Water appears repeatedly in the text as a symbol for life-giving nourishment, as well as the goal at the end of a turbulent journey, as Park describes in the novel’s title. Nya walks a very long way every day to bring water that is impure to her family, and Salva’s whole adolescent and young adult life is a metaphorical walk toward the water that he will bring his people by building wells; his experiences along the way lead him to his activism.

Bodies of water and the lack of water play a main role in the novel. As Salva walks with the other displaced peoples in the desert, water is always a priority. Salva encounters men dying from dehydration and witnesses an inspirational kindness when a woman from his party offers some of her water to one of the men. By contrast, Salva recognizes the amazing bounty that the people who live near the Nile enjoy. Though his father is wealthy, and he is accustomed to good food, Salva notes that the Nile is a key source of rich nutrients for the locals. This contrast between the lack of water, which means death, and an abundance of water, which means richness, sets up the foundation for Salva’s philanthropic endeavors.