“Cartoon Mouse”
The narrator recounts, "This little white lady needed to refine her thievery skills, that was for sure. With each act of petty pilferage she looked first right and then left, like a cartoon mouse about to grab a hunk of cheese, before dropping whatever it was- a banana, a single-serving box of muesli-into the big purse." The narrator observes a lady who is stealing food in a hotel. Equating her looks to those of a mouse suggests that she is nervous that she could be caught. She is cautious because she is aware that she is not a guest at the hotel; hence, she is not entitled to breakfast.
Iron
The undercover agent explains, “This was how the man talked: clear pronouncements of un-complicated truth. Never in our years of working together had I detected a note of sarcasm of subtlety. His tone was always the same, cold and unbending like iron, the hint of a southern accent coming up off his voice like the whisper of smoke from a gun barrel.” The iron-like tone suggests that Mr. Bridge is typically authoritative; so, he expects the undercover agent to comply with all his guidelines. Moreover, he is firm and unwavering so he articulates his position emphatically.
“Veiled Personal Liberty”
Winters writes, “People still find ways to evade the burdens of the FPA (Fugitive Persons Act), though. Local sheriffs sandbag investigations; state legislatures pass thinly veiled personal liberty laws, no matter how many times the Supreme Court sends them back stamp Unconstitutional.” The “thinly veiled laws” are projected to subvert the FPA requirements by according slaves some liberty. The thin veil suggests that the laws use indirect approaches to circumvent the constitutional requirements which oppress slaves.
Buried
The agent expounds, “Bridge assigned me my cases, but my tactics were up to me. I pursued my cases efficiently and effectively, and as long as I did that, my own past remained buried. I remained in the North and free. Give and take. Negotiation and conciliation. Compromise.” The metaphorical burying is the reward which the agent gets in exchange for his services. A buried past cannot be exhumed; it makes it easy for the agent to manoeuvre and not be betrayed. A revelation of his past would complicate his assignments which predominantly entail tracking run-away slaves.
Game
The agent confesses, “I hated Father Barton the same way there in the diner. Slavery was a game to this child, as it was for that slick team owner, as it is for all the football fans who tsk-tsk about the black-hand teams but watch every Sunday in the privacy of their living rooms. Declaring hatred for slavery was easy for a man like Father Barton; not only easy but useful, gratifying-satisfying.” In the agent’s view, Father Barton uses slavery as a game to gratify his satisfaction. He is not intrinsically committed to the eradication of poverty. He declares his abhorrence for slavery to appeal to the masses and to enhance his image as a father but he does not genuinely care for the slaves’ plight.
