The Passing of Grandison Essay Questions

What role does loyalty play in "The Passing of Grandison"?

Loyalty—a strong allegiance to someone or something—plays a significant role in "The Passing of Grandison" as one of the story's major themes. Loyalty first arises in the story when Chesnutt introduces Grandison, a plantation slave whose displays of fidelity to his white master would seem to suggest he is "abolitionist-proof." Although Colonel Owens is confident Grandison's aversion to freedom is sincere, Dick hopes he will be seduced by abolitionists during their trip North. Grandison, however, remains stubbornly loyal, never disappearing like Dick hopes he will. It seems Grandison's loyalty is so strong that he makes his way back to the plantation after being abducted in Canada. However, in an instance of situational irony, it turns out that Grandison came back out of loyalty to his family, not Colonel Owens.

Why is it significant that Charity Lomax has "Quaker blood"?

The Quaker heritage Charity alludes to when discussing slave mistreatment is significant because the Quakers were the first religious organization in the United States to condemn slavery. When discussing the young Ohio man whose attempt to free a slave landed him in prison, Charity comments that when she hears of a slave owner's cruelty "it makes the Quaker blood that came from [her] grandmother assert itself." With this statement, Charity is saying that abolitionist sentiment rises within her when she learns of the injustices slaves routinely suffer. Well before other religious organizations, the Quakers publicly condemned slavery and forbade their members from owning slaves. Their members also became active proponents of abolition and took part in efforts to bring slaves to freedom via the secret networks of the Underground Railroad.

Why is it significant that Grandison and his family are able to outrun the colonel?

At the end of "The Passing of Grandison," Grandison outwits and outruns his owner, achieving freedom for himself and his family in Canada. But completing the journey North before the colonel and his posse can catch up is only possible because of the informal network of safe houses and conveyances known as the Underground Railroad. In an era when the Fugitive Slave Act made it a federal crime to assist escaped slaves, people risked heavy fines and jail time to bring tens of thousands of former slaves to freedom in the North. It is significant that Grandison and his family can outrun the colonel: despite the fact that the colonel and his group of slave hunters have far more resources at their disposal, Grandison finds many strangers who are willing to side with him as they help him go North and decline to assist the colonel in tracking. In this way, the final image of Grandison and his family on a steamboat to Canada while the colonel shakes his fist pointlessly captures the shift in power and public sentiment in the era.