The Clock Tower
The clock tower makes three notable appearances in the novel: in the first chapter, the eight and the tenth. It rises high into the sky, looking out over the city with an aspect not unlike prison towers where armed officers sit to make sure no one escapes. The tower is symbolic as a marker of time and prison.
Eleven Inches of Leg
The war wound and subsequent complications resulting in amputation sparks a recurring reference to Kenji’s eleven inches of leg. The eleven inches becomes another marker of time as it symbolizes Kenji’s belief that he won’t live much longer. For Ichiro, it is the leg part that is important as a symbol: Kenji’s war wound confers upon him a sense of duty fulfilled that makes him more of an American than Ichiro can ever hope to be.
The Waiter’s Discharge Pin
The pin indicating an honorable discharge which a young Japanese-American waiter prominently displays is another symbol of a level of American-ness not available to Ichiro, but differs from Kenji’s wounded leg in terms of envy. Ichiro responds to an innocent overture of shared culture with vitriolic scorn, however. The pin is not symbolic in the way the war wound is because Ichiro recognizes that there is only reason for the waiter to be display evidence of his service and honorable discharge so blatantly: because he is Japanese. Had he been German-American, the need to consistently prove his patriotism day after day long after his discharge would not even be an issue.
The Hospital Doors
Obsessed with the idea that death is coming shortly, Kenji’s visit to the hospital is marked by a very subtle, but powerful use of symbolism. Ichiro says he’ll drop by to see him to which Kenji—expected the worst—warns him not to “wait too long.” The, opting not to enter through the revolving door at the entrance, he enters using the swinging door instead. This symbolizes his acceptance that the time has come to enter and not exit rather than once again become part of the revolving system of patients being checked into the hospital and later checked out.
The Packages to be Sent to Japan
The author makes the meaning of Ichiro’s father happily tying up packages to be sent to Japan in the wake of his wife’s recent death. He would have tied up packages for sending all along, but his wife refused to allow it. Her demise is his independence day and the author is forthright about its deeper meaning: “The packages were the symbol of his freedom in a way. He no longer had just to think about sending them. It was his will to send them and nothing was any longer to prevent his so doing.”
