how do culture, time, and place influence the development of identity?

This is a pretty broad question for this short answer space. Dut’s story takes place in 1985 when he is eleven years old, and Nya’s takes place in 2008 when she is of the same age. The two stories intersect when Dut returns to Sudan as a young man and helps orchestrate the building of a well. The socio-political environment in Africa shape the children as well as the narrative arc of the story.