READING RESPONSE JOURNAL
CODE TALKER
By Joseph Bruchac
Name _______________________
Period __________
CODE TALKER by Joseph Burchac
Literature Questions
Use these questions and activities that follow to get more out of reading Code Talker: A Novel
About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac.
Section 1 – Prologue and Chapters 1-6 (pages 1-37)
**Remember to use complete sentences by restating the question in your answer.
Use examples from the book to give as many details as you can.
Know the following vocabulary words. There is a Power Point linked on my website.
Hogan, sacred, shorn, drab, dormitory, defiant, reluctantly, recklessly, crescent, dismay,
divine, destiny, treachery, resented, subversion, dunce, averted
1. Once he arrives at boarding school, how does Ned Begay get his new name?
(2 pts)
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2. On the sign in front of Ned’s mission school is the motto: “Tradition is the enemy of
progress” (p. 23). What does this motto mean to the teachers of the mission school? (2 pts)
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3. The narrator relates that upon arriving at boarding school, “I remember thinking
that they had removed from us everything we owned. But I was wrong. There was
still one more thing to be taken.” What was that, and why was it so important? (write
3-4 sentences) (3 pts)
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4. The narrator writes on p. 26, “I was stubborn in ways the teachers could not see.”
What is he referring to, and why was he so stubborn about this? (write 3-4 sentences)
(3 pts)
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5. Some of Ned’s classmates, including John Roanhorse, openly defy their boarding
school teachers. Ned also disobeys his teachers, but in his own quiet way. How does
Ned defy his teachers? (2 pts)
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6. How would you describe the teaching methods and classroom styles of Ned’s
teachers in the boarding school? What do you think of the methods Ned’s teachers use,
both to teach and to discipline their students? (2 pts)
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7. On the map provided, locate and neatly label the Navajo reservation, Japan, the
Pacific Ocean, and Pearl Harbor. (3 pts)
Section 2 – Chapters 7-11 (pages 38-75)
**Remember to use complete sentences by restating the question in your answer.
Use examples from the book to give as many details as you can.
Know the following vocabulary words. There is a Power Point linked on my website.
livestock, reduction, enlist, sanction, fluent, influential, recruits, crag, platoon,
dismissive, calisthenics, floundered, reputation, furloughs
1. When First Sergeant Shinn, the Marine Corps recruiter, comes to Fort Defiance, why
is Ned interested in joining the Marines? (2 pts)
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2. Briefly describe the Blessingway ceremony. Why was it performed for Ned Begay?
(write 3-4 sentences) (3 pts)
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3. Describe the experience at boot camp. Why did the Navajos seem to have an easier
time than many of the whites at boot camp? (write 3-4 sentences) (3 pts)
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4. Why was the Navajo language chosen for creating a new kind of code? (2-3 sentences)
(2 pts)
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Section 3 – Chapters 12-15 (pages 76-104)
**Remember to use complete sentences by restating the question in your answer.
Use examples from the book to give as many details as you can.
Know the following vocabulary words. There is a Power Point linked on my website.
Bayonets, nicked, disposition, amphibious, paradise, scuttlebutt, stalked, torpedo,
embarkation, perimeter, strafing, slain, terrain, maneuvers, tranquil
1. On the map provided, locate and neatly label San Diego and the Solomon Islands.
(2 pts)
2. Ned says that his weeks in training at Camp Elliott are “some of the best in my life”
(p. 81). Why is this so? (2 pts)
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3. According to Ned Begay, the narrator, why did no Navajo ever rise above corporal?
(2-3 sentences) (2 pts)
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4. When Ned is terribly worried about crossing the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean in
a boat, how does his friend Bill Toledo encourage him (p. 90)? (3-4 sentences) (3 pts)
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Section 4 – Chapters 16-19 (pages 105-140)
**Remember to use complete sentences by restating the question in your answer.
Use examples from the book to give as many details as you can.
Know the following vocabulary words. There is a Power Point linked on my website.
Drawled, reinforcements, evidence, neutralize, sluggish, whetstones, honed, quiver,
geyser, ambush, broached, stranded, echelon, wreathed, stealthily, unanimous
1. One of the Marine generals writes a report saying, “The Navajos have proved to be
excellent Marines, intelligent, industrious, easily taught to send and receive by key
and excellent in the field” (p. 137). Why is Ned so surprised to read this report? (2 pts)
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2. Describe the warfare method the Americans call “banzai.”
(2 pts)
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3. Ned writes of the time on Bougainville Island that “The earth itself seemed
displeased at the warfare being waged upon it.” What does he mean by this? (2-3
sentences) (2 pts)
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4. What was Ned’s friend Smitty’s “other job”? Give an example showing why this was
necessary. (3-4 sentences) (3 pts)
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5. Why did Ned send his dirty clothes back to his parents? (2-3 sentences)
(2 pts)
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Section 5 – Chapters 20-25 (pages 141-185)
**Remember to use complete sentences by restating the question in your answer.
Use examples from the book to give as many details as you can.
Know the following vocabulary words. There is a Power Point linked on my website.
Scythe, propaganda, shrapnel, pulverized, reef, unsettling, bluffs, skirmishing,
devouring, insubordination, pillbox, harass
1. On the map, locate and neatly label the Marianas Islands, Guam, and Iwo Jima.
(3 pts)
2. Ned mentions that the Japanese army does not follow the “rules of modern warfare”
(p. 168). List three examples that support Ned’s statement. (3 pts)
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3. Who were the Chamorros, and why had Ned “wanted to weep for them?”
(paragraph) (3 pts)
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4. Explain what the kamikazes were and where the name came from. (paragraph)
(4 pts)
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Section 6 – Chapter 27-Author’s Note (pages 183-224)
**Remember to use complete sentences by restating the question in your answer.
Use examples from the book to give as many details as you can.
Know the following vocabulary words. There is a Power Point linked on my website.
Ricocheted, howitzer, napalm, satchel, terminate, raked, flanks, ominous, impending,
resistance, indigenous
1. On the map, locate and neatly label Okinawa.
(1 pt)
2. Describing the battle of Iwo Jima, Ned says, “Our Navajo nets kept everything
connected like a spider’s strands spanning distant branches” (p. 187). How does this
simile describe the work of the code talkers? (2 pts)
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3. On page 191, Ned says, “having a lot of friends during war can be a painful thing.”
Explain what he means by this. (paragraph) (4 pts)
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4. Why was it hard for Japanese civilians to speak out against war? (2-3 sentences)
(2 pts)
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5. On page 210, Ned says: “Although I had changed, the things that had made me feel
sad and ashamed when I was a child in boarding school had stayed the same.” What is
Ned referring to? How did Ned react? How do you think you would have reacted to
this incident? (paragraph) (4 pts)
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6. Throughout his time in training and in service as a code talker, Ned carries a pouch of
corn pollen with him. What does this pouch mean to Ned, and how does he use it? (2 pts)
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7. Ned survives both the hardship of boarding school and the trauma of war. How is
Ned able to get through these difficulties? Which of his personal qualities do you think
helped him most during his trials? Why? (3 pts)
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8. In Code Talker, the character Ned Begay is telling his grandchildren the story of his
time spent as a Marine in World War II. How do you think Ned’s grandchildren would feel
about their grandfather after hearing about his experiences? What do you think is the
most important lesson that Ned’s grandchildren might learn from his story? Why? (3 pts)
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