The Secret Integration by Thomas Pynchon
"The Secret Integration" by Thomas Pynchon is a short story that explores the complexities of childhood, societal integration, and the dynamics of race in a small Berkshire community. The narrative centers on a group of children led by Grover Snodd, who is characterized as a flawed genius. The group consists of diverse characters including Tim Santora, Hogan Slothrop, and Carl Barrington, with the latter representing a black family newly arrived in the predominantly white community. The children's adventures involve experiments, explorations of abandoned mansions, and a whimsical project known as "Operation Spartacus," which hints at a desire for anarchistic change.
The tranquility of their childhood activities is disrupted by two significant events: a night spent with Mr. McAfee, a black musician, and the hostile reception of the Barrington family by the local community. These incidents force the children to confront the realities of racial tension and societal prejudice. Their attempts to support the Barringtons ultimately lead to feelings of exclusion and confusion, symbolized by the reveal that Carl, the imagined friend, cannot be sustained as they navigate these harsh truths. The story reflects a poignant commentary on the innocence of youth and the challenges presented by societal norms, leaving the characters grappling with the complexities of their environment.
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The Secret Integration by Thomas Pynchon
First published: 1964
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The early 1960's
Locale: Mingeborough, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires
Principal Characters:
Grover Snodd , a "boy genius"Tim Santora , his friendEtienne Cherdlu , another friendHogan Slothrop , a nine-year-old reformed alcoholicCarl Barrington , their black friendMr. McAfee , a black musician
The Story
"The Secret Integration" takes place among a group of children living in Mingeborough, a small but growing Berkshire community. Led by Grover Snodd, "a boy genius with flaws," the group includes Tim Santora; Hogan Slothrop, at nine already a reformed alcoholic and a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA); Etienne Cherdlu, a notorious practical joker; and Carl Barrington, a child from a black family that has recently moved to town. In addition to dabbling with Grover's experiments and listening to the radio that he has built, the children spend time exploring the abandoned Gilded Age mansions around the town and working on "Operation Spartacus," the annual dry run for a projected anarchistic uprising.
The children of Berkshire find their projects disturbed, though, by two events. One, which takes place a year before the second, occurs when Hogan is called by AA to sit with Mr. McAfee, a black musician passing through town. Although Mr. McAfee recognizes that Hogan has been sent as a joke by white men who do not want to help a black man, the boy and his friends do their best. They sit through the night with the musician, listening to his anecdotes and trying to reach his girlfriend on the telephone. Eventually, though, the police come and take McAfee away. The children never learn what has happened to him, but they retaliate by staging a raid on the local train at night, using green lights and masks and costumes to scare the passengers .
The second event has been caused by the arrival in town of the Barringtons, Carl's parents. The white adults in town are fiercely opposed to any integration in their community, and Tim catches his mother making an anonymous threatening call to the black couple. The children are confused by these events and make vague plans to help the Barringtons, but their projects are cut short. Finding garbage dumped all over the Barringtons' lawn, the boys recognize trash from their own houses, and the Barringtons angrily send them away when they offer to help.
As the group walks home from this disturbing event, Carl offers to "lay low" for a while, and the other children agree that he should leave. It is only then that the reader discovers that Carl is not real, but is, rather, an imaginary friend whom these young people can no longer support. Tim, Grover, and Etienne then all head to the comfort of their homes and families and "dreams that could never again be entirely safe."
Bibliography
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Clerc, Charles. "Mason and Dixon" and Pynchon. New York: University Press of America, 2000.
Copestake, Ian D. American Postmodernity: Essays on the Recent Fiction of Thomas Pynchon. New York: Peter Lang, 2003.
Grant, J. Kerry. A Companion to "V." Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2001.
Hite, Molly. Ideas of Order in the Novels of Thomas Pynchon. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1983.
Madsen, Deborah L. The Postmodern Allegories of Thomas Pynchon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1991.
Mead, Clifford. Thomas Pynchon: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Materials. Elmwood Park, Ill.: Dalkey Archive Press, 1989.
Patell, Cyrus R. K. Negative Liberties: Morrison, Pynchon, and the Problem of Liberal Ideology. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001.
Seed, David. The Fictional Labyrinths of Thomas Pynchon. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1988.
Walhead, Celia M. "Mason and Dixon: Pynchon's Bickering Heroes." Pynchon Notes 46-49 (Spring-Fall, 2000-2001): 178-199.