Code Talker

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In many ways, Ned is an underdog—someone who is often told that they will amount to nothing—yet he never allows other people’s perceptions of him to limit his own strength and identity.

• How is Ned able to remain true to his own identity despite the negative perceptions surrounding him and his people? (topic sentence)
• In what ways is Ned an underdog, and how does he overcome the limits of this position and assert his own self-worth?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider the theme of The Navajo as Underdogs and explain why the main character as an underdog is a fitting trope.

2. Throughout the novel—whether at boarding school, bootcamp, or fighting in a war—people and circumstances attempt to mold Ned into someone else, but Ned resists.

• Why is Ned able to resist repeated attempts to alienate him from his cultural identity? (topic sentence)
• In what ways is Ned alienated and exiled from his culture, and what people, experiences, and practices does he use to resist this alienation?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider the theme of Exile, Alienation, and Navajo Culture and explain the role culture plays in individual resilience and identity.

3. Though one might assume wartime would encourage hostility rather than compassion and understanding, Ned’s empathy only seems to grow as a result of his experiences overseas.

• In what ways does the war cultivate Ned’s ability to empathize and why? (topic sentence)
• What acts of empathy does Ned show during the war, and how does the war open his mind to the bigger picture of its impact on all life involved?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider the theme of Empathy During Wartime and explain what message the author may be sending about war and responsibility through Ned’s acts of empathy.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Choose a motif, such as size, speaking, cultural traditions, or monsters, and trace its role in the development of the story. Where does it appear, what themes does it support, and how does this motif help organize historical events into larger ideas that reveal a message?

2. As a literary device, irony plays an important role in revealing the significance and complexities of code-talker experiences before, during, and after WWII. Explore the various ways in which Bruchac uses irony to bring Ned and his story as a code talker to life. In what ways does irony within the story lend humor, impart knowledge, or reveal themes? How does it facilitate a more balanced view of the wartime experiences and postwar responsibilities of those involved?

3. Practical jokes, humorous nicknames, and other playful behaviors recur throughout the story. How do these bits of humor serve the narrative? What do they reveal about the characters, and how do they help authenticate the living soldiers they represent? Why was humor such a vital part of the wartime experience?