summer ignited a last blaze like an arsonist setting the fields on fire
The narrator brings to the reader's attention, the impact of the scorching summer heat using a simile. This simile facilitates the portrayal of the intensity and magnitude with which the sun-scorched the withered garden in strikingly realistic conceptual terms: "On the other side of the closed blinds, in the scorched, withered garden, summer ignited a last blaze like an arsonist setting the fields on fire in senseless fury before making his escape."
The blush of the general
In his room, the general notices the calendar, which is fist-sized, on the wall. He glances at it and calculates the amount of time that had elapsed between "that long-ago day and today." Realizing that it had actually been forty years, the general blushes confused. The narrator compares his blushing to that of a schoolboy who has stumbled into the middle of a class: "...confused, and blushed like a school-boy who’s stumbled in the middle of a lesson, tilted his head back and closed his watering eyes."
General's propping elbows on the desk like a student at his studies
As the general continues to talk to himself in Chapter one, he props his elbows on the desk. Here, the narrator compares his propping elbows on the desk to that of a student at his studies. The simile portrays the striking resemblance between the two events being compared: "Propping his elbows on the desk like a student at his studies, he went back to staring anxiously at the letter with its brief handwritten message."
The house could fall apart like ancient fabric
To emphasize on the old nature of the house and its delicate position, the narrator presents the view that people had while in it. Additionally, the importance of Nini in helping keep the house together with her strength is also implicit. The simile gives more value to Nini's presence in the house despite almost never being appreciated: "Sometimes people had the feeling that the house and its contents could, like ancient fabrics, fall apart at a touch and crumble to nothing if Nini were not there to hold them together with her strength."
The General's take on the boiling restlessness of the summer light
In the opening of chapter three, the room in which the general lay is described vividly. The narrator brings out the General's notice of the restlessness of the light from the summer sun and the rustle of the hot wind in the desiccated leaves comparing it to a spy. The "spy" is used as a metaphor for the careful and analytical nature in which the General took notice of his environment: "Like a spy, he took note of the boiling restlessness of the light, the rustle of the hot wind in the desiccated leaves, and the noises of the castle."
