Another way Joe occupies his time is in trying to figure out a way to keep track of the time. Eventually he works out a system by calculating the frequency nurses visit him. He even mentally celebrates the one-year anniversary that he had been in the hospital. One day several people come into his room and put a metal of honor on his chest. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of the generals he thrusts his body in an attempt to show his anger. .
After the outburst Joe realizes that he may be able to communicate with the outside world through Morse code. However, his nurse does not understand what he is attempting to do and it is not until he gets a new nurse that he is successful. His new nurse understands what Joe is doing and fetches someone who can speak back to him. Joe asks the man to allow him to be an exhibit to the public of the tragedies of war. However, the man says that they cannot do that for him. It is at this instant that Joe realizes that the army wants to keep Joe quiet. If people were to see him the poor would stop fighting a war started by the wealthy. With this final epiphany the novel ends and so does Joe Bonham's hope. .
Throughout the novel Joe often criticizes war and its elements. Joe talks about "us" verses "them", meaning the lower classes of two countries fighting each other in a war created by the powerful upper class. Joe never singles out WWI in his criticisms of war, but instead criticizes the manner in which the underprivileged are used as pawns in the game of war.
The first time Joe creates the comparison of "us" verses "them" is after a dream. Joe dreams that he is being eaten by a rat and remembers a time in the war when a rat was actually eating a dead soldier. Joe and several other soldiers chased the rat and eventually killed it. Reflecting back upon this Joe metaphorically rationalizes that the enemy in war isn't the man you"re shooting at, it is the rat. The rats in this case are the men who are running the war without doing any of the actual fighting.
