Bruchac,
Joseph. Code Talker: A Novel About the
Navajo Marines of World War Two. New York: Dial Books, 2005. ISBN: 0-8037-2921-9
SUMMARY
Sixteen
year-old Ted Begay enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps to help fight against the
Japanese Imperial Command that has taken control of the islands in the Pacific
during World War II. As he begins his enlistment, he discovers that the United
States military needs his skills to speak his native Navajo language. The
language will be used to foil the Japanese code breakers who will not recognize
the ancient language that Navajo schoolchildren had been forbidden to speak in
the boarding schools. Ted finds himself
in the midst of horrific warfare as the U.S. Marine Corps engages in battles to
rid the Pacific islands of Japanese control. As a Navaho Code Talker,Ted is able
to use his native language in order to protect his beloved homeland and his
brother Marines as they fight against a powerful American enemy.
ANALYSIS
Joseph
Bruchac’s historical fiction book Code
Talker: a Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two simply and
eloquently relates a story about the brave Navajo U.S. Marines whose use of
their Navajo language helped American forces overcome the Japanese Imperial
Command in the Pacific Arena of World War II.
Ted Begay,
the novel’s main character, tells the tale in a first person narrative. He is
speaking to his grandchildren when he tells about his experience in the U.S.
Marine Corps. Orally relating stories and passing them to future generations is
a strong tradition among the Navajo. Incorporating this tradition into his book
lends to an authentic voice of a Navajo Elder speaking to younger generations.
As Begay
recounts his days before, during, and after the war, the sense of irony pervades
throughout the book. The book opens relating his experience in a boarding
school for Navajo schoolchildren. Begay is six years-old when he leaves home to
attend school. He recalls the wise words his uncle tells him as they ride in a
horse-drawn wagon on the long journey to the boarding school. “But even though
the white men allowed us to come home, we now had to live under their laws. We
had to learn their ways. That is why some of us must go to their schools…That
is why you must go to school: not for yourself, but for your family, for our
people, for our sacred land.”
While in
school, Begay and the other children were not allowed to speak their native Navajo
language. If they did, they were physically punished, to the point of beatings. Begay recalls Principal O’Sullivan's ironic declaration to the children: “Navajo is no good, of no use at
all!” With this, the teachers immersed the Navajo speaking children into the
English language. Begay and other children, though, secretly spoke to each
other when teachers were not around. Begay remained a respectful and quiet student. However, within himself he felt passionate about never giving up his Navajo culture. “If anything, rather than taking my language
away from me, boarding school made me more determined to never forget it.”
Begay’s
years at boarding school continued, and he excelled in all of his subjects.
When the war broke out, he was too young to enlist, but as soon as he was able
to, Begay joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Before he left, his family held the Navajo ceremony of protection, the Blessingway, so that he would be safe during the
war. The Navajo ritual lasted all day and into the night, finishing with a blessing with pollen at dawn. He practiced the morning pollen ritual every day during his time in the Corps.
Once in the Corps, he learned that the U.S. Government realized that the
Navajo language could be used as code to confuse the Japanese. The language
that was beaten out of the children and declared useless, became a critical
element in fighting the Japanese. Known as the Code Talkers, Begay and the
other Navajo Marines entered battles in order to help relay critical messages
to the commanders. Their language broke through the Japanese code breakers and
safely made it to the ears of the U.S. commanders.
After the
war, however, things return to the prewar attitudes. The brotherhood enjoyed by
the Marines regardless of race was not shared by the civilians who remained
safe on American soil. When the Navajo Marines returned home, they found the
same prejudices that existed prior to their deployment continued to exist. When
Begay walked into a bar for a coke, the bartender pointed to the sign that
said, “No Indians served here.” He
asked, “Can’t you read, you stupid Navajo?” Begay tried to joke saying, “I don’t
want an Indian. I’m just a thirsty Marine who wants a Coke.” The white
bartender with two other whites threw him into the street.
As he walked
away, he realized he faced another fight, but one that needed to be fought
not with violence, but instead with education. He knew he had to finish his
education so that he could teach the future generations of Navajo children
about the beauty of their language and their people.
The book concludes with an author's note about the Navajo people. In this section, he tells a little about their history, and then continues to explain what lead him to write a historical fiction novel about the Navajo Code Talkers. He spent years researching the topic, to include visiting museums and interviewing people. The results of his research are compiled into this moving historical fiction narrative that teaches us to value the uniqueness that exists within each culture.
AWARDS/REVIEWS
Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2005 –
Bank Street College of Education
Notable Children’s Books, 2006 – ALSC,
American Library Association
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2006,
American Library Association
Reviews:
“Readers who choose the book for the
attraction of Navajo code talking and the heat of battle will come away with
more than they ever expected to find.” Booklist,
February 15, 2005
“…the book presents an interesting and
important multicultural perspective on American history.” Children’s
Literature, 2005
“The horrors of discrimination and the
harrows of battle are never minced in Bruchac’s honest novel.” Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices,
2006.
CONNECTIONS
U.S.
Marine Corps – WW II – Navajo Code Talkers Assn.
The Official Website of the Navajo Code
Talkers
Visit
this website and listen to the actual Marine Corps Navajo Code Talkers.
Website with Information including the
Military Terms, Navajo Equivalent, and English Translation
Video Clip of the Navajo Code Talkers’
training – actual footage from World War II, a Veteran Code Talker
comments, and listen to the
pronunciation of words. Listen to the Marine Corps song sung in the Navajo
language.
Lesson Plans:
PERSONAL
RESPONSE
I enjoyed reading Joseph Bruchac’s story
of the Navajo Code Talkers. The narrative is simple and non-condemning, and I
appreciate that. Perhaps it’s because of its simplicity in telling the story of
the Navajo children in boarding schools and the Navajo soldiers in World War II
that the irony that exists in society stands out more clearly. I think this is
a fantastic book to share with students, and I think boys will especially enjoy
it. I have already recommended it to my students to read, and there is a
waiting list now in our school library for students anxious to learn more about
the Navajo Code Talkers.
Code Talkers: A Novel About the Navajo
Marines of World War Two. Cover illustration. Internet on-line. October 24, 2013 from http://www.flr.follett.com/cover?FLR=37938A1&SID=e7ab27e8ca59f3da7e7d2532da695d3e&type=cover
.
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