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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Code Talker, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory, Language, and Identity
The Navajo Way and the Life of the Warrior
Culture and Patriotism
War, Healing, and Peace
Summary
Analysis
On the sign at the front of the mission school are the words, “TRADITION IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS.” It’s the first thing the children are taught to read. They quickly learn what it means—that anything associated with the Navajo way is bad, especially the language.
The children are indoctrinated with the notion that everything Navajo about them is the “enemy” of progress. This message makes it clearer than ever that Navajo culture is completely denigrated in white society.
Themes
On his second day of school, Ned unthinkingly greets Mr. Reamer with polite Navajo words. Mr. Reamer immediately scoops up Ned like a naughty puppy and carries him to a sink, forcing a big bar of soap inside Ned’s mouth. He scrubs the inside of Ned’s mouth so vigorously that foam comes out of Ned’s mouth and nose. Then he drops Ned on the ground and walks away.
The use of even a single Navajo word is met with harsh punishment, which soon has the cruel effect of making the children fearful of speaking their traditional language.
Themes
As Ned falls to the ground outside, two boys—his new friend Tommy Nez and a bigger boy, Jesse Chee— help him back to his dormitory. Jesse whispers to Ned in Navajo that he will “return to balance again.” He promises that the Holy People haven’t forgotten Ned. Ned knows he’s discovered another friend.
As bad as things are, Ned quickly learns that friends are never far away, and that even his language has not been totally erased here. Such tenacity in holding onto Navajo will become key to Ned’s survival.
Themes
Ned never wants to get his mouth washed out again, so he does his best to avoid speaking Navajo when any teachers are around. Most other kids do the same. However, some kids are defiant, and Principal O’Sullivan beats them to the point that they’re unable to walk the next day. One of the most defiant, Ned’s friend John Roanhorse, is eventually chained in a dark corner of the basement for a whole week, given nothing but bread and water. When he’s finally released, his eyes look lost.
Though Ned’s punishment was upsetting, some children are treated even more brutally—some of them to the point of breaking their spirits. This was the goal of the most backward policies in mission schools such as this one—to destroy the Navajo (or other Native American) in the child so as to redeem their humanity, which white people believed could only exist in white society. However, the effect is plainly the opposite.
Themes
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Ned is neither defiant nor careless about speaking Navajo. He works hard at learning English, and other subjects, too—especially history and geography. He loves learning about the past and about faraway places. He also learns that saying, “Yes, teacher,” whenever called upon is like a magical way of gaining the teachers’ approval.
Ned finds other ways of coping. He genuinely loves to learn, and this becomes a lifeline for him. He is observant, finding ways of cultivating the teachers’ approval, and this is an aspect of his overall resilience.
Themes
However, Ned is stubborn in other ways—he speaks Navajo whenever he’s alone with other kids and learns Navajo songs and stories. Some kids are so traumatized from beatings that they lose the ability to speak Navajo. For Ned, though, the school policies only make him more determined to master the language. He has no idea that “the very language those bilagáanaa teachers tried to erase […] would one day be needed by important white men.”
Ned remembers his uncle’s advice to remember where he comes from. He finds his strength in this, avoiding the traumatic outcomes faced by some of his peers. Even though he is outwardly compliant, Ned is actually more devoted to his language and culture than ever.
Themes
