Pro-communist
When Yu is caught, the people who ran the prisoner campsite are unsure where to put him because it is hard to distinguish what his political ideas are. Yu writes that he does not believe in communist ideals but if he were to be sent to America or South Korea, he will never be able to return home and see his family. Because of this, he decides to claim he is a pro-communist and have the possibility to return back home one day. Ironically, even though he is a nationalist, a group of nationalists kidnap him in the middle of the night and tattoo an obscene message on his forehead, thus branding him as a pro-communist.
No one to return to
Yu's efforts have a single goal, be allowed to return home to his mother and fiance. Urged by this desire, Yu does everything he can to make sure he remains a valuable asset and that he will be allowed to return back to China at the end of the war. Yu does manage to return back to China after a period of two years. Ironically, he finds that he has no one left to return to since his mother passed away and his fiance abandoned him and denounced him as a traitor.
Wished I would have died
During the time Yu spent in various prisoner camps, he encountered many soldiers who expressed their wish to die. Many of them wished they died in battle and as time goes by, Yu begins to wish this is as well. The reason why the prisoners think about death is that they know they will be seen as traitors if they return to China and that they were expected to fight to the death. Thus, for those prisoners, death was, ironically, more desirable when compared with the prospect of living.
We do not want better conditions
Another ironic idea is the way in which the Chinese prisoners refused at times or expressed their desire not to be moved in better camps. The reason why the POW did not want better conditions was that they were afraid they will be branded as traitors back home if it were to be found out about being treated humanly. Thus, because of this, many prisoners refused to be moved to better camps even if it meant a better and more easy life as a prisoner.
Life in the United States
At the end of the novel, Yu is an old man. He had a family eventually and a wife with whom he had a son. Because of his status, Yu knew that his son could never have a good future in China so he decided to send the son to America to be educated. Towards the end of his life, Yu travels to America as well, the country he was told to hate all his life. Ironically, as Yu points out, despite being told that America was an awful place, he was welcomed with open arms and he felt free for the first time in his life.
