Calamitous art (Metaphor)
The art plays a big role in the life of every artist. It forces to be lost at thought about important problems and things. Also it can change the being of each person. But the art and sensory representation of the reality isn’t perfect in this story. It is a calamitous thing, which crushes two main characters utterly and allows them to lose courage.
Malignant envy (Metaphor)
How many times childhood are taught that envy is the most frightful and evil thing in life. But it is a double trouble, when the envy is malignant. The main character doesn’t understand the essence of the problem. Chartkov envies people, who have a huge detached house, a big income and power. At the end this envy brings him to the grave.
“A very stout gentleman whose arms were so short that they looked like two potatoes hanging by his sides, listened to him with a very satisfied expression”(Simile)
This comparison is rather a mockery than the usual description of the character. The author compares the person with potatoes to show his bad physical fitness.
“No, I tell you, there is no worse lodger than a painter: he lives like a pig—God have mercy!”(Simile)
The author wants to show the life of painters using this comparison. To live like a pig means to live in mud and full disorder.
