"Even you boys. . ." shows that the military has such a need for soldiers that they will take anyone who is willing to fight, whether they"ll benefit from a victory or not. The foolish army recruiter looks down upon Rocky and, though Rocky accepts being asked to join with the white soldiers as a compliment, it is blatant that it is not meant as one. Rocky, in his warped view of the world, believes that fighting for the United States will make him more of an American, and though his thoughts are misguided, he joins for the sole purpose of becoming accepted.
Rocky had always been told by his teachers, "Nothing can stop you now except one thing: don't let the people at home hold you back" (Silko, 51). Rocky always tried his hardest to succeed, regardless of his background and heritage. Rocky was "an A student, and all state in football and track. He had to win" (Silko, 51). Rocky does not have a strong sense of identity and is trying to find a way to become a success by separating from his native roots. The lines "[Rocky] was already planning on where he would go after high school, he was talking about the places he would live, and the reservation wasn't one of them" (Silko, 77) exhibit that his future lies not within the Indian walls of his childhood, but far beyond the borders the reservation holds. Rocky wishes to be a pilot, a goal that the reservation cannot help with. Rocky's "dream job" symbolically reveals that he desires to get away from it all and simply be free in the air, a place where he is will be liberated.
While Rocky goes to the extreme to try to assimilate, Tayo uses conservative methods in order to find the true way of integration. As Tayo embarks on his journey, he learns of traditional morals and told stories in order to show him the correct way to go about life. Unlike Rocky, Tayo does not forget his Indian values, but uses them in cooperation with his newfound wisdom of other cultures.