End of movie-warning *spoiler*

I just watched it for the first time. GREAT movie. There is certainly symbolism in the final scene. The fact that Holman devoted his life to engines/machinery (great quote from Holman:"Hello engine.") made it only fitting that he die beside one. As far as the electric light is concerned, he gave his life to save the others...I suppose you could construe some correlation between that and the light.

Now that you mention it, I would say that the generator and electric lights represented a 'bright' future for the missionary's cooperation with China contrasted to the reality of them being run out of the country with loss of life that they were thinking was impossible only a few minutes before.

Not symbolism. Irony, maybe. But not important either way.

The point of having McQueen die there is to show the pointlessness of war. He could not escape. He could not make it to the boat. He could not live.

At the very end, because of very poor tactics, he had to cross from one corner of the courtyard to the other. McQueen's character was well aware of how to use the pillars as cover, yet in the final scene, he just plows ahead. Of course, he catches a bullet.

The real reason for the unused generator was to show that the nasty Americans didn't provide China with what it needed, but only with what America thought China needed.

You are right about the lights though. It sure seemed like that place was lit up with electric lights.

By the way, if America had not remained neutral in that fight, Communist China would not have become a reality.