How do we define the personality traits of a hero?

A definition of a hero is based on personal perspective of a hero. Some people’s perspective may be different.

What makes a hero?

For a person to think someone is a hero, that hero has to fit their definition.

The perspective of a hero in this research paper is a person who at one point displays courage, nobility, and strength for their own cause. They stand behind their belief and will fight for their cause (“Hero”).

How do the setting, conflicts, and antagonists influence the development of

literary heroes?

Ned was influenced by his boarding school, war, and memories.

-Ned was put through trauma that most kids his age didn’t deal with (Bruchac23-25).

-During the war, every night Ned had to be worried about being attacked and had fear every time he closed his eyes (Bruchac133).

How does a hero reflect his/her particular culture and society?

Ned reflects his particular culture and society through the way he fights and the way he deals with it.

- Question 10

How does a hero represent his/her time period and geographical area?

Ned represents all the Navajo Soldiers and how they acted and performed. Also, he represents all the Navajo Indians that saved many lives during the war. (Bruchac).

Why is the Navajo language so valuable to the United States military? Does this

make the Navajo speaking soldiers a crucial part of the battlefield?

The language is so important to the military because it is an unbreakable code that the Axis powers can’t break. Yes, it allows the Allied powers to be able to move and perform objectives without being discovered or overheard (Bruchac).

Why does secretly speaking and using his language help Ned when he joins the military? Why did he have to hide using the Navajo language in

boarding school?

• The military sent out Marine recruiters out to Navajo Indian settlements and were looking for young men that could speak the Navajo language (Bruchac39-40).

• In boarding school, the Navajo language was considered bad. Anyone speaking it was punished with a heavy stick and washed mouths out with soap (Bruchac23-25).

Besides the fact that the Navajos are useful on the battlefield for their language, what other skills do they

have that make them valuable in war?

• Navajo Indians were known for their endurance, strength, and persistency. Also Navajo soldier were very excellent marksman and performed well in hand to hand combat (Bruchac61-62).

• Also, Navajos were very intelligent and could learn to receive and send by a key (Bruchac137).

How does Ned get through the trauma of war? What memories does he use to help him push through the trauma and what characteristics

does Ned have that also allow him to get through the harsh parts of war?

Ned goes through memories of his family and childhood to push through the trauma of war. Also Ned’s culture changes how he feels about war. The fact that he knew his family was praying for him comforted Ned every time he was afraid and sad(Bruchac140).

Possible Paragraph

• This research paper will explain why the character Ned Begay is a hero. The book Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, talks about Ned Begay and his journey from his childhood to his time as a grandfather. As a born Navajo Indian, he gets taken away from his family to go to a school at a young age and is told that he can not speak his native language. At age sixteen, he signs up to join a fight that is not his. He goes to boot camp, performs excellently, and passes boot camp. Once in the Marine Corps., he gets trained to be a Navajo translator and speaker. He then is sent into war and fights for a country that most of the citizens look down on him and uses the language that he was once told not to use. Even though his language is essential to the U.S. Marine Corps, he was treated differently all his life. The trauma of war haunts him but his memories help him get through this trauma (Bruchac). Some may not look at Ned as a hero, some will. This all depends though on your definition of a hero. This research paper's definition of a hero makes Ned a hero.