The Scene of Vanka's Writing
Chekhov's story begins with a precise description of how Vanka went about his writing, proceeding with caution and carefully taking stock of his materials. He "took from the cupboard a bottle of ink dan pen with a rusty nib, spread out a crumpled sheet of paper, and was all ready to write. Before tracing the first letter he glanced several times anxiously at the door and window, peered at the dark icon, with shelves holding cobbler's lasts stretching to either side of it, and gave a quivering sigh" (49). This long description allows the reader to almost empathize with Vanka. His attentiveness is registered by the record of minute details—objects such as the icon and the cobbler's lasts that a less involved, less nervous person might simply ignore—while this long, involved build-up causes the reader, like Vanka, to eagerly anticipate the action that is to come.
Vanka's Grandfather
The physical appearance of Vanka's grandfather, Konstantin Makarich, is described soon after the elderly watchman is first mentioned: "He was a small, lean old man about sixty-five, but remarkably lively and agile, with a smiling face and eyes bleary with drink" (49). This description sets the ground for much of Konstantin Makarich's later activity: his jesting, his laughing, and his vigorous physical activity (chopping down the Christmas tree) despite his age. He is also depicted here as the kind of figure who might inspire trust in a child (with his pleasant nature) but who (as a drinker) may be less reliable or concerned with others than the naive Vanka can detect.
Moscow
As he writes the letter, Vanka enumerates the sights of Moscow for his grandfather: "I saw them selling fish-hooks in the shop all together with the lines and for any fish you like very good one and there was one would hold a sheat-fish weighing thirty pounds and I have seen shops where there are all sorts of guns just like the master has at home they must cost a hundred rubles each" (51, errors intentional). The imagery here is meant to convey the richness and abundance of the goods in the Moscow shop, but the style is just as important as the images themselves in leaving this impression. Notice that Vanka has delivered one long, punctuation-free sentence: the reader is overloaded with and overwhelmed by information, much as Vanka himself is overwhelmed by the items available in the Moscow shops.
Delivering the Letters
In the final paragraphs of "Vanka," Chekhov provides an image that adds specificity to how Vanka sees the process of delivering a letter: "letters are put into letter-boxes, and from these boxes sent all over the world on mail coaches with three horses and drunken drivers and jingling bells" (52). The precise source of these images is unclear: they could originate from the men who told Vanka how letters are delivered, or from Vanka's own independent imagination. Whatever their origin, images such as these expand the world of the narrative beyond Vanka's present urban location and his past rural home. The young boy is capable of envisioning scenes beyond his own experience, if only in passing.
