In Victor Pelevin's novel, The Yellow Arrow, there is an obvious series of symbols and metaphors that represent the harsh conditions of the early Russian people One of the most important symbols in the novel was the train itself: the yellow arrow, the symbol of the Russian Federation. However, Pelevin's use of a 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 on a non-stop train but feels like 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 Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayA common trend found in the Yellow Arrow and Snowpiercer situations is the social environment. On the Yellow Arrow, we see a clear distinction between the different cars; where “open cars” are inhabited by the lower class and compartment cars are considered upper class (Pelevin 25). The passengers who live at the end of the Snowpiercer are also forced to live in terrible living conditions while the upper class lives in the luxurious carriages in front. This type of separation stems 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 dividing itself more and more into two great hostile camps, into two great directly opposed classes” (Hurst et al. 215). The use of wagons in both works concisely 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 who believe the train is heading toward a “Bright Dawn” (Pelevin 87). At the top of the train, we see a group worshiping a symbol and likely ritual of a certain religion (79). Similarly, children in the upper classes of Snowpiercer are taught to believe in the "sacred engine". Both examples show how societies tend to develop superstitious religions; especially in times of uncertainty. Despite these similarities, there are some differences. The passengers of the Yellow Arrow are not as socially distinct as the passengers of the Snowpiercer. The passengers of Yellow Arrow are recovering from a communist system where all people were socially equal. But we are now seeing upward mobility of passengers, from open cars to compartment cars. On the Snowpiercer, passengers almost never boarded unless they were put in jail. In fact, some lower class passengers are even enslaved by higher class passengers. Obviously, the two works show similarities and differences in the social characteristics of each society. Another aspect of society represented in the Yellow Arrow and the Snowpiercer is the economy. On Pelevin's train, passengers stole spoons and ashtrays for money and some passengers were attacked. On Joon-ho's train, there is also gambling and theft in the lower carriages. Furthermore, these examples are obviously the result of poor economy on board the trains. “Crime rates and inequality are positively correlated within.