Maniac Magee Book Report

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is a novel published in 1990 by Little, Brown and Company & Hachette Book Group. It was published in New York, NY, USA.

The main character and focus on the story is Jeffrey “Maniac” Lionel Magee, an orphan and runaway. He has a rebel sense to him; he does not believe in local myths, nor does he adhere to social norms in Two Mills, especially the racial splitting in the town. This is further seen towards the end of the story where Magee does challenges that the children in the West End suggest, such as knocking on Finsterwald’s door, a feat that no one else has attempted. The characters are well developed, and that the author has made use of seemingly insignificant scenes of the story to further progress them. Mars Bars Thompson especially, has had a major turn of character in the end. Mars was the bully of the East End at the beginning of the book but towards the end, Mars and Maniac had learned to become friendlier and they were able to tolerate each other's presence. Amanda Beale was another important person to Maniac, and who could be considered his first friend in Two Mills. The Beale family seemed to think or care very little about Jeffrey’s race, and gladly accepted him.

The major points in the story are about not necessarily believing in something just because

everyone else does; not jumping on the bandwagon just because everyone else is already on it. This theme when added with the current topic of racism creates for a powerful storyline. The story, from the very beginning, established that Two Mills was divided into two: The East End and the West End. No one ever crossed sides, and Maniac was one of the very few that ever did. Jeffrey did not understand why the divide was there. As an outsider, he had a fresh, neutral, outlook on the town. The divide made no sense, especially when he had crossed over and learned that nothing was different. This point is further amplified by the little challenges Magee did. Undoing the knot everyone thought was impossible, going into the backyard that no one else dared setting foot on.

Another major theme, especially for Jeffrey, was fitting in, finding someplace where he could be a part of something. This is why he wanted a home so badly, and why him wanting an address was mentioned so many times. Maniac had once painted a number address onto the baseball storage room. Perhaps he did not want a literal address, one that legally worked, but an address because it means he belongs somewhere.

Maniac Magee takes place sometime in the 1960s, a time where racism was an immense issue.

The story unfolds in a town called "Two Mills" and revolves around Jeffrey Lionel Magee, an orphaned boy at 3 years old. Jeffrey lived to the age of 11 with with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan, both of whom despised one another. This led to Jeffrey running away. Magee runs to Two Mills, a town heavily segregated by race, and the first person he talks to is Amanda Beale. He also met another boy, Mars Bars Thompson, who takes a dislike to him immediately. Maniac made several other appearances in the town pulling off incredible feats which eventually earned him the title

'Maniac'.

The Beale's family was the first to take Maniac in and the first official 'home' he has ever had. However, the fact that a white kid was living in a black household did not stand well with the rest of the town, and Maniac left. Jeffrey's next home was with Earl Grayson, an elderly man who used to pitch in minor leagues. Grayson meant a lot to Jeffrey, and they celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Unfortunately Grayson died soon after and Magee started running once again. He found the younger siblings of John McNab, someone Magee had previously embarrassed. Jeffrey stayed temporarily with the McNabs, but their racist views clashed with his own morals and he left them too. One night Mars Bars and Amanda found Maniac and offered for him to come back with them. Jeffrey went with Mars and Amanda, for he finally had a home.

The title of the story is very fitting, not only because it was Jeffrey's nickname, but because it was also his reputation in the town. It is what nearly everyone in Two Mills recognizes him as, and the name (and the person) have become a legend in both sides of the town. The book is written in third person, although, the author does occasionally change the focus on the story so that it isn't always on Magee. An example of this can be seen at the beginning of Part Two, the scene where Grayson finds Maniac, and how the author referred to him as just "kid". The story was told with a focus on Grayson here, and naturally Grayson didn't know the kid's name yet.

The author's writing style is usually formal, but he occasionally adds comments or jokes throughout the entire book, as if it was another person telling the story. This style appeals to young readers, which may be the reason he chose it. The chapters of the book are short, to the point, but still quite enjoyable. Jerry Spinelli writes in a way that makes the reader infer a lot about the story, and about what is going on, because of his tendency to change focus points, like in chapters 5 and 6. Spinelli makes minor cliff hangers, although none too important, and none of them are dragged out too long. He uses both metaphors and similes throughout the story to add to his distinct writing style.

The story takes place in a fictional town in Pennsylvania, probably around the 1960s. During the 1960s, ways of life for the colored were very different from the whites, and the Jim Crow laws kept different races separate. White and colored people had separate bathrooms, waiting rooms, hotels, even water fountains. A town separated into the black's side and the white's side fits right in. The year it takes place in was never mentioned and that leads me to believe that the time was never very important to the story, or that it was not a focal point for the author. The author wanted the book to be about an important issue, racism, but not necessarily at a specific time. He wanted the readers to know that racism could and does happen and all points in history and even today. However, if the story was to take place a couple decades before or after this, racism may have been shown in a much different way.

Racism has, is, and always will be an issue with society. Even nowadays, at a period of time where entire towns separated by race are nonexistent, racism happens no matter how minor the case is. Even currently, in today's news, there are instances of racism. Most bias's against colored people are hidden, subconscious, or nearly invisible. It only makes it all the easier for people to ignore the issue, or be under the mentality that it is inconsequential.

Survey's continuously show that majority of the population holds bias's against blacks. Princeton sociologist Devah Pager showed that otherwise identical black job seekers were 50% less likely to get the job than whites. Record show that in 2011, there were just under 700,000 stop-and-frisk incidents in New York. 9/10 of these incidents involved blacks and Hispanics. In cities where blacks make up under a quarter of the population, they make up over half of those detained by police. Racism still exists, however transparent, in current day. This book teaches young people about how pointless racism is, and about how not to judge people before you get to know them, not judging them based on what society says.