by Joseph Bruchac
The next thing I knew, I was on an alligator rumbling over the reef. I could hear the roar of the LVT’s engines, the whap-whap-whap of small waves hitting the metal side of the boat, and the coral being crushed by the treads, sort of like the sound sugar cubes make when they are crushed between teeth.
But I don’t even remember hearing the whistle and the order to land the landing party. Once again, I had that familiar, unsettling feeling of being in a movie where the film has been broken and then spliced together a whole scene later. All of a sudden sand was churning under my feet as I sprinted across the beach. It was easier for me to run now because all us code talkers had the new lighter portable radio units. But it was not just because the new unit on my back was lighter that I ran so much faster. I no longer had forty pounds of TBX radio to hide behind and I needed to get to cover as fast as I could.
Excerpt(s) from CODE TALKER: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO by Joseph Bruchac, copyright © 2005 by Joseph Bruchac. Used by permission of Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Question
Use the passage to answer the question.
What does the comparison to “being in a movie” suggest about the narrator’s experience of World War II?
(1 point)
Responses
It was basically trivial and hard to take seriously.
It was basically trivial and hard to take seriously.
It was best understood in the context of the era’s blockbuster war movies.
It was best understood in the context of the era’s blockbuster war movies.
It was fragmented, with gaps in memory and understanding.
It was fragmented, with gaps in memory and understanding.
It was classically heroic, reminding him of the glory of the cause.
It was classically heroic, reminding him of the glory of the cause.
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1 answer
The comparison to “being in a movie” suggests that the narrator’s experience of World War II was fragmented, with gaps in memory and understanding. This idea is reinforced by the mention of feeling as though the film has been broken and spliced together, which conveys a disjointed and surreal experience rather than a coherent or straightforward narrative. Therefore, the correct response is:
It was fragmented, with gaps in memory and understanding.
