Life is like an endless trip on a lost train (According to V. Pelevin's story "The Yellow Arrow"). Victor Pelevin "Yellow Arrow Yellow Arrow Pelevin short

"Yellow Arrow" - a train on which all of humanity rushes into the distance to a collapsing bridge. This vehicle - it's not hard to guess - is a metaphor for our existence. We are born in a certain environment where the standard of living, culture, prosperity, as well as national, religious and social prejudices adjust our destiny to the established pattern, and that's it. Passengers simply do not realize that there is something outside the compartments and vestibules, Khrushchev and vocational schools or a cottage in Kurkino and Bugatti. Many are born, grow up, live and die in the same "wagon".

Yes, we still have the same "depressive" and "bilious" Pelevin, who cuts the truth-womb about the decadent state of the spirit of civilization. There is no hope in him, say the red hats, there is no way out: “Well, let's say everything is bad, and then what? What a surprise, wit, you don’t see that we are sick of the absurdity, we want a light show of rainbow colors or at least a lighter light in a dark, dark room. And one can understand this righteous anger: Pelevin's prose is in fashion, but it does not give hope for a brighter future. But in the case of "Arrow" is it? Is the pessimism of the new literature so impenetrable? No… “Yellow Arrow” just ends traditionally for the Republic of Latvia: the hero leaves not only the car, but also the train under the influence of Sonechka Marmeladova or Dmitry Lopukhov in the image of Hassan, who is as illusory and unreal as Horace is always an interlocutor for Hamlet, but never active person.

The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it: everyone can get out of their case, moving into Tartar. Although Andrei is born within the framework of stereotypes, he is imbued with a world that trembles like a spoon in a faceted glass, but he does not stop thinking, improving himself and finds his release in a jump to the wild, uncharted land outside the prison on wheels. Time after time, making attempts to escape, the hero did not give up and succeeded. Spiritual evolution, the dialectics of the soul, an open, but Dostoevsky positive ending. Rodion repented, Marya Bolkonskaya got married.

It is difficult to say something new about the good, and the ending of the Yellow Arrow will not amaze anyone. But inspire. But it motivates. Yes, speaking of hope, you run the risk of being considered banal, but what’s wrong with banality if it is part of the author’s artistic truth, part of the world order, where you can really find an outlet in the search for light and meaning within yourself, and not outside. "Outside" - this is the main negative character of the story, the antagonist of the "I", which does not want to go backwards, does not want to live according to the laws of the reverse perspective of medieval canvases. But the rebellious, primordial, individual "I" gets into the external environment, inevitably there is a reaction of suppression on the one hand, and adaptations on the other, and here we have a weak-willed passenger who is pulled back by something that is stronger and more ancient than him. He seems to be walking around on his own, deciding whether to sugar the tea, guarding the spoons and coasters so beloved by the local mafia, but, in fact, this whole bourgeois idyll moves after the locomotive, regardless of the will and aspirations of the people on board. That is why, according to Hasan, there is no one to show the ticket to: what carries us further is not a person, and not even a thieving clique of scammers on the train, this is the power and power of the past, created spontaneously, like a tornado or a tsunami. Raging waves, no one presents a ticket and a passport so that he, a visitor, is released, he, they say, has the right to leave the city, doomed to death. So we, clutching a lucky ticket in our hands, are all looking for someone to ask permission from, to get approval, from whom to pass control. In this internal slavery under the yoke of conventions is a tragedy. Most will never get over it. Even Andrei's path cannot be repeated, so the happy ending was issued in a single copy, the travel ticket has already been used. After all, the essence of liberation is that the search for a way out is carried out independently, singly, individually. "Yellow Arrow" is not a recipe, but an incentive to look for it.

The action takes place in England in the second half of the 15th century, during the War of the Scarlet and White Roses.

In the village of Tunstall, owned by Sir Daniel Brackley, a messenger appears who brings Sir Daniel's order to the entire male population of the village to immediately set out on a campaign. The detachment is to be led by Bennet Hatch, Sir Daniel's right-hand man and, in his absence, steward of Castle Mot. For the duration of the campaign, he wants to leave the old soldier Nicholas Appleyard to look after the castle, but during their conversation, Appleyard is pierced by a black arrow - this is the sign of a forest robber nicknamed John-Mschu-For-All. Hatch is forced to stay, and reinforcements to Sir Daniel will be led by his pupil Richard (Dick) Shelton.

While the detachment is gathering at the church, a letter is found on the church doors in which John-Avenge-For-All speaks of his intention to take revenge on Sir Daniel, Sir Oliver - the priest, guilty, as the letter says, of the death of young Dick's father, and Bennett Hatch .

Meanwhile, Sir Daniel is sitting in a tavern in one of his villages. There, on the floor, a boy settled down, painfully reacting to the jokes of Sir Daniel, who promises to successfully marry him off, making Mrs. Shelton.

Dick appears. After reading the letter of the priest Sir Oliver, Sir Daniel tries to shift the blame for the death of Dick's father on a certain Ellis Dackworth. While Dick is eating, someone comes up behind him and asks for directions to Holywood Abbey, not far from Mot Castle. After giving the answer, Dick notices how the boy, whom everyone in the tavern calls "Master John", secretly slips out of the room.

