Will's Students- Chris

[Shirley Lim]

Interesting take on _The Secret Integration_. I've always seen it as much
more heartwarming - more so than any other thing Pynchon's written, except
maybe M+D. Carl (the real one) comes across to me as a very positive
figure. He's an alcoholic, but he's looking to change. The parents on the
other hand are essentially incomprehensible, in general as well as in
their racism. The scheming kids ring true with my own childhood - innocent
games that never amount to anything. The alienation of the children is a
much more positive message than the blind hatred of the parents. The
children are disenfranchised and ignored, which in turn lets them create a
more racially just society.