The
End (5/23-6/4): Reflection & Synthesis
This week you will be finishing your books.
As you read I want you to think about how the book ends in relation
to how it started. Imagine if you could create a memorial to honor
something from this book.
1. How did the main character change?
2. What are the important ideas (conflicts,
character traits, people, places) that you would want to include in
your memorial?
3. How would these ideas be represented (what
symbols, colors, materials, etc would you use)?
Posting assignment:
Posting assignment:
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Answer the questions listed above.
Post your idea of the most significant/important
thing to memorialize from your book (consider both the perspective
represented AND the main character). Explain WHY you would want to
memorialize those traits, actions, etc.
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Respond to other posts by asking questions, providing memorial suggestions, or offering your opinion.
Week #5
ReplyDelete1.
Ned has obviously grown physically.
Ned became more knowledgeable throughout the book. He has learned how to survive through war, learn the landscape even before he arrives there, and etc. He has learned a lot through the experience of being a Navajo “Code Talker.”
Ned has become more courageous. Although he was already incredibly brave in the beginning, the constant battles have made him constantly do things he’s afraid of.
2.
I would definitely involve the Navajos, their inner-strength and bravery, and their battle to find balance. The reason I want to memorialize Navajos is because that was what the book was kind of about. The inner-strength and bravery trait is due to the fact that they showed how much inner-strength they really had and how much courage they must’ve had. I wanted to add the balance because it was important for them to be “balanced” in war. That was one of the reasons Ned had it and used it.
3.
I would show Navajos in their uniform going up a sandy hill (bravery). Their faces will have a look of determination (inner-strength). The people would also be carrying the radio equipment they had to show what they did. Then they will be carrying a corn pollen bag (balance).
I like that you chose the inner-strength character trait. It's very true of Ned and other Navajo Marines. Rather than choosing to sit back and let the Japanese crack code after code, they decided to support the United States despite how cruel the white men were to them. They didn't break in the mission schools, they hardened; they were determined, like you said, to prove that Navajos were just as smart and brave and strong as everyone else. It was very honorable.
DeleteIs the sandy hill supposed to resemble Iwo Jima? If so, I would agree. Climbing up a hill, which isn't a strong advantage point, and not knowing what's at the top requires some bravery. I also think it was brave of him to join the Marines knowing that he might get discriminated.
DeleteI like how you thought of a segment of the book for each character trait. How the sandy hills were bravery.
Delete@Peyton, I agree with how they didn't break in the mission school. With all of the things that happened at the school, it would break most people down. However, Navajos stood strong and took it all like a champ. @Grace, yeah the sandy hill is suppose to resemble the time at Iwo Jima I believe. @Caleb, I wanted to have at least a little everything in my memorial.
Delete1. ) Ned has always known that the Navajos aren’t inferior like the white men thought. That didn’t change. However, his expectation of how others will treat Navajos has changed. At mission school, they were treated like garbage, and the highest praise Ned ever got was “congrats, you’re almost as smart as white children”. But once Ned enlisted, he got a lot more respect. Other members of the US Army, even those who were once skeptical about the Navajos, began to see that they were just as smart as everyone else, if not more. Ned made some white friends who really cared for him. He taught Georgia Boy to read, and he and Smitty were inseparable. After years of being treated kindly, it was sort of shocking to return home, enter a bar, and get kicked out just because they didn’t serve Indians. But because Ned had seen that there are people out there who accepted him despite his race, he began to fight against discrimination, refusing to give up. He went to college, became a teacher, even worked for the tribal government to help make things fair for Native Americans. He was glad when the code talkers were finally recognized for their service, but he knew the best gift was that they could tell their stories and take another step towards acceptance.
ReplyDelete2. ) In my memorial, I would want to include the theme of acceptance, because that is what Ned wanted for himself, his friends, his grandchildren, and for all Native Americans. I also want to represent Navajo soldiers, because this book is about the Navajos and the important role they played in WWII, despite having been mistreated in their past. Finally, I want the memorial to have elements of Navajo culture, because their language was valuable to the war, and their tradition was valuable to them.
