Straight up Facts
(First Half of Novel)
(First Half of Novel)
Q: What was the nickname that Hosteen Mitchell gave to Ned (in Navajo or in English)?
A: Wolachii (Navajo) or “Ant” (pg. 77)
Q: According to the novel and your background knowledge on a Code Talker, what are some of their formal duties?
A:
1. To learn a new top secret code based on the Navajo language.
2. To be trained to be expert in every form of communication used by the Marine Code.
3. To send battlefield messages that no one but another Navajo code talker could understand.
Q: What was ironic about the sign that was written on the ramp of the landing craft that read, “Fire exit, women and children first”?
A: There were not any women or children around, only the soldiers to fend for themselves.
Q: What is one rule of the warrior Bushido code?
2. Always take the offensive.
3. Surprise the enemy whenever possible.
4. Never retreat.
5. Never surrender.
Q: During Ned’s training for the Marine Corps, what was the one physical activity that he most struggled with? (pg. 62)
A: Swimming (pg. 62)
Q: Upon arriving to boarding school, How did Ned Begay get his new name?
A: Mr. Reamer asked each child the name of their mother or father. The translation would turn into each student's last name. If it didn't sound right, another generic last name would be chosen. This is similar to how the students got their first names. (ex: John, Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson)
Q: How is this quote ironic? "Those weeks at Camp Elliot were some of the best in my life...During those weeks--as we prepared for war--I felt at peace." (pg. 81).
A: Ned is about to face hardship, pain, and battle. It is ironic how he feels peaceful about what lies ahead: war.
Q: What does Ned send back to his parents with the letter he writes home? (He asks that this item would be there when prayers and songs are offered to ask for his protection.)
A: Clothes (stained with mud and blood from Bougainville) (pg. 134)
Q: What did Ned write about on a social studies paper that ended up foreshadowing his future endeavors?
A: Japan (pg. 31)
Q: What misunderstanding happened with the discovery of the Navajo Code Talkers?
A: Philip Johnson, a white man who could speak “Trader Navajo”, got the credit. He could not speak the code and never taught it to anyone, yet he was said to have taught it to all the Navajos. (pg. 75)
Q: How did the author characterize John Roanhorse on page 25?
A: He was witty, defiant, and stubborn to keep his Navajo heritage.
Q: Who was the most famous man that Ned “almost met” while on the island of Puruata?
A: John F. Kennedy (pg. 132)
Q: What item from the earth is used during Ned’s Blessingway Ceremony as a sign of protection?
A: Pollen (pg. 56)
Q: What did a “banzai attack” from the Japanese mean? What did they do when attacking?
A: Every Japanese soldier would leave his post and come running at an American with a gun/sword/bare hands. It was a suicide attack. It could even occur during the middle of the night. (pg. 124).
Q: How is this quote a use of foreshadowing? “So I held on to my sacred language while learning the words and the way of the whites. But I had no idea... that the very language those bilaganaa teacher tried to erase...would one day be needed by important white men.” (pg. 27)
A: This quote foreshadows how using the Navajo language during the war was highly important as a Navajo Code Talker.
Q: How did the Navajos survive their field maneuver training in which they had to cross the desert of Hawaii in two days? (pg. 98-99)
A: They secretly drank water from the prickly pear cacti while rationing their canteen water. (pg. 98-99)
Q: What is written on the front of the board at Ned’s mission school?
A: “TRADITION IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS”. (pg. 23)
Q: Ned realized three important facts in the chapter, “Boot Camp”. List one huge realization that Ned came to know.
A:
The white people are not born knowing everything
White men are not different from Navajos
No matter who they are, people can always learn from each other
Q: In Chapter 15, how did Ned and a Hawaiian native have a conversation without speaking? Why was it so powerful?
A: The native islander touched the sand and then his heart. This meant that Hawaii was home to him. Ned did the same and pointed his hand to the rising sun. They both placed one another’s hands on each other’s chests. This was powerful as it signified both the islander and Ned’s love for home and how they always carry it in their hearts, no matter the terrain.
Q: Who was it that Ned and Wilsie Bitsie became close to in Guam?
A: Johnny, a young boy. (pg. 155)