In “The Secret Integration”, the boys create an imaginary friend who allows them to express their secret knowledge and worries about the racism in their community. Carl is a comforting friend, consisting of characteristics of one black person they meet and their own characteristics. Carl's existence is an act of rebellion against the adults in the community, a secret integration occurring in one imaginary person and in the friendship of the black boy and the white boys. Carl is created to serve a specific purpose, and serves that purpose up until he is no longer needed by the boys to cope with their difficult situation. The boys mature by dealing with the racism head-on in a confrontation with the black family, and therefore no longer need Carl to help them face what their lack of understanding causes them to fear.
The story takes place in a small town in 1960s Massachusetts. The first images of the town on a rainy fall day, a town that only sees traffic when New Yorkers travel through to watch the changing leaves, are those of an idyllic community, a nice place to raise children. Then the dark underbelly of the town is revealed to the reader. The Barrington family, the first black family to live in town, is being threatened by members of the community. Tim overhears a threatening phone call his mother secretly makes to the Barringtons, warning them to move back to Pittsfield.
The boys are aware of the secrets their parents have tried to keep fromm them, and the prejudices that they do not share with their parents confuse them. They see the black family as friends despite their limited knowledge of black culture. They have met only one black person in their lives, Carl McAfee. To cope with their perturbation at their parents' hatred for the Barringtons, the boys create an imaginary friend named Carl, who is the son of the black family. Carl brings the issue of the “prank” phone calls to the table during the meeting the boys hold to discuss their plans for revolt. Carl speaks of what the other boys do not want to come to terms with. Even the highly intelligent Grover will not divulge his knowledge of what the community is doing to the Barringtons. However, “Carl shrugged and sat watching hem, as if he knew what, knew everything, secrets none of them had even guessed at” (159). Carl acts as the subconscious of all the boys. They understand that their parents are wrong and know that the phone calls are an effort to drive the Barringtons out of their home. Carl is the medium for the boys' thoughts, since they cannot deal with the complexity of the matter on their own.
In this scene the reader also gains insight into the hopes that the boys have of learning from their black friend. Carl will tell them the secrets of his race- the “Heart-in-hiding, some crypt to Northumberland estates that had so far managed to elude the rest of them” (159). Here we see that the boys are eager to learn about the unknown, unlike their parents, who instead of learning about black culture, become enraged by what they don't know or understand.
This is why the boys plan on striking out against the adults in the community. Yet the motivation for striking out against the adults is identical to the reason the adults are terrorizing the new black family. The boys don't understand the adults, just as the adults don't understand the black family. Instead of working together with those they do not understand, both the children and the adults plan to harm them in hopes of teaching them a lesson. The difference between the boys and the adults is that the adults carry through with their cruel plans, whereas the boys are too kindhearted to harm anyone.
The scene shows that the boys don't expect to gain understanding of the black community without earning it first. They hope that the knowledge will be given to them “as a reward for their having been more ingenious in their scheming, or braver in facing up to their parents, or smarter in school, or maybe better in some way they hadn't yet considered” (159). The boys are willing to work to understand the new situation in their community and again Carl will be a mere medium for their knowledge. What they are really gaining through experience and insight will be easier to accept if it is presented through their childhood companion. Realizing that their parents are acting cruelly will be difficult for the boys to accept, unless it is through the gentle humor and casual conversation of their imaginary friend Carl.
