "to where Salva lived."
Explanation:
