Solomon ends the introductory chapter of his memoir with a poignant metaphor, comparing slavery to a dark cloud:
Thus far the history of my life presents nothing whatever unusual—nothing but the common hopes, and loves, and labors of an obscure colored man, making his humble progress in the world. But now I had reached a turning point in my existence—reached the threshold of unutterable wrong, and sorrow, and despair. Now had I approached within the shadow of the cloud, into the thick darkness whereof I was soon to disappear, thenceforward to be hidden from the eyes of all my kindred, and shut out from the sweet light of liberty, for many a weary year.
By ending a happy and lighthearted chapter with this image, Solomon prepares readers for the heaviness in the chapters that follow. His description of “the shadow of the cloud” and “the thick darkness whereof I was soon to disappear” are palpable and communicate how Solomon will soon be quite literally hidden from the people he loves—he has moved far away, given a new name, and unable to contact any of them. None of Solomon’s previous life can penetrate his new life once he is enslaved, as the metaphor makes clear.
