A common motif throughout the text is the presence of various birds, which symbolize different things. For example, Bee notes that after his illness, he “fell in love with birds and chickens and all feathered things” (39). He even manages to capture a “beautiful songbird” something “it usually took a father” to do (40). Here, the songbird seems to indicate that Bee will be okay without his father and he will still be able to accomplish difficult things.

Similarly, Bee uses a story about a chicken to woo Chue. In the story, a beautiful wild chicken falls in love with a bald rooster, unable to fly, and they have babies. All the babies eventually leave the father except for one, and the owner of the chickens gives this beautiful, half wild chicken to Bee, who keeps it until the war begins, at which point it flies away. Here, the birds symbolize true love, but also the many losses Bee and his family will suffer because of the war.

Finally, the book ends with Bee describing the Hmong chickens he is raising in the new, smaller house that Bee and Chue buy after he loses his job. Bee notes that he has built cages for the birds in the Hmong style, though “not made of bamboo” (265). Furthermore, the “sight of the chickens makes [him] happy” (265). Here, the chickens symbolize Bee’s assertion of his independence: he will no longer just survive, he will thrive. The chickens thus symbolize both a new life and a new appreciation for life. 

Although there is a great deal of violence in the text, especially during Bee’s childhood and adolescence in Laos, the text also engages with the response to violence. For Bee and his family, their only true option is to flee, which they do, first to the jungle, then to the refugee camp, and then to the United States. When faced with the threat of violence in the refugee camp, Bee acquiesces, choosing the safety of himself and his family over taking a stand against the soldiers who want him to serve as a drug-runner in the camps.

However, Bee continues to accept violent behavior as if he has no choice when he gets to America. He works in unsafe conditions, believing he cannot choose to do otherwise, and he punishes his son, Xue, for fighting back against bullies. However, Bee’s attempt to return to Laos changes him. Turned back at the airport, and threatened by a security guard who tells him, “We forced you out of our country once, do you want us to do it again?” (250), Bee returns to America with a new perspective.

Bee seems to realize for the first time all that he has sacrificed to violence or the threat of violence, and he refuses to continue accepting poor treatment. For example, when he and his coworkers ask for a meeting with management to address the unsafe conditions, their supervisor tells them to “think about your children” (262) before walking out and losing their jobs. Bee is amazed at the supervisor’s audacity: everything he has done has been for his children. He finally realizes, however, that he must stand up to this violence, particularly for the sake of his children. Unlike in Laos, where there was no choice, here, Bee does have options. This does not mean there are no consequences to his choices, just that it is no longer a choice between life and death.