Skip to main content

What are three reasons in Chapter 1-9 that show why Maniac Magee is a maniac?

Jeffrey Magee is known as “Maniac Magee” because he engages in behaviors that everyone considers impossible. 


Jeffrey gets the nickname Maniac by herding the frog McNab is using as a baseball. 


… McNab was lurching and lunging, throwing his hat at the frog, throwing his glove, and everybody was screaming, and the kid was rounding third and digging for home, and --unbefroggable! -- the "ball" was heading back home too! … (Ch. 7) 


It...

Jeffrey Magee is known as “Maniac Magee” because he engages in behaviors that everyone considers impossible. 


Jeffrey gets the nickname Maniac by herding the frog McNab is using as a baseball. 



… McNab was lurching and lunging, throwing his hat at the frog, throwing his glove, and everybody was screaming, and the kid was rounding third and digging for home, and --unbefroggable! -- the "ball" was heading back home too! … (Ch. 7) 



It was “the world's first frogball for a four-bagger.” Bizarre incidents like this one gave Maniac his nickname.  He seems to be able to do things that others can’t or won’t do. 


Another example of Maniac’s growing legend is the incident at Finsterwald’s.  The Finsterwald house is considered dangerous, and no neighborhood kids will go near it.  Maniac, not knowing this, rescues a kid that some older kids are hassling by getting him off Finsterwald’s land.  Then Maniac sits on the porch and reads a book.  This was one of the first crazy things Maniac did, and his legend only grew from there. 



He was running, passing the spear field now, and the Pickwell kids had to blink and squint and shade their eyes to make sure they were seeing right -- because the kid wasn't running the cinders alongside the tracks, or the wooden ties. No, he was running - running -- where the Pickwells themselves, where every other kid, had only ever walked --on the steel rail itself! (Ch. 6) 



Maniac also stared down Mars Bar, raced him backward, and tried to unite the East and West Sides.  These two sides were divided by race.  Maniac is attacked by the Cobras, a race-oriented gang who track him down.  They are shocked to see a boy with a book running on the rail.  Eventually, Maniac even befriends them.  There seems to be no one who doesn’t like him.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...
Post a Comment
Read more