CODE TALKER: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO

BY JOSEPH BRUCHAC

Summer reading review

GENRE Historical Fiction

SETTING World War II (1939-1945) The novel takes place in a few

different places:Gallup, NMThe Indian ReservationMilitary training campsPacific Theater of WWII

PROTAGONIST

Ned Begay Major Conflict:

Despite being told his whole life that using his sacred Navajo language was wrong, Ned must use it to create and implement a code that will help the United States during World War II.

CHARACTERS Ned Begay Johnny Manuelito Georgia Boy Smitty Frank “Hosteen” Mitchell Joan Roanhorse Phillip Johnson Corporal Radant Sam Begay Ned’s Grandchildren

NED BEGAY Protagonist and narrator (telling his

grandchildren about his experiences) Smart Navajo Boy who is sent to

American boarding school where he is told to forget his traditions and language.

Is eventually recruited as one of the Navajo Codetalkers for his fluency in both English and Navajo.

JOHNNY MANUELITO One of the first Codetalkers. Does not go into combat, but is chosen

to recruit more Navajos and teach them about the code.

Recruits Ned.

GEORGIA BOY Young Marine from Georgia. Meets Ned in bootcamp and asks Ned to

teach him how to read. They are separated, but then reunited

on Bougainville Island where they fight side by side.

Injured on Iwo Jima. Ned is afraid he has been killed, but the medic was able to save him.

SMITTY Fights with Ned in the Pacific. Is assigned to protect Ned during combat

and calls a medic when Ned is injured, saving his life.

One of the few white men Ned calls a friend.

FRANK “HOSTEEN” MITCHELL

Singer from the Navajo community where Ned lives.

Performs a Blessingway ceremony to pray for Ned’s protection as he joins the Marines.

JOHN ROANHORSE A boy from Ned’s boarding school. Is punished severely (beatings, soap in

mouth, solitary confinement) because he refuses to stop speaking Navajo.

PHILLIP JOHNSON Son of a white trader, knows some basic

Navajo. Showed the Marines how Navajo could

be used as a code in war. Is sometimes credited as the father of

the Navajo Code, but never spoke fluent Navajo and did not participate in its creation.

CORPORAL RADANT A beloved teacher at Camp Ellison.

SAM BEGAY One of the early code talkers. Talks to Ned and his friends about what

it’s like to be in combat and how to protect themselves.

Also tells them of some trouble they may run into with the white commanders and how they could overcome it.

NED’S GRANDCHILDREN A group of unnamed children to whom

the book is addressed. Ned uses the story to teach them to be

proud of their heritage.

EXPOSITION Ned has gathered his grandchildren around

and is telling them the story of his WWII medals.

As a young child, Ned was sent to boarding school, mostly at the insistence of his uncle, who believed that Navajo people need to know English to avoid conflict.

The teachers at the boarding school mistreated the students and told them that their language and culture was wrong. They tried to force them to learn English language and culture.

RISING ACTION Ned, a good student, survives the boarding

school and goes on to high school. While Ned was in high school, Pearl Harbor

was attacked by the Japanese, essentially forcing the United States to join World War II.

The US government begins recruiting Navajo men who could speak both Navajo and English.

Excited about serving his country, Ned lies about his age and enlists in the Marines at the age of 16.

RISING ACTION (CONT.) After boot camp, Ned and the other

Navajos set about to create the Navajo code. The code used Navajo words to represent

letters, which then spelled out messages. It was considered top secret and was never

written down—all code talkers had to commit the code to memory. This was especially difficult because the code was constantly changing, to keep the enemy from breaking it by recognizing any patterns.

After learning the code, Ned is sent into combat in the Pacific.

CLIMAX Ned is assigned to group of Marines who

end up capturing several important islands in the Pacific, including Bougainville and Guam.

He also finds himself a part of the invasion on Iwo Jima, one of the major turning points of WWII.

FALLING ACTION Ned follows the Marines onto Okinawa. When the war eventually ended, Ned

and the other code talkers were some of the first to know.

Ned and the other code talkers were forced to keep silent about their role in the war until 1969.

RESOLUTION Years after the war, Ned is finally able to

speak freely and proudly about both his service in the war and the value of his Navajo language.

THEMES

Cultural Pride Racial Discrimination

THEME: CULTURAL PRIDE At first, Ned is told to look at his

heritage as something shameful. The boarding school try their hardest to strip him and the other students of their cultural identity by cutting their hair, taking away their traditional clothes and jewelry and forbidding them to speak their language. However, Ned’s pride in his culture survives and proves valuable to the very same government that tried to take it from him.

THEME: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Due to the conflicts between Native Americans and the American military, there are many misconceptions about Native Americans. Many white people believed that Native Americans were savages who could not be taught. Ned faces this discrimination at the boarding school, where he and the other students are treated almost like criminals. He faces similar attitudes at the high school, where it is implied that he is smart for an Indian, but will never be as good as a white student. Even in the military, many Navajos are seen as dumb and lazy because they don’t speak English and don’t perform well at the boot camp activities.

SYMBOLS Corn Pollen

Ned follows Navajo tradition by using corn pollen in his prayers each morning. The pollen dissipates in the wind, as if carrying the prayers to heaven.

ClothingClothing comes to represent identity in the

novel. At the boarding school, the students are stripped of their traditional Navajo clothes and made to wear American. While Ned is at war, he sends back pieces of his clothing for his family to use as they pray for him—these clothes are used like a substitute for the person.