How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I switched to a traditional Navajo prayer.
In beauty I walk.
With beauty before me I walk.
With beauty behind me I walk.
With beauty around me I walk.
With beauty above me I walk.
With beauty below me I walk. (1.89)
Here, Chester recites a traditional Navajo prayer to help him get through his first battle in the Pacific. Hard to think we're walking in beauty when shells are exploding all around us. But hey: it's always good to look on the bright side.
Quote #2
The Navajo Right Way stressed the importance of a life in balance, a respect for all things as part of nature, even rocks and blades of grass. (5.71)
The Right Way is a motif that appears again and again in the book. How can Chester live according to the Right Way when he's surrounded by violence and bloodshed?
Quote #3
The man entered the door and moved clockwise around the dwelling, blessing each of the four directions with corn pollen. Then he stepped outside, walking clockwise from east to south, west, then north. At each compass point, he again blessed the hogan. Last, he blessed the door. (6.15)
There's a lot of detail in Chester's description of the medicine man blessing his grandmother's hogan. It's a way for Chester to dramatize the blessing ceremony for us, by using details to bring it to life.