B
What is written on the front of the board at Ned’s mission school?
“TRADITION IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS” (pg. 23)
During Ned’s training for the Marine Corps, what was the one physical activity that he most struggled with?
Swimming (pg. 62)
What item from the earth is used during Ned’s Blessingway Ceremony as a sign of protection?
Pollen
Pg. 56
What was the nickname that Hosteen Mitchell gave to Ned (in Navajo or in English)?
Wolachii (Navajo) or “Ant”
Pg. 77
Who was the most famous man that Ned “almost met?” while on the island of Puruata?
John F. Kennedy
pg. 132
When Ned was at boarding school, which topic did he write about on a social studies paper that ended up foreshadowing his future endeavors?
Japan (pg. 31)
How did the Navajos survive their field maneuver training in which they had to cross the desert of Hawaii in two days?
They secretly drank water from the prickly pear cacti while rationing their canteen water.
Pg. 98-99
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.
Clothes (stained with mud and blood from Bougainville)
pg. 134
What did a “banzai attack” from the Japanese mean? What did they do when attacking?
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)
According to the novel and your background knowledge on Code Talker, what are some of their formal duties?
To learn a new top secret code based on the Navajo language. To be trained to be expert in every form of communication used by the Marine Code. To send battlefield messages that no one but another Navajo code talker could understand.
pg. 73
How is this quote a use of foreshadowing? (pg.27)
“So I held on to my sacred language while learning the words and the way of the whites. But I had no idea, even in my wildest dreams, that the very language those bilaganaa teacher tried to erase--the way you wipe words from a blackboard--would one day be needed by important white men.”
This quote foreshadows how using the Navajo language during the war was highly important as a Navajo Code Talker.
What was ironic about the sign that was written on the ramp of the landing craft that read, “Fire exit, women and children first”?
There were not any women or children around, only the soldiers to fend for themselves.
Ned realized three important facts in the chapter, “Boot Camp”(pg. 57). What was one huge realization that Ned came to know?
You may look in your book!
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
How did Ned and a native of Hawaii have a conversation without speaking and how was it so powerful?
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.