Iraq and battlegrounds
The war in Iraq defines Billy's point of view and also the imagery of the novel. The imagery is a large part of what Fox News brings home in their media coverage of the war, but there that imagery takes on another additional quality. Instead of seeing the horror and moral confusion of warfare, the novel shows a Fox News who automatically supports Republican business interests abroad so that (unbeknownst to Billy) the coverage of the war becomes a political tool for spreading approval for the war through the public. The imagery of Iraq which the viewers see does not align with Billy's experience of Iraq.
Home and honor
The return of the hero is a major archetypal moment in literature, but in this novel that moment is drawn out for government publicity. The government and big businesses offer Billy a glorious homecoming marked with honor and public attention. They make movies about him and documentaries, and they also invite him to be in a seat of honor at American sporting events which have their closest parallel to warfare. The halftime appearance is a reminder that Billy is himself only halfway through his service.
Romance as life
The imagery of romance defines parts of what could be called the novel's "second act" so to speak. However, the purpose of this imagery is also confused by the government interests because as Billy comes closer and closer to winning his dream girl, a Cowboys cheerleader in fact, he also adds ironic pressure to the inevitable news that he will return to war. When he gets his assignment and finds out that the government is sending him back into combat, the reader sees that the imagery of romance is an emotional reference to Billy's longing for peace and a nice life. Instead, he is forced back into the nightmare.
Horror
The implied imagery of the novel is the soldiers' PTSD and other psychological changes from warfare. The protagonist is dynamic, and his point of view changes through time. At first it seems that the public is aware of his suffering; after all the sacrifice of a soldier warrants such celebration. But actually, he learns that his reception is largely constructed by corporate and government interests. What is the imagery that he believes is understood but which is not? It is the horror he endures in his military service.
