In Victor Pelevin's novel, The Yellow Arrow, there is a clear set of symbols and metaphors that represent the harsh conditions of the Russian people during the early 90s. One of the literally greatest symbols in the novel was the train itself: the Yellow Arrow, symbol of the Russian Federation. However, Pelevin's use of the train allegory is not limited to post-Soviet Russia. The critically acclaimed film, Snowpiercer, has a very similar plot to The Yellow Arrow. The film also takes place aboard a non-stop train but resembles something completely different. The settings of Victor Pelevin's novel, The Yellow Arrow, and Bong Joon-ho's film, Snowpiercer, have similarities and differences in depicting democratic capitalist societies due to their social, economic, and political aspects. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A common trend found in the Yellow Arrow and Snowpiercer situations is the social environment. On the Freccia Gialla we see a clear distinction between the different cars; where “open cars” are inhabited by the lower class and compartment cars are considered an upper class (Pelevin 25). Even the passengers living at the end of the Snowpiercer are forced to live in terrible living conditions while the upper class lives in the luxurious front carriages. This type of separation comes primarily from a person's wealth and is found throughout human history. A well-known philosopher in this theory is Karl Marx who states: “Society as a whole is increasingly dividing itself into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other” (Hurst et al. 215). The use of railway carriages in both works succinctly shows this social stratification. Another common social movement is the use of religion in both works. On the Yellow Arrow, a group of passengers are called Bedeists, a religious group that believes the train is traveling to a “Bright Dawn” (Pelevin 87). At the top of the train, a group is seen worshiping some symbol, also probably a ritual of some religion (79). Likewise, upperclassmen on the Snowpiercer are taught to believe in the “sacred engine.” Both examples show how societies tend to develop superstitious religions; especially during times of uncertainty. Despite these similarities, there are some differences. The passengers on the Yellow Arrow are not as socially distinguished as the passengers on the Snowpiercer. The passengers of the Yellow Arrow are recovering from a communist system where all people were socially equal. But now we see the upward mobility of passengers from open carriages to compartment carriages. Passengers almost never get on the Snowpiercer unless they are put in prison. In fact, some lower class passengers are even taken as slaves by upper class passengers. Clearly, both works show similarities and differences in the social characteristics of each society. Another aspect of society represented on Yellow Arrow and Snowpiercer is the economy. On Pelevin's train, passengers stole spoons and ashtrays in exchange for money, and some passengers were attacked. Gambling and thefts also occur on Joon-ho's train in the lower carriages. Furthermore, these examples are evidently the result of poor economy on board the trains. “Crime rates and inequality are positively correlated within countries and, in particular, between countries, and this correlation reflects causality from inequality to crime rates”..