Baseball glove
When the mother packed her children’s items for the big trip, she left on purpose her son’s baseball glove on his bed for him to pack. The baseball glove here stands for the son’s immersion in the American culture. In a sense, the son was as American as any other child born from American parents. Ironically however, he was not considered as being an American despite being born in the country he lived in.
The cat
The woman was forced to give up her cat when she was told that she will have to leave. In a similar manner, she let their bird go, setting it free. Ironically, while she gave up her domestic pets, she continued to take care of a stray animal until the day they were supposed to leave their home.
Anticlimactic
When the woman releases the bird, the reader may have expected it to fly away, happy to be free. Ironically, the bird did the opposite thing, deciding to return and sit on the windowsill. When the woman went to chase it away, the bird flew into a nearby tree and the woman had to go with a broom and try to ‘’convince’’ the bird to fly away. This sequence of events is presented in an ironical way because the bird refused its freedom when it was offered to it.
Don’t speak English
During the train ride, the soldiers told the Japanese to draw the blinds in the train when they were passing through cities to avoid being seen by those living inside the cities. If the people were to figure out that the train was transporting Japanese, then they would throw rocks at the train. The girl recalls that one day, an American soldier came to her and told her to draw the blinds in Japanese. Ironically, the girl did not speak any Japanese and when she told the soldier just that it became obvious just how assimilated the Japanese were and how little connection they had with their parents’ culture.
Money can’t save you
In almost every book, money represents some kind of protection as people can buy or ensure their safety by using their financial means. This however is not entirely true in the novel as the Asians who had no money were treated just in the same way as those who had money were treated. In fact, it seemed that money put a man in danger rather than protect him as it was most likely to be arrested and his possessions taken by the government.
