The repetitiveness of life
One of the key themes of The Yellow Arrow is its commentary on the repetitiveness of life. The overarching allegory of the train helps to develop this theme, along with the repeated mentions of the movement of wheels. Said movement represents the movement of life; the repeated, steady motions of work, marriage, and children that people all go through. Andrei’s initial conversation with Khan displays this concept clearly, in his monologue: “Did you ever wonder where the last five years went? ...because I personally remember myself five years ago as being just the same as I am now. Wandering around the place in just the same way, looking things over, thinking the exact same thoughts. Another five years will go by, and everything will be just the same, don’t you see?” Even then, early in the novel, just before Khan’s revelation, the theme is still present. Andrei’s entire life before he leaves the train is drab and dull, uninspired, always following the same theme. Even his personality, and the personalities of most of the characters, aren’t particularly interesting and can often be indistinguishable from each other. This all develops the washed-out, dreamlike feel of the book which allows us as readers to understand the lethargy of the characters and the seeming meaninglessness of life on the Yellow Arrow.
Loss of connection with friends
Another theme displayed by Andrei’s experiences is the loss of connection with friends throughout the progression of life. This is shown particularly in his relationship with Anton; however, his relationships with Grisha and Petr Sergeievitch also display this concept. Petr and Grisha relate less and less to Andrei and his philosophies, as they become more business oriented and therefore richer. This rise in monetary status means that they begin to care less about the injustice of the Yellow Arrow and the situation of the people on it, which means that they care less about the less privileged Andrei. However this theme is shown the most in Andrei’s relationship with Anton ‒ upon meeting up with him after a long time and reading him some prose from a novel, Anton is disinterested and has become more invested in his family life than anything else. These interactions show that as people find their aspirations in life and begin to experience less injustice due to monetary or social status, they aren’t as empathetic towards these injustices and therefore relate to their friends who are still experiencing these injustices. In society, this can also cause divide between socioeconomic statuses and prevent equality between classes.
The mystery of death
Being that the main allegory of the Yellow Arrow represents life, it is a given that the text also explores the concept of death. The ‘out there’, outside of the train, represents the potential afterlife/death, and the train’s ultimate demise of driving off a ruined bridge represents ultimate death. However, none of the characters truly know what is going to happen to them and many believe different things. The text even touches on religion, using the clever metaphor of people believing they are riding a certain train, and only believers of the train are able to be saved from falling off the ruined bridge. This dispute of opinions within the Yellow Arrow is representative of the opinions in life, as nobody knows for sure what happens after death. Seeing this representation of real-world opinions in metaphorical form displays the theme of the mystery of death extremely effectively.
