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Simile
Explanation and Analysis—Open Grave:
After Mr. Woodifield unexpectedly mentions the boss's dead son, the narrative uses a simile that helps readers understand just how horrific and shocking it is for the boss to suddenly be reminded of his loss:
It was exactly as though the earth had opened and he had seen the boy lying there with Woodifield’s girls staring down at him.
Merely hearing that Woodifield's daughters stumbled across his son's grave is so unsettling to the boss that it makes him feel like he's staring at the young man's corpse, which would obviously be very frightening and alarming. This simile emphasizes the extent to which Woodifield's comment disturbs him, effectively highlighting that the boss has not yet fully processed the trauma of losing his son. Just hearing somebody else mention the young man is enough to make him feel like the "earth had opened"—a phrase that hints at the boss's efforts to bury the painful memory of his son's death.
And yet, it's obviously impossible to completely ignore what happened, which is why even a small passing comment is enough to viscerally shock the boss. Despite his efforts to not think about his loss, it takes very little for the boss to feel like he's suddenly face-to-face with his dead son. By comparing the effects of Woodifield's remark to the experience of staring straight down into the son's grave, this simile makes it clear that the immense and horrifying sorrow of losing a son isn't as easy to forget as the boss would like to think.
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