The Secret Integration is a short story written by Thomas Pynchon. Released in 1964, it is a part of Pynchon's collection Slow Learner and tells of the escapades of a group of misfit children called the Inner Junta.
Characters[]
- Tim Santora - an influential member of the Inner Junta
- Grover Snodd - a boy genius and member of the Inner Junta
- Carl Barrington - a black kid and a member of the Inner Junta, possibly an imaginary friend
- Étienne Cherdlu - a fat prankster and a member of the Inner Junta
- Hogan Slothrop - son of Doctor Slothrop, a former alcoholic now in AA and a member of the Inner Junta
- Carl McAfee - a black musician from Mississippi
- Doctor Slothrop - a local doctor
Plot[]
In the small Massachusetts town of Mingeborough lives a boy named Tim Santora. After visiting the local doctor for his warts and hearing his mother trying to "prank" the family of his black friend Carl Barrington by screaming racial slurs at them on the phone, Tim leaves to meet up with a group of his friends. This group includes the local boy genius Grover Snodd, fat prankster Étienne Cherdlu, Carl, and Dr. Slothrop's son Hogan (who is in Alchoholics Anonymous even though he is around ten years old). This group comprises the Inner Junta and, once they are together, the kids begin plotting various subterfuges and practical jokes to commit within their school. While the group initially meets in Grover's house, their meetings inevitably move to their hideout, picking up a local dog by the name of Pierre on the way.
This hideout is within the woods supposedly owned by one "King Yrjo", a "European pretender to the throne" who bought these woods and whose bodyguard supposedly roams through the woods armed with a shotgun. While in the woods, the Inner Junta uses a refurbished boat they have dubbed the S.S. Leak to cross a lake and enter into their hideaway - an abandoned mansion they have dubbed "The Big House" where the Inner Junta stores things such as sodium bombs, an enemy list, and maps.
A year previously, one of the Inner Junta's plans was interrupted by Hogan being sent by AA to help someone in a nearby hotel who is alone and scared. This is revealed to be a black musician from Mississippi by the name of Carl McAfee. McAfee initially assumes that Hogan and Tim (who accompanied Hogan on this voyage) are simply kids pulling a prank on him but soon lets them into his hotel room. Once inside, Hogan and Tim find that McAfee does not want to give up drinking but simply wanted someone to talk with. They also learn from Grover that Étienne went ahead with one of their "attacks" and is on the run from the police. As such, Grover and Étienne arrive at the hotel and stay the night in McAfee's room. The next morning, McAfee tries to buy a bottle of whiskey but finds that he does not have the money for it. He still tries to grab for the bottle but it is taken away by Hogan. McAfee breaks down crying like a toddler before the police are called and he is arrested as a vagrant, despite the protests of the Inner Junta.
Almost a year of escapades later and the black Barrington family moves into Mingeborough. The Inner Junta quickly accept Carl Barrington into their number and are only vaguely aware of how the adults around them view the black family - who view the Barringtons as a symptom of "integration". This culminates in the adults of Mingeborough dumping all of their garbage on the front lawn of the Barringtons. The Inner Junta tries to clean the mess up but are shooed away by the Barringtons, who curiously say that they do not have a child. It is then revealed that Carl is a sort of imaginary friend/egregore imagined by the Junta as a way to understand their parents' racism. While walking away from the Barringtons' house, Carl says that he will disappear into King Yrjo's woods and leaves the rest of the Junta behind.
Author's continuity[]
- Doctor Slothrop and his son Hogan are presumably related to Tyrone Slothrop, "hero" of Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| J R | William Gaddis | 1975 | A novel by one of Pynchon's contemporaries with a similar child genius |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | 1960 | A novel which similarly shows its young protagonist discovering racism |
| The Body | Stephen King | 1982 | A novella with a similar cast of misfit children |
Sources[]
| Works of Thomas Pynchon | ||
|
Early works (Collected in Slow Learner) | ||