Isolation and Belonging

Characters frequently experience physical or social isolation, such as the blind boy's separation from sighted children or the vagrants' exile, yet find belonging in unlikely communities like the 'bad company' of outcasts or the bond between the blind musician and his wife.

The vagrant's longing for his native village and family contrasts with his solitary confinement and ultimate death in a distant field.

The narrator experiences profound isolation in the yurt, while the vagrant Vasíli seeks connection and a sense of home.

The narrator's profound loneliness in the yurt and Vasíli's inner conflict between his settled life and his longing for the forest reflect themes of isolation and the search for belonging.

Vasíli feels alienated from his homeland Russia and struggles with belonging in the remote Yakut environment.