Sir Daniel sends Dick back to Mot Castle with a letter. A messenger arrives calling for Brackley to come to the aid of the Lancastrian Earl Risingham, and Sir Daniel notices that "Master John" is missing. Then he sends a detachment of seven people to look for him. Dick's path to the castle lies through the swamp. There he meets John, whose horse has drowned in the bog, and then the boys go together. Dick learns from John that Sir Daniel is going to marry him to a certain Joanna Sadley. When they cross the river, they are fired upon by robbers. Dick ends up in the water and John saves him. Passing through the forest, they find themselves in a camp of robbers, whose leader really turns out to be Ellis Duckworth. Soon the boys witness the defeat of the detachment sent in search of John. After spending the night in the forest, the boys meet a leper - this is Sir Daniel in disguise, utterly defeated by York supporters.

In the castle, Sir Daniel prepares for defense - most of all he fears the "forest brothers". Every minute ready to betray his former supporters, he sends a letter with a messenger to his friend, who is in the Lancaster party. Meanwhile, Dick tries to find out the circumstances of his father's death, which incurs the wrath of Sir Daniel. He is moved to a room above the chapel, and Dick feels it is a trap. John appears suddenly and confirms his suspicions. Indeed, the killer is already opening a secret hatch, but he is distracted by the search for some Joanna that has begun in the castle. Dick's friend confesses that he is Joanna, and they vow to join their destinies.

Through a secret hatch, Dick leaves the castle and, having hardly crossed the moat, wanders into the forest. There he finds a hanged messenger and takes possession of the letter, after which he surrenders to the robbers. He is taken to the leader. Deckworth greets the boy cordially and vows to avenge Sir Daniel for him and for himself. Through the peasants, Dick sends a letter to his former guardian, in which he warns him against arranging the marriage of his betrothed.

Several months pass. The supporters of the House of York are defeated, and the Lancaster Party temporarily triumphs, the main supporters of which settled in the town of Shoreby-on-Till.

Dick learns that Sir Daniel wants Joanna to marry Sir Shoreby. In an attempt to kidnap the bride, Dick attacks the house where she is being held in custody, but instead of being guarded, he engages in battle with Lord Foxham, her guardian. As a result, the young man defeats the old knight, and he agrees to his marriage to Joanna.

Then Dick, together with Lord Foxham, try to free Joanna by stealing the ship, but nothing comes of their idea to attack her house from the sea - they and the sailors from among the “forest brothers” miraculously manage to escape. Lord Foxham is wounded in a skirmish with the guards. He gives Dick his ring as evidence that the young man is his representative, and a letter to the future King Richard III, which contains information about the forces of Lancaster's supporters. After a failed attempt to free Joanna, Lawless, Dick's most loyal outlaw, leads the youth into the woods, where they disguise themselves as monks. In this attire they enter Sir Daniel's house; there Dick finally meets Joanna. However, in self-defense, he has to kill Sir Shoreby's spy; a commotion rises as a result, and Dick is forced to flee. He tries to deceive the guards, saying that he is going to pray, and they take him to the church, where he has to reveal himself to Sir Oliver. He promises not to betray him if nothing interferes with Joanna's wedding to Sir Shoreby.

However, during the wedding ceremony, Dackworth's men kill the groom and wound Sir Daniel, so that Sir Oliver betrays Dick. Sir Daniel wants to torture him, but he declares his innocence and asks the Earl of Risingham for protection. The Count, not wanting to quarrel with Sir Daniel, is also going to punish him, but Dick shows the Count a letter proving Sir Daniel's betrayal, and the young man is released. But as soon as they go outside with the faithful Lawless, Dick falls into the hands of the captain, from whom he stole the ship, and he miraculously manages to escape.

Dick comes to meet Richard of Gloucester, the future king, and together they devise a plan to attack Shoreby. During the battle for the city, Dick manages to hold an important line until reinforcements arrive, for which the future king knights him. But Dick quickly loses his favor, asking to save the life of the captain of the ship he stole.

Arriving after the battle at Sir Daniel's house, Dick discovers that he has fled, taking Joanna with him. After receiving 50 horsemen from Gloucester, he sets off in pursuit and finds Joanna in the woods. Together they come to Holywood Abbey, where they are to be married the next day. Going out for a walk in the morning, Dick meets a man dressed as a pilgrim. This is Sir Daniel, who wants to sneak into Holywood under the protection of his holy walls, and then flee to Burgundy or France. Dick is not going to kill his enemy, but he does not want to let him into the abbey either. Sir Daniel leaves, heading towards the forest, but an arrow overtakes him at the edge - this is how Ellis Dackworth, ruined by him, takes revenge.

The hero marries Joanna, the captain of the stolen ship happily lives out his life in the village of Tunstall, and Lawless becomes a monk and dies in piety.

Option 2

In the story "The Black Arrow" by Robert Stevenson, the action takes place in England during the War of the Scarlet and White Roses. In the work, the writer tells about the story of Richard Shelton, whom the author calls a diminutive name - Dick.

