Vocabulary
Foxhole
A hole in the ground used by troops as a shelter against enemy fire or as a firing point.
This was the codename for the Allied invasion of Okinawa.
Operation Iceberg took place on April 1st, 1945 where American forces invaded Japan from the Pacific Ocean.
What does Ray expose when he throws the grenade at the sniper?
He reveals that the sniper is a 12-year-old Okinawan boy, and not a soldier of the IJA. He was a civilian.
How does the previous chapter where they were getting ready to slaughter the pig serve as a foreshadow? Who are the “pigs” going to the slaughter?
“Pigs to the slaughter” is an IDIOM which means to go willingly and quietly to your death or into a bad situation. The pigs could be the American soldiers or it could also be the Japanese soldiers, or it could be both. These soldiers do not understand what is in store for them and many will die.
In Ray: Barbecue, what is Ray’s flashback mostly about?
Ray’s brief flashback is mostly about how he leaves his home in Nebraska to do his part in the war and escape his father.
Blanched
Make white or pale by extracting color.
What carries Ray and his squadron across the water in the Pacific?
An amphibious troop carrier
In Hideki: Blood and Iron, what is Hideki’s flashback mostly about?
Hideki's flashback is about his sister who helped woman and her son who were upset with one another. She told them to pay a visit to their aunt who passed and appeared in a dream as a wolf.
What do we learn about Ray’s personality? How is this contrasted with Big John? Why do they have such different reaction?
Ray seems to care about the civilians. He does not want to simply kill them. Big John seems to not care about civilians or soldiers, he only wants to keep his guys alive.
Bombardment
a continuous attack with bombs, shells, or other missiles.
Winston Churchill warned Japan to surrender after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but Japan refused. What was the effect of this?
The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima that was developed in the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos by Robert J. Oppenheimer and other physicists.
In Hideki: The End, why does Sano describe the Americans the way he does? Do you think he really believes this?
Sano is trying to get the young boys to fight for the protection of their families. By making the Americans seem horrible, the boys will fight harder. Sano may believe this as he has been told this by people who out rank him.
What do we learn about Big John as he shoots the boy and then casually gets Hard Lucks body and orders the pig to be slaughtered?
It appears Big John is heartless and has no emotions. This could be from his experiences in the war.
A symbol is an object that stands for something else, such as a concept or feeling. Explain the symbolism of Ray’s blister and the Sargent’s callus.
The Sargent has a callus from having fired his rifle so much. His skin has hardened and he, Big John and the Old Man have become hardened to death and killing. If they did not, they would go crazy. Ray has only a blister. His skin has not hardened into a callus and his heart has not hardened...yet.
Yuta
A conduit between the realm of the living and the spirit realm.
How did the Allies win the Battle of Midway on June 1942?
U.S. Signal Corps code breakers had cracked Japan's naval code and learned of their plan to attack. U.S. bombers sank Japanese aircraft carriers and destroyed most of their planes.
What is Ray trying to say in Japanese when he says "DEY-tey ko-ee" and "hee-DOY koat-o wa shee ma-sen"?
Come out. You will not be hurt.
What do we learn about the soldier who has been at Peleliu?
Historically, the battle of Peleliu was one of the fiercest fought between Japan and the US during World War II. Many soldiers were killed and many Japanese soldiers fought to the death for a small air strip. The marines who fought there are jaded and have become accustomed to the horror.
Why do the civilians jump off the cliff?
Earlier in the book, we saw that the IJA was telling everyone the Americans would do horrible things when they came. These people must fear the Americans more than death.
Amphibious
Relating to, living in, or suited for both land and water.
Who was General Douglas MacArthur?
The U.S. Commander in chief of the Pacific theater of war. Japan chased out his troops out of the Philippines in 1942, but they returned and won the Battle of Leyte Gulf two and half years later.
What does Sano mean when he says, “One plane for one battleship” and “one man for ten of the enemy”?
Sano is saying that for every Japanese soldier who dies, ten Americans will be killed, and for every small plane that goes down, an American battleship will be destroyed. He is saying the Japanese will hurt the Americans more than the Americans hurt the Japanese.
What were the Marines doing right before the sniper attacked them?
The squad were planning on how to catch a pig from the pen and cook it to eat. Big John orders Hard Luck to fetch the pig.
Define CARNAGE
The killing of a large number of people.