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Short Story Navajo Lessons

543 Words3 Pages

Our culture is our beliefs,traditions,and values that bring families together,but for some people culture is more of a nuisance than a custom. In the realistic fiction story “Navajo Lessons”,Celine and her brother Josh go to a Navajo reservation to visit their grandma for the summer. Instead of learning the Navajo language or exploring the reservation like her brother,Celine would much rather spend her time hanging out at the teen center or training for track with her friend Dora. When her grandma falls ill,Celine soon learns that your culture is more important than a few hours with her friends. The story “Navajo Lessons” shows us how special our culture really is. Our culture is important because it connects us with our family members. People often pass down important family stories or legacies through word of mouth. That is why it is important for you to know your language. For example when grandma would tell stories of great grandpa's work during World War II Celine would not be able to understand. In the story celine said ”What’s she saying”. In addition,”It all sounded like gibberish to her”. In this case she would miss out on important family stories all because she was so angry about her …show more content…

Despite the fact that her grandma wanted to spend time with her,celine would much rather be swimming leisurely with her friends than try and make new friends in the reservation. The story says “Celine survived the first few days by pointing and also listening to her favorite music all day and night. It was almost like she was living in denial”. With the lack of any modern technology Celine tried to escape her reality instead of making an effort to learn Navajo or explore the reservation.In addition,Celine found it a burden to help cook or take out the sheep to graze. Unlike Josh who showed interest in the language and would practice it with their grandma, Celine would distance herself from the

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