3. ) The memorial would be a statue. Carved in the base would be corn pollen in the wind, because corn pollen was important to the Navajos and was used in many ceremonies. Ned would sprinkle it in his hair, on his tongue, or into the wind before battles. Plus, code talkers were also sometimes called windtalkers. The statue would be of President Franklin Roosevelt shaking hands with a Navajo code talker in full Marine uniform. President Roosevelt never got to shake hands and congratulate a code talker because he died before their secret was declassified. However, he was respected and admired by many people, including the Marines and the Navajos. This would show acceptance, because it wouldn’t just be the president be thanking the Navajos for their bravery and sacrifice; it would be the entire nation. The uniform would show that the Navajo went into the army and risked his life for the U.S. He could even be carrying a radio to show exactly what his role in the war was. The statue would either be colored with mainly blue, black, white, and yellow, colors that are important in Navajo culture and represent directions and time of day.
I like how you stated that what he knew was true, was actually true!
DeleteI agree with how President Franklin Roosevelt should be in the memorial. I remember that Ned and other soldiers were devastated when they heard the news. In my opinion, I think that he should be carrying a radio. This is due to the fact that not many knew what they did until long after the war.
DeleteNed has changed from being a boy living with his family to a trained, dangerous, and brave code talker for the Marines. He's seen the discrimination from others that he gets but also found that some people will respect Navajos like Georgia Boy and Smitty. Ned has also become more courageous: lying there in Iwo Jima getting sprayed with bullets and bombs and mortars he didn't give up, he still got the messages across.
ReplyDeleteImportant people that I would include are Smitty and Georgia Boy. They both have been nice to Ned and have become friends over the course of their time together. A conflict that I would include is the battle at Iwo Jima. It was the turning point in the war where the Marines took the Japanese stronghold and placed the American flag on the hill.
For a memorial, I would have three Marines standing in a circle back to back. One would be Ned, and he would be holding his radio and talking into it. Georgia Boy would be next, protecting Ned and looking fierce and determined. Smitty would be aiming with his gun, also looking after him and his friends. Above them would be a globe with an anchor for the Marines and instead of an eagle on the anchor it would be a Thunderbird, a symbol of "happiness unlimited" holding two crossed arrows for "friendship".
That sounds like a very cool and respectful memorial. I like your idea about the Thunderbird.
DeleteIs a Thunderbird a Native American symbol? It sort of sounds sounds Norse, like Thor but in bird form.
DeleteI did search Native American symbols, and Thunderbird did show up although it is said to have various meanings.
DeleteA suggestion, what if instead of them standing, they were in a hole. This is because they usually had to be in a hole during the war. However, I do see how that would be hard to show. You will probably need a railing around the hole.
Delete1. How did the main character change?
ReplyDeleteNed has changed in multiple ways. He started off as a little kid and all, now he is a grown into a strong guy.
2. What are the important ideas (conflicts, character traits, people, places) that you would want to include in your memorial?
Uhh remember the dudes who died.
3. How would these ideas be represented (what symbols, colors, materials, etc would you use)
A poster? With gray and blue because those are sad colors and they died.
Would you list the names of the code talkers who died?
DeleteWhy a poster? Like we have basically unlimited money to spend.
DeleteNed started off living with his family dreaming of being a marine and fighting against the Japanese. He then reached that goal. He’s a highly trained marine who fought the Japanese and sent secret codes to help win the battles. He’s got taught how to swim, learn the code, send the codes, receive them, keep them safe and much more. Although Ned already knew a lot of stuff about survival before he enlisted he knows more about survival now that he's been in the war. How to survive when machine guns are spraying bullets all around him, when Japanese planes are shooting at him, and a lot more. When Ned went to boarding school he strongly disliked most of the white kids there. Ned felt that every Navajo was discriminated against and then in the war, he bonded with many white friends like Georgia Boy and Smitty. Ned didn’t want anything to do with white people and his two best friends were white.
ReplyDeleteIn my memorial, I would definitely have Georgia Boy and Smitty in it since they protected Ned throughout the war. I would include the Navajo Code Talkers in the memorial of course since they contributed to the war a lot and how every single one was as brave and strong or stronger as a white marine. In the Memorial, I would include the battle of Iwo Jima since it brought out the most courageousness, braveness, and fearlessness traits in Ned and the Marines.
In the Memorial, I would have Ned and Smitty in the Foxhole on the black sand beach with Ned sending messages on his radio. Then in the background of them, there would be the ocean with many American ships firing at Iwo Jima and the Japanese.
@Caleb, read the response below from me. I accidentally wrote it as a comment.
DeleteWhat would Ned and Smitty be doing in the Foxhole? It would be pretty neat if there were shells in the sky somehow.
ReplyDelete(This was suppose to be a reply to Caleb)
Delete