"White Angel" is the story of the sixties. The period where the most important thing to many people were sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. The idea of right and wrong are no longer viewed as absolutes; there is no right except that which is pleasurable or makes them feel good. "White Angel" is a reference to the drug proliferation of the sixties. Many turned to drugs as an answer to the trying "real world." Michael Cunningham reflects on these issues through the eyes of nine-year-old boy named Bobby. Along with a strong reference to the "Woodstock" lifestyle, Cunningham uses color, flight imagery, and musical choices as symbolism throughout the story.
Bobby is seven years younger than his brother and hero, Carlton, and wherever he leads Bobby is not far behind. They are typical children of the sixties with little parental supervision, bound by no rules. Carlton was the horse pulling the wagon. Against his parents" wishes he delves into a "Woodstock" lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll - the life of rebellion that typified the sixties. With Carlton's reassurance Bobby quickly follows. The two have a secret place in the cemetery behind the house where they indulge in the drug of choice - acid, and dream of living in the "Woodstock Nation" or traveling to distant planets. In that moment they may actually be at Woodstock or talking with aliens-they are so distant from reality. .
This rebellion should come as no surprise when one considers the environment in which these children are being raised. Their father is dreaming away his life with his hobbies and the unrealistic goal of becoming a famous musician leaving their mother to earn the family's bread and butter. Isabel lives each day in denial that her family is falling apart even as her children descend into a life of degeneracy.
With every year, Bobby and Carlton grow closer together as they become more wild. In an attempt to recreate their own mini-Woodstock, Carlton plans for his friends to show up at his parents house during their annual spring party.
