Code Talker - 3/17/15

Code Talker

Author: Joseph Bruchac

Pages: 118-143

Prompt: 1) Select a quote from your reading that you liked. What made you pick it? 2) What is the mood of what you’re reading? Defend your idea. 3) Predict what will happen next.

          In the book Code Talker I found several quotes that I found memorable. The quote I found the most memorable so far is something Ned said about war. Ned said, "Never think that war is a good thing, grandchildren. Though it may be necessary at times to defend our people, war is a sickness that must be cured. War is a time out of balance. When it is truly over, we must work together to restore peace and sacred harmony once again." I picked this quote becuase I completely agree with it. I mostly agree with him saying that war isn't good and should only be used when necessary. I agree that countries should never be apart of wars that are necessary to fight in. For example in World War II the U.S. stayed out of it because it would have been wasting lives for no reason. However when we were attacked that put the countries safety at stake, so we had to fight back.

          The mood of this book varies thoughtout the book. This is because Ned is recalling his memories so he shares things that stick out, so these memories can be funny, serious, sad, or happy. The mood is sometimes funny because Ned said that his Navajo language was really easy to mess up if you aren't a native speaker of it, so Ned shares stories of Americans trying to say something in Navajo. The mood can be serious because he's fighting in World War II. This means that there's bullets flying around, bombs exploding, and countless injuries. Lastly, the mood can be happy or sad because like I said they're fighting in a war, so there are victories and loses.

          Right now in the Code Talker Ned and his task force was just assigned to take over Guam instead of Saipan. I think what will happen next is Ned and his task force will be faced with resistance from the Japanese. I think this will happen because in Saipan that happened the task force assigned there. However I don't think the resistance will be as strong in Guam because Ned said he was lucky not to be assigned there.

Code Talker - 3/10/16

Code Talker

Author: Joseph Bruchac

Pages: 0-118

Prompt: In 4-6 sentences, describe several things you learned from your reading.

          In the Code Talker you follow a Navajo boy's life through boarding school, boot camp, and World War II as a Navajo code talker. Since, you follow a born Navajo I learned a lot about the Navajo people, traditions, culture, and language. One thing I learned was that the Navajo language is a very difficult language to learn. Ned, the Navajo you follow in the book, said that you can try saying one thing, but easily say something else. On top of that there are also many slightly different variations of Navajo. I also learned something very interesting about Navajo's in war. It is a rule to never cry out in pain during war because they never want to give away their position and their weaknesses.

          I also learned more about how the Navajo people introduce themselves to each other and religion. I find it very interesting how they introduce each themselves to each other because they have different clans and houses. For instance, Ned would introduce himself with his real name and say he was born for Mud Clan and born to the Towering House. He would also say where he was born and who his father was. This is very different to how we introduce ourselves now. I also learned that in the Navajo religion has different gods for different things.

          From reading this book I also learned more about the boot camp for marines and the secret code the Navajos made. I learned more about what the future marines had to go through like carrying heavy packs, in the heat, for five miles. I found it interesting how the Navajo found this easy, while others found it hard. I also found it interesting that the peaceful Navajos were the platoon that scored the highest in the pistol and rifle range. Even though they did this easily. what was the hardest for them was the swimming test. Some of the Navajo people that made it through the boot camp were chosen to learn the secret code. Ned was one of those people, so I got to learn more about the code words, phrases, letters, etc. I also got to learn more about code talkers in general like the equipment they use.

Life is Beautiful Blog - 3/2/16

Prompts: What connections can be made between Life is Beautiful and our reading? What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different? What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces? How is life shown as beautiful throughout the film?

          A connection between the book Night and the film Life is Beautiful would be father son relationship. In both pieces the fathers have a great relationship with their son because they look out for each other. In Night Elie and his father would always encourage the other to keep going and keep hope. Also, at the end of the book Elie never left his fathers side, giving him his rations of food, water, or anything else he needed. In Life is Beautiful Guido tells his son, Joshua, that the whole thing was a planned vacation and a game to make sure he doesn't get scared. This shows how much Guido cared for Joshua. Joshua would also listen to what Guido said, showing that Joshua trusted his father even in the most troubling moments.

          Life is Beautiful and Night have some scenes that are similar when the people were going to the camp and at the camp. A scene that was similar was the Jews being crammed into small train car. In Night Elie describes the car as, ". In Life is Beautiful you can see Guido and Joshua being loaded in to train car with barely any room left. Another, scene that is similar is the hard labor the prisoners had to go through. In Night Elie explains that he had to carry heavy slabs on his back for a good distance all day. In Life is Beautiful you can see Guido carrying what looked like anvil to incinerators for smelting.

          The mood of the movie Life is Beautiful and the book Night is different at the start of the movie. At the start of the movie the mood is very happy and humorous. The mood is like this because of the main character, Guido, who is a very wacky guy. For instance, he continually tries to switch his hat with his bosses. This is very different from the serious mood Night has throughout the book. However, the moods become similar as Guido and his family are put in a concentration camp. In both the movie and book they show the brutish attitude of the German soldiers. They talk about the gas chambers and crematory. This made the mood very serious and dark.

          In the film Life is Beautiful life is shown as being beautiful various times. One way life is shown as beautiful is through family/love. While in the concentration camp Guido tells Joshua that the whole place was a game for a tank. He did this to keep him away from the harsh truth, which shows he loves and cares for his son. Guido also sends signs to his wife, Dora, various times. Guido played a song from a opera they were at and also spoke over the loud speaker to her.