A small village is depicted before the reader, in which a messenger unexpectedly arrives with an order concerning all men to go on a campaign. From the first pages of the story, the reader is excited by such events, and most importantly, what is the reason for such a sudden and urgent call of the male. Bennett Hatch is to be appointed leader of the squad.

After reading a few more pages, the reader is faced with the revenge that the hero John-Mschu-For-All is endowed with. However, at the beginning of the work, the reader does not personally encounter him, in the church he finds a letter in which everything was reported. At this time, the author draws the reader's attention to Sir Daniel and a strange boy who settled down on the floor next to him. And only after that the writer introduces the reader to Dick, who is full of emotions and energy.

In the story "The Black Arrow" the author does not accidentally introduce the image of a boy whom everyone calls "Master John". When they try to find out from Dick where the abbey is, the reader notices that the boy, who was rather strange, suddenly disappears from the room. This moment in the work is of interest not only to Dick, but also to the reader.

In the work "Black Arrow" the problem of betrayal is raised. The story traces the situation with the letter sent by Sir Daniel. At this time, Dick wants to know all the details of his father's death, however, having sung something specific to find out, Sir Daniel's anger falls on the hero. As a result, the reader watches Dick fall into the trap of agreeing to move into the room that was located above the chapel. Of course, he still hesitates in his guesses, but then John appears, who destroys his doubts.

The following events unfold more rapidly in the story: Dick makes his way through the hatch, which was known to few people and finds himself in the forest. Seeing the hanged messenger and receiving a letter, Dick teams up with Dackworth. The writer describes their meeting quite cordially, now they are united by revenge.

In the novel "Black Arrow" by Robert Stevenson, a love line is clearly traced. The writer depicts the scene of Dick's struggle with Lord Foxham. Of course, our hero is the winner and gets permission to marry Joanna. In general, the story is completely permeated with malice, betrayal and commotion, on which the plot of the entire work is built.

Essay on literature on the topic: Summary Black Arrow Stevenson

Other writings:

1. Yellow Arrow The main character is a young man Andrey. He wakes up in the train car from the sounds of the radio and goes to the dining car. There, he meets Khan and tells him that he wants to get off the train, although all of his passengers are sure they are coming Read More ......
2. The strange story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The story takes place in London, at the end of the 19th century. Mr. Utterson, the notary, was a reserved man, taciturn and awkward in society, and yet very sympathetic. He was strict with himself, but to the weaknesses of his neighbors Read More ......
3. Treasure Island 18th century. In the tavern "Admiral Benbow", located near the English city of Bristol, a mysterious stranger settles - a heavyset elderly man with a saber scar on his cheek. His name is Billy Bones. Rough and unbridled, he is at the same time clearly someone Read More ......
4. Heather Honey The ballad describes the manifestation of heroism, honor and love for the fatherland by ordinary people who did not betray the secret of national skill to the hated invaders. To a land where heather flourished and an excellent drink was brewed from it, and the secret of its preparation is not many Read More ......
5. Stormy night What did the author want to say with his poem? What to show, except for what is described in meager lines? There are different opinions and semantic visions. Mysterious rider, starless night, clatter of hooves. What is the meaning of this poem? The most interesting is the proposed version of a fifth-grader from a boarding school from a distant Read More ......
6. Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scot by origin, worked in different genres: as a poet, playwright, literary critic, novelist. Tuberculosis forced him to leave England: most of his life he lived in Europe, America, and in recent years - on the Pacific Islands. He was a supporter of the romantic, Read More ......
7. End of XX century was sad for literature. Much has been said about the fact that literature is dead, that there are no more authors - true masters of the word. I think she just changed. Literature has always corresponded to the time to which it belonged, always spoke of eternal problems Read More ......
8. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh. His grandfather was a prominent civil engineer, builder of lighthouses, bridges and breakwaters. The Bell Rock lighthouse he built was written by John Turner and visited by Walter Scott. The writer's father, Thomas, was also a talented engineer. It was assumed that Read More ......

1. Mysterious train.
2. Ways to survive.
3. Bright future.

The action of Viktor Olegovich Pelevin's story "The Yellow Arrow" takes place in a seemingly ordinary train. However, passengers not only cannot and do not want to get off this train, but they also do not quite accurately imagine where the train is going at all. It is widely believed among the inhabitants that this train is moving indomitably towards the destroyed bridge. However, few of the passengers think about it, solving any of their minor everyday problems. For them, the vehicle is that narrow, sharply limited world in which they are forced to exist from birth until death.

Many believe that there is a terrible world outside the train, to which only the dead and all kinds of remnants of human life go. People have become so accustomed to their position that this mobile, flying into the unknown means of transportation is perceived by them as something solid and stable. Many from the train stopped hearing the sound of wheels altogether and realized that they were only passengers, which means that they were temporarily on this train. Smaller daily worries eclipsed larger problems. People do not want to think about the meaning of life, about the problems of good and evil, the meaninglessness of being on this train. Even the appearance outside the windows of an unknown city with friendly and cheerful inhabitants makes few people think about changing their current situation.

The author, as it were, hints to the reader that we are all, one way or another, passengers in this life. Letting everything take its course, getting bogged down in trifles, a person stops developing, which means that he becomes a weak-willed application of a vehicle called the Earth. The most difficult thing is to ride a train, but not be a passenger. This is what presupposes a certain level of spiritual development.

Hopelessness, general confusion is reflected in each of those staying in the mysterious train. People, by virtue of their inability or unwillingness to actively resist the coming reality, come up with various excuses and activities for themselves. New religious trends are very popular among passengers. Many accept Utrism, according to which the train is headed by a steam locomotive of the U-3 type, carrying everyone on a bright morning. Moreover, “those who believe in U-3 will pass over the last bridge, while the rest will not.” Some go into their fantasies, as does the author of India's Railway Guide, which is a hit with passengers. A neighbor in the compartment of the protagonist of the story, Andrei, advises him not to load heavily, but to go to the girls in the last carriages. Friends of the young man, also each in his own way, are trying to realize themselves in the current conditions.

Anton builds a family and earns a living by painting cans, waiting for an addition to the family. He believes that art, creativity is one thing, and life is the old carriage in which he lives and in which his children will live. Gregory builds his own business and considers himself a successful person. Andrei is significantly different from his fellow travelers. He carefully observes his surroundings and tries to understand his destiny in this world. He realizes that it is too easy and uninteresting to submissively exist in a train rushing into the unknown, that the world cannot be limited solely to a few dusty carriages. He cannot live like his friends, neighbors, environment. He suffocates in this artificially limited space.

The desire to understand the essence of what is happening leads him to search for like-minded people. Khan becomes a kind of spiritual teacher for the main character, who tries to answer some questions. This man, just like Andrei, dreams of getting off this train alive. He shows the young man old records that are on the wall of the vestibule of one of the last cars and convey basic information about the essence and structure of the railway world. It is with Khan that the protagonist makes his risky walks on the roofs of wagons swaying underfoot. People gather here who are not content with spending time in dusty and dirty cars. But not everyone achieves the expected enlightenment. So, for example, on the roof of one of the cars a company in long gray cassocks gathers for a long time. She unsuccessfully and for some unknown reason examines an incomprehensible geometric figure. Andrei suspects that the people who gathered on the roofs of the wagons do not pursue any specific goal. He himself gets out here only in order to escape from the cramped space of the car for a while. Khan generally believes that here a person is even further away from the possibility of truly leaving the train. True, one day, in front of the main character, one of the passengers at full speed jumps off the train into the river. Those who remained on the roofs with amazement manage to notice how the daredevil emerged from the water and swam to the shore. Every day it becomes more and more difficult for Andrey to stay on the Yellow Arrow. Khan disappears somewhere, leaving the young man a letter in which he once again reminds his friend that everything is in his hands. Only the person himself is able to influence his future, somehow change it. The protagonist's dream comes true: he suddenly realizes that the train has stopped. Andrei goes out into the vestibule, bypasses the numb conductor, opens the car door and jumps onto the embankment. Soon, under his feet is an asphalt road leading through a wide field. A bright streak appears in the sky near the horizon.

No matter how dull and bleak life may seem on a mysterious train, it is it that gives a person a great opportunity to think about himself, to find his path and his destiny in this world. The ending contrasts sharply with the mood of the whole work, where dirt, dust, tightness, limitedness or even some stupidity of the characters, dull landscapes outside the windows are constantly striking. The author makes it clear that the world is much wider, cleaner and more joyful than the rigid framework into which a person drives himself. Moreover, only people can free themselves from these shackles and feel happy.

Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov

faculty of journalism

Department of Russian Language and Stylistics

Course work

KEY WORDS IN PELEVIN'S STORY "YELLOW ARROW"

high school students 204 groups

Basina Maria Viktorovna

Teacher

Gavrilova Evgenia Nikolaevna

Moscow, 2004

Introduction

Key words and phrases in the story "Yellow Arrow"

Analysis of key words in the story

Conclusion

Application. Phrases and sentences containing keywords or a link to them

Introduction

Key words are the words on which the work is built. The purpose of this work is to show that by analyzing the key words in a work, one can better understand its ideological content. To understand which words are key, the title of the work, denoting its theme, helps. This paper discusses the story of Viktor Pelevin "The Yellow Arrow", it is interesting for its ambiguity and depth. A story about life, about the fact that you can discover yourself only by going beyond the usual, what is considered to be an axiom: you can "get off the train you are on." The main idea of ​​the author is hidden in numerous metaphors and allusions, which, being transformed, are repeated throughout the story. Thanks to the analysis of the author's language, it was possible to trace some chains of metaphors that reveal the meaning of the work. More about this in the main part of the work.

Another objective of this study is to attempt to refute the prevailing opinion that critics evaluate literary works from a purely subjective point of view, putting forward unreasonable assumptions. In fact, the analysis of the language really helps to find hidden springs in the work and see how the author's thought develops.

