The Train / The Iron Snake Symbol Analysis

The train represents British progress and technology as the empire establishes its colony in Kenya, and more specifically represents how that technology is perceived by the Gikuyu people. Physically, the train is a technological marvel to the Gikuyu, as well as the machine that brings both soldiers and administrators. On first sighting, the Gikuyu are terrified of the train, calling it the “iron snake” and envisioning it as an actual monster “wriggling its way toward Nairobi for a thorough exploitation of the hinterland.” As the people grow accustomed to the presence of the British, before the Emergency, the train becomes a point of interest to the Gikuyu, and Thabai’s train platform even becomes a social center where the young people gather each day to watch it pass by.

However, as the spirit of revolution grows among the Gikuyu and war looms, the young people cease going to the train platform, and the train itself becomes a symbol of colonial power. Kihika recognizes that the British are dependent on their train, and if it could be destroyed they would be crippled. Karanja, likewise, has visions of the Gikuyu fleeing before the train—and thus the might of the British—until they are silenced, seeing it as a symbol of white power to crush and destroy. Karanja aligns himself with the British and the power of the train, though he suffers for his choice. After the British leave and Kenya regains its independence, Karanja exiles himself. In his final scene, he stands in the night and watches as the train leaves without him, sinking him into silence and darkness, symbolizing the last vestiges of his power departing, leaving him behind with nothing at all and no one to turn to.