| Maniac Magee | |
|---|---|
1992 cover with Newbery seal |
|
| Author(s) | Jerry Spinelli |
| Cover artist | Alyssa Morris |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication date | 1990 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 184 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0316807222 |
| LC Classification | PZ7.S75663 Man 1990 |
Maniac Magee is a young adult fiction novel written by American author Jerry Spinelli and published in 1990. Exploring themes of racism and homelessness, it follows the story of an orphaned boy looking for a home in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Two Mills. He becomes a local legend for feats of athleticism and fearlessness, and