The plot and main points in the story "Yellow Arrow"

The train going to nowhere and never is the scene of the story "Yellow Arrow". This train is the only living space in which her characters exist.

The protagonist of the story, Andrei, dreams of getting off the train alive. However, everyone knows that the Yellow Arrow never stops. Khan helps him in this, giving him hope that it is really possible to get off the train and that there were people who could do it.

The work begins with an ordinary morning. Andrey is awakened by conversations in the toilet line and music playing on the radio, which, it seemed to Andrey, "was poured into the air from some huge catering pan."

Andrei washed up and went to the dining car, where the sun's rays falling on the dirty tablecloth led him to philosophical reflections about life. After breakfast, Andrei went to Khan, to whom "there was some kind of vague business." Andrei tells Khan that he felt very strange, "as if there is a difference in which car to ride. As if everything that happens would make more sense if the tablecloth in the restaurant was clean." However, this is only an illusion, whether the tablecloth is clean or not, the train still goes nowhere, to its death - whether you are rich or poor, you still cannot avoid death. The people riding in the Yellow Arrow are us living in the world. Khan replies to Andrei: "You just became a passenger for a while." Khan calls passengers those people who cannot and do not want to go beyond the accepted ones, to whom "it will never occur to them that they can get off this train. For them, there is simply nothing but the train." “For us, too, there is nothing but a train,” Andrey replies gloomily. "And whether there is anything else besides our train or not, it does not matter at all. The important thing is that you can live as if it is something else. As if you can get off the train. That's the whole difference. But if you try to explain this difference to any of the passengers, you are unlikely to understand. Khan forces Andrey to remember what a yellow arrow is. Andrei for a long time could not remember that the "Yellow Arrow" is a train that goes to the destroyed bridge.

In the carriage where Andrey lives, Soskin died (a character that was not mentioned earlier and about which nothing is said, except that he died). Andrei sees how the deceased is thrown out of the window and, according to tradition, a pillow and a towel are thrown after him.

In the dining car, Andrey meets his school friend, Grisha Strupin, who is engaged in illegal business: stealing aluminum from which teaspoons are made, and brass, which is used in cup holders. After a short conversation with Grisha and his business partner Ivan, Andrei says goodbye and leaves.

Khan shows Andrei a letter from those who managed to get off the train. Andrei tells himself that he wants to get off the train alive.

Andrei reads an article from the newspaper "The Way" about how the wheels sound in different countries of the world. In Russia, the wheels are knocking - "there-there."

In the next car, Badasov died (another character about whom only the fact that he died is known). Andrei hears a conversation between a mother and a girl who asks what is outside the window. Mother says that gods and spirits live there, and people, if there are, then go by train.

In the compartment, Pyotr Sergeevich, Andrey's neighbor, scolds the bandits. Suddenly Grisha knocks, Andrey opens it and sees that Grisha's face is covered in blood, and his jacket is dirty: Grisha was attacked in the passage between the cars, robbed and beaten. Between Grisha and Pyotr Sergeevich, a conversation begins about what the locks on the doors are made of. Pyotr Sergeevich agrees to cooperate with Grisha.

A new morning has come. As always, Andrey was awakened by the radio. Pyotr Sergeevich slept all night in a suit so as not to be late for a meeting with Grisha, and as soon as he woke up, he jumped up and, hastily brushing his hair, ran out into the corridor. On the radio, an insinuating, nasal voice was talking about Kurosawa's new film, Dodeskzen, about a madman who imagines himself driving an invisible train, running up and down the hallway yelling "Dodeskzen!" (which is a Japanese imitation of wheel clatter). Kurosawa aims to show that each of the normal characters is also, in effect, riding on a real car in their own little illusory train.

Andrei enters the toilet and locks it by wedging a wedge between the door and the lock lever; climbs onto the roof of the wagon. Han appears five minutes later. He told Andrei that going up to the roof was not only useless, but also harmful, because there you were only further from the possibility of truly leaving the train. But they continued to climb onto the roof just to "at least for a while leave the tired space of universal life and death." On the roof they meet an old man smoking a pipe, a company in cassocks who, since Andrei remembers them, have been sitting in a circle and studying an incomprehensible geometric figure, a company of four people playing music that no one can hear because of the sound of wheels. Then Andrei noticed a strange man with a wide straw hat. Suddenly the man pushed himself off the roof of the car and jumped into the lake. After a few seconds, he emerged from the water and swam to the shore. Khan shook his head in admiration, everyone looked in amazement to where the stranger had disappeared.

Andrei is talking to Anton (before that, this name was not mentioned in the story), who paints beer cans. Andrei reads to him excerpts from the "Guide to the Railways of India", where the author condemns the passengers and believes that the train will someday stop. Anton does not like the "Guide", and Andrey asks in surprise why, because on beer cans Anton diligently prints "Stop, car driver, stop the car now." Anton explains that he does not mix life and creativity, that he stops the cars only at beer cans, because he thinks about his child, who will travel further on this train. Andrei asks Anton if he hears anything (meaning the sound of wheels), and Anton answers in the negative.

Andrei searches for Khan and does not find him. An unfamiliar woman, who was moved to the compartment where Khan used to live, gives him a letter.

Pyotr Sergeevich was drunk and cheerful, he began to cooperate with Grisha. Blueprints and blueprints were unfolded nearby, on one of which Andrey noticed a greatly enlarged door lock handle. Andrei asks Pyotr Sergeevich if he ever thought about where they were going. Pyotr Sergeevich offered him a drink and advised him not to fill his head with all sorts of nonsense.

A new day has come. When Andrey woke up, Pyotr Sergeevich was no longer in the compartment. Andrei sat down on the table and began to look out the window. A few meters outside the window was an endless wall of trees. He saw beer bottles, traces of recent burials (towels, pillows, blankets and pillowcases), half-decomposed corpses, skulls, condoms, and more. At the end of the day Andrey finally opened Khan's letter. It said that the key is needed, which is in Andrey's hands, but only how will he find it and to whom will he present it? Andrey reread the letter, lay down on the sofa, turned off the lamp and turned to the wall. In his dream, he re-read the letter and noticed a postscript that he hadn't noticed before: "The whole point is that we constantly go on a journey that ended a second before we had time to leave." Andrei woke up, re-read the letter - there was no postscript. Suddenly he noticed that there was a deafening silence all around. The wheels didn't rattle anymore. Andrei went out into the corridor and saw a conductor with a glass of tea in his hand - inside the glass a piece of refined sugar hung motionless, above which a chain of the same motionless bubbles rose. Andrey put his hand into the side pocket of the guide's tunic and took out the key. As soon as Andrei jumped onto the embankment, the train started moving and began to slowly pick up speed. The rumble of the wheels gradually subsided, and for the first time in his life Andrei heard the sound of the wind and the sound of his own steps.

I read the story quite recently, although in general terms I knew both the plot and the main idea - from criticism and from Aria's song "The Burning Arrow", written by Margarita Pushkina, just to the motives of this story. Actually, for the first time I learned about her from a song, not yet knowing who Pelevin was at all. Then I somehow approached the story in my student years, but put everything off until later - the thing is short, I always have time to read it - and now I got it.

The train as a metaphor for social life is an obvious image. Pushkin, I remember, had a cart for this case - but that was a different time, and in our era of a mass person, a train is needed. What is the "Yellow Arrow"? If you look superficially, Russia, confused by perestroika and political upheavals, has lost its purpose and landmarks and is entering the catastrophic 90s at full speed. If you look more deeply - humanity as such, living in the mass semi-consciously, under the control of animal instincts; driven by a bunch of large and small "fuhrers"; not wanting to see the world around as it is and wonder why we are all here; and even more so, not thinking about the finiteness of his being (Pelevin also has a story on this subject called “Bungee Carrier”).

The meaning of the story is the need for conscious existence, getting rid of illusions and everyday fuss that absorbs the personality. “To ride a train and not be its passenger” - that is, to be aware that what surrounds you is not yourself. Here Pelevin gracefully anticipated Tyler Durden's famous Fight Club sermon. However, Pelevin is more optimistic - in accordance with the Buddhist teaching close to him, he sees the ultimate goal of escaping from the train, that is, enlightenment, liberation from the shackles of space and time, final spiritual freedom.

But the “Yellow Arrow” is not limited to Buddhist moralizing. The satirical component is also strong in the story. The atmosphere of doom and strange throwing on the train, so familiar to survivors of the 90s, recalls the Nautilus Pompilius song "Titanic" - the same feeling of moving towards an unknown and terrible goal, the same senseless and vicious fuss in the face of mortal danger. Dealers and swindlers appear pathetic with their cunning plans to sell aluminum spoons and doorknobs. The obscene etymology of the word “business” is also pleasing (to me in childhood, perhaps due to Soviet upbringing, this word seemed disgusting to the ear and resembled another word, consonant, but obscene, which the people call the act and process of theft). The author is also ironic about “protest art” along with the propaganda of “spirituality” - a person who decorates beer cans-souvenirs with bold “anti-systemic” slogans admits that he does it only because of the popularity of such sentiments in order to earn money. Relevant in the early 90s, when it became possible to say anything and immediately there were a lot of "anti-Soviet" and other "bold" figures who used to be surprisingly loyal. And even now, when the protest has again become a fashion brand and some make good money on it. The theme will be developed by Pelevin in "Generation P", in discussions about alternative music.

The scene of a conversation between a girl and her mother is very indicative. The girl wants to leave the monotonous dull everyday life of the train, but the mother can no longer imagine other than death, getting rid of routine and lack of freedom. For a matured and mired person, nothing else is inconceivable, except for the daily boring little world surrounding him, even if endless expanses flicker in all the windows - he has already learned not to see them, for his own convenience.

Bottom line: one of Pelevin's best philosophical stories. Deservedly a cult item.

Score: 10

It's hard to get off this train, even for a while it's hard. Sucks in the routine of days. I used to try to deal with this - I got off at random stops, walked in a random direction. So, it seemed to me, it is possible to deceive such an oppressive predestination. To meet someone I shouldn't have met, to see something I wouldn't have seen under normal circumstances.

With age, it becomes much more difficult. You no longer belong to yourself, you owe everything, you owe everything, you have many social roles and there is absolutely no time to stop, think, hear the sound of wheels ...

Score: 9

The idea is good, of course. Separate paragraphs - as usual for Pelevin, are delightful. However, pure surrealism with a serious face did not personally inspire me. The transfer of the surrounding reality into the image of the train, as it seems, requires a more thorough approach. In other words, either increasing the volume of the work or compressing it to a few brilliant pages. In the form in which the story exists, it resembles a kind of draft, a collection of unfinished passages. However, I am not an expert in this genre. Perhaps this is the genius, who knows. But she did not bring much tenderness.

Score: 7

write something intelligible and very complex... I read that Pelevin wrote this story based on the works of Castañeda, whom he once tried to master in his student years... an unreal thing... and therefore not amenable to any intelligible reasoning. .. so I can only say that it is exciting and interesting to read... but the ending somehow disappointed...

all the way, the situation was drawn that people on the train - the world, and outside - the train - people get only after death ... and there is no way there alive ... I thought ... what a fine fellow Pelevin came up with and drew parallels with our world ... with the help of the closed world of the train, he tries to describe our interpretation of life after death ...

but after certain actions, it turns out that there is life outside the train (cities ... villages, bridges and tunnels) ... that the main character got off the train ... that corpses are scattered along the train, which, presumably, are visible from the train, but from outside - no ... I very much doubted the correctness of my guesses .... and continue to doubt .... :glasses:

in general, an interesting beginning and confusing everything later .... as always .... I don’t want to say that Pelevin is bad ... I won’t puff up my cheeks that he is a genius ... most likely ... I’ll just stop reading it .. because I don’t understand his global ideas ...

Score: 7

In my opinion, quite good, although not very "deep". The characters are rather superficial, sketchy and simple. The world of the "Yellow Arrow" strongly reminds me of the social and communal past, "sung" by many authors... The finale of the work is quite logical and predictable.

And as for the associations, I can also add the Strugatsky brothers with the Doomed City, and Andrei Makkarevich with the Carriage Disputes! :smile:

Score: 6

I learned about the work at a conference. The girl made a report, as I now understand, not quite about this and that, but with her soul, so much so that she herself wanted to read it. And I read it, on the train at the compartment of the conductors, since the lights were turned off in the entire carriage at 12 o'clock at night (symbolically, isn't it?). A very strong impression. I do not know if the work will live for centuries, but probably for a long time. Although... Everything is possible! But its relevance does not depend on time. Present, future, past, it doesn't matter. In all ages there are guides, honest and not so, spoons and doorknobs that you want to steal: they will suddenly enrich you! A very successful, in my opinion, allegory of the movement of the train as the movement of life. And God forbid that the author restricts people, driving them into a single space! The train called "Yellow Arrow", here is only a habitat for society - normal passengers, with their everyday problems, they are completely voluntary within its walls. There is a field outside the windows, it is for the "crazy". There, the society throws off all the dirt, itself, cleaning itself little of it ... Of course, it would be possible to do without the train, and everyone out the window without coasters. But the train is in motion, but the field is not. But life does not stand still!

P.S. How to be a passenger, or not to be one at all - is a matter of conscience! To my deep shame, I have no idea about Heinlein. Please send without translation.

Score: 10

The review applies not only to this story, but also to many other works of the author.

The first thing worth mentioning is that Viktor Pelevin belongs to the category of authors whose works are read for the sake of subtext. His peculiarity among this category of writers is frequent witty puns, including foreign ones, and of course the well-known eccentricity, which someone will call arrogance, and someone originality, to your taste, in choosing the titles of their works. That is, the main thing to say is that the plot of his books is not valuable in itself, but only as a shell in which the author keeps his thoughts and feelings, and therefore a superficial synopsis does not make sense, you need to outline the feelings, they will say more.

Reading the books of Viktor Pelevin has always driven me into deep sadness and despondency. His grey, unattractive panoramas frightened me much more than the exaggerated gloominess, and even more so the mystery of the books of the so-called "masters of horror." Even Hitchcock (and he had not only the word but also the power of the screen on his side) could not make me feel the way Pelevin did. It can be seen that fear is weaker than the emptiness of hopelessness, which you invariably experience after becoming acquainted with the work of the author.

In addition, the emotion described above is accompanied by some confusion, puzzlement of a person who suddenly realized that he was lost. Perhaps in an empty room. In my opinion, the worst thing is to get lost in an empty room, because there is no one to find you and there is nothing for you to get out of. It sounds pompous, but this is the case when the pomp is true. And perhaps the worst of all is that, no matter where you are, everything will turn into an empty room under the influence of Pelevin?

It is important that there are very few light colors in the author's palette, but on the other hand, from this, those that are acquire a fabulous value. Proceeding from this preciousness and deficit (apparently internal), willy-nilly, the writer has to place bright strokes thoughtfully, with the filigree precision of a strategist, who has an extremely limited contingent of troops at his disposal. Continuing the metaphor, I can say that Pelevin wins his battles for expressing himself and the attention of the reader, although with varying degrees of success.

