Oozing Gratitude (Metaphor)
After replying to Colonel Owens's leading questions, confirming that he is content to be the man's slave, Grandison thanks Owens for showing him such kindness. The narrator comments on Grandison's demeanor, writing that he is "oozing gratitude at every pore" as he thanks Owens. In this metaphor, Chesnutt uses figurative language to emphasize the outward display of gratitude, speaking of the emotion as though it is a physical substance leaving Grandison's skin.
The Virus of Freedom (Metaphor)
Once in New York, Dick and Grandison stay at a hotel that is designed to be hospitable to slaveowners traveling from the South. Nonetheless, Dick hopes Grandison will talk with other Black men working at the hotel. Chesnutt writes: "Dick had no doubt that Grandison, with the native gregariousness and garrulousness of his race, would foregather and palaver with them sooner or later, and Dick hoped that they would speedily inoculate him with the virus of freedom." In this metaphor, Chesnutt compares becoming indoctrinated in abolitionist thinking to being immunized with a virus that will create antibodies throughout his system and lead him to choose freedom. While most inoculations provide a weakened form of a virus to protect against further infection, it should be noted that Chesnutt's metaphor implies that a freedom inoculation gives a person antibodies against slavery.
Clearing Underground Railroad Tracks (Metaphor)
At the end of the story, Grandison surprises Colonel Owens by disappearing from the plantation with his new wife and extended family. Owens and other slaveholders form a hunting posse, but they are unable to catch up with Grandison and the fugitive slaves. Chesnutt writes: "The magnitude of the escaping party begot unusual vigilance on the part of those who sympathized with the fugitives, and strangely enough, the underground railroad seemed to have had its tracks cleared and signals set for this particular train." In this metaphor, Chesnutt uses figurative language to speak of the Underground Railroad—a secret network of safe houses and refuges for escaping slaves—as though it is an actual railroad. In saying the railroad has "its tracks cleared and signals set" for Grandison and his family, Chesnutt implies that Grandison prepared in advance for people to usher his family North as quickly as possible.
