Question

read the following passage from a long walk to water. in this excerpt, salva is leading a group of over one thousand boys from southern sudan to kenya.

they were traveling through a part of sudan still plagued by war. the fighting and bombing were worst during the day, so salva decided that the group should hide when the sun shone and do their walking at night.

but in the darkness, it was hard to be sure they were headed in the right direction. sometimes the boys traveled for days only to realize that they had gone in a huge circle. this happened so many times that salva lost count.

they met other groups of boys, all walking south. every group had stories of terrible peril: boys who had been hurt or killed by bullets or bombs, attacked by wild animals, or left behind because they were too weak or sick to keep up.

when salva heard the stories, he thought of marial. he felt his determination growing ....

i will get us safely to kenya, he thought. no matter how hard it is.

he organized the group, giving everyone a job: scavenge for food; collect firewood; stand guard while the group slept. whatever food or water they found was shared equally among all of them. when the smaller boys grew too tired to walk, the older boys took turns carrying them on their backs.

there were times when some of the boys did not want to do their share of the work. salva would talk to them, encourage them, cajole and persuade them. once in a while he had to speak sternly, or even shout. but he tried not to do this too often.

it was as if salvas family were helping him, even though they were not there. he remembered how he had looked after his little brother, kuol. but he also knew what it felt like to have to listen to the older ones, arik and riong. and he could recall the gentleness of his sisters; the strength of his father; the care of his mother.

most of all, he remembered how uncle had encouraged him in the desert.

from linda sue park, a long walk to water. copyright 2010 by linda sue park

why does salva think about his family members when leading the boys through the desert?

he is recalling how his family members supported him and using those memories to be a better leader.

he is thinking about how he would rather be at home with his family than walking through the desert.

he is imagining that the boys are his family members so that he can care enough to lead them to safety.

Explanation:

To determine why Salva thinks about his family, we analyze the passage. The text shows Salva remembers his family's support (e.g., caring for his brother, listening to elders, family's gentleness/strength/care) and Uncle's encouragement. He uses these memories to guide his leadership (organizing the group, encouraging boys, sharing resources), so he's recalling support to be a better leader. The other options: the passage doesn't show he'd rather be home (no such sentiment) or that he imagines the boys as family (he uses family memories for leadership, not reimagining the boys).

Answer:

He is recalling how his family members supported him and using those memories to be a better leader.