In this story, the author did not change his credo “A real writer writes one book all his life” and continued the themes he started earlier and continued in later periods, which can be succinctly called “general philosophical”, but such a formulation not only humiliates for its hackneyed and formless author's attitudes, but also does not contribute to the disclosure of either questions or boundary answers offered by the author. However, regarding answers, I always thought that the task of philosophy is to remind the world of those questions that the world has not solved and to make the latter doubt the answers that he has given. This is what Viktor Pelevin continues to do in the Yellow Arrow, not the strongest, but worthy of his work.

Score: 8

Perfect as an introduction to Pelevin's prose. When I was only nine years old, I came across this story. Of course, then I understood little of what I read, but the idea of ​​the train seemed original and remembered. Seven years later, I seriously took up the work of the author, but now the main idea of ​​\u200b\u200bThe Yellow Arrow seemed to me rather primitive and unpretentious - especially in comparison with other works by Pelevin. Nevertheless, for philosophical thoughtfulness, and the possibility of re-reading many times with new thoughts, I put nine.

Score: 9

The train "Yellow Arrow" (country) rushes from Nowhere (socialism) to Nowhere (capitalism), and at the end of the path there is a destroyed bridge ... The inhabitants of the train have long forgotten that they are passengers (citizens), or maybe they never knew this. There is a staff car and a locomotive, but no one has seen it. The sound of wheels, like air, no one notices. The train goes on as usual. Small businessmen sell pre-broken spoons for a cordon, steal larger coasters, and the largest business privatizes compartment doors. For export, artists paint, under Khokhlama, beer cans. On the roofs of the cars, musicians are wandering somewhere to the west. The protagonist reads a book about traveling on Indian railways and dreams of getting off the train alive. But the train never stops. The whole story is saturated with some kind of hopeless poetry, this is especially felt in the audiobook read by Vlad Kopp. A poem about that time.

"The PAST IS A LOCOMOTIVE,

WHICH DRAWS THE FUTURE.

THIS IS THE PAST

IN ADDITION, ALIEN.»

Score: 9

Oh, it's not sickly to be spiritual - there are only crosses in my head. And the train rushes around the world, and you ride in the car ...

Reflection of higher harmony can be represented in different ways. And through the prism of spiritual rebirth; and through outpourings of latent gray - and in some places black - of our habitual reality. To look with a true gaze at the tired space of universal life and death... -Perhaps, Pelevin has become adept at describing the latter.

The story "Yellow Arrow" is, on the one hand, a warm and rollicking hello from the 90s. Squatting thimblers with their invariable marching arsenal. A march of Turkish tracksuits interspersed with a promenade of beer in hand. Rough “brothers” with the eternal division of their cramped world, in which, as usual, everything is deficiently lacking for everyone ...

On the other hand, if you go deeper from the surface of the text...

The "Yellow Arrow" is a train rushing non-stop towards a long-destroyed bridge. The train in which all the characters of the author ride.

Passengers who do not know anything about their route - and most importantly: do not really want to know anything. So it is more convenient and easier - for a while, as it were, to push back the inevitable and rely on a spacious Russian “maybe”.

Although in fact - and here I have a perfect match with the author's original idea about the signs, symbols and complex ciphers of life: "There are a lot of letters around - it would be someone to read."

But only after all, this is an eternal song... Songs, that voices never share... The meta-language of gradually lost truths is still very few people can adapt to the familiar "Cyrillic"...

Everything disappears into dust. Each next second inaudibly and swiftly replaces the previous one. Every moment we move away from ourselves yesterday to ourselves not yet happened. And there is no certainty that this brief moment will not be the last...

The ability to capture the present moment, which is happening and lasting in the here and now, is, after all, a subtle skill / virtuoso art that one has to learn all one's life.

Pelevin does not just disperse some dry concepts of Sots Art, avant-garde or postmodern here. Everywhere his soul oozes - flexible, wise, alive.

The most beautiful, subtle and very plastic philosophy of Pelevin in the deep key of Buddhist doctrines and knowledge masterfully sets the main tone of the story under the clatter of the wheels of a rapidly rushing train...

SV, coupe, reserved seat, prison cars ... Who had enough money, opportunities and luck for what. Everything is as usual in our life - the usual surroundings from vip luxury to oppressive desolation.

In each car, according to the author's idea, intricate mise-en-scenes unfold and miniatures of the usual life of an inhabitant are played out. Here and gloomy, aching soul funeral. And senseless - but odious - exclamations in the tone of Chatsky “And who are the thieves!? ..” And the deep introspection of the main character (mystic and contemplator in one person) in search of himself, alive and real.

All words enclosed in letters are meaningless. All the sensations of being alive are the only way to survive in this crush of already devalued concepts and rules. To be able to catch the real oneself is the most important gift and talent given from birth to everyone.

Feeling the origins of truth with the edge of consciousness - the spark of which is extremely difficult to catch - is a rare skill available to many, but comprehensible to a few.

After all, we are usually focused on anything - and an endless stream of constant "I - desires" literally overwhelms our entire existence.