It is a rare person who does not remember having suffered a great injustice as a child: an injustice that seemed serious in his youth, but which perhaps turned out to be less so with time . This change in perception is due to the fact that children tend to see things in black and white. Therefore, a sign of nascent maturation is the understanding of the incalculable vast scale of grays that lies between the two absolutes. In Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, the reader is privy to Irene Wilson's thoughts through the stories “Secret Love” and “October Brown.” This youthful point of view is what allows the reader to understand not only Irene as an individual, but the nature of growing up in a world that is disturbingly contrary to the simplistic one perceived in childhood. Irene's disillusionment begins with the disintegration of her family. : a process partially depicted in “Secret Love”. In this story, Clair takes advantage of the natural empathy generated by the use of a first-person narrator as the reader witnesses the already tenuous bonds between James and Pearlean weaken. Both of Irene's parents have, by this point, committed adultery, and what had perhaps been inevitable since the first time James spoke to October Brown now seems to be unfolding. Irene's reaction to her mother moving James' things out of their bedroom is initially emotionless. Considering his mother's behavior, his thoughts are: “By my calculations [the affair] shouldn't count against him yet. Besides, hadn't my mother evened the score?” (128). The words “calculations” and “score” are of particular interest here. Irene isn't bleary-eyed leafing through an album full of memories of happier times: she's collecting indiscretions and cold blood... in the middle of paper... ties that will get her fired. Anomalies in the form of betrayal and dishonesty drive her to fight to return her world to one that is familiar and absolute. Despite her best efforts in both situations, however, Irene is unable to affect change. His infantile model is ultimately inapplicable to the adult world. His efforts to create an environment that acts in accordance with what is right are fruitless. Repeatedly in Rattlebone, the reader can observe the actions of the town's adult inhabitants acting in their own self-interest to the detriment of those around them: Pearlean betrays James, James betrays Pearlean, October Brown betrays Irene. Through her stories, Clair demonstrates that the world as children see it does not exist and that no attempt to fabricate it can ever succeed. Works Cited Clair, Maxine. Rattle bone. New York: Penguin, 1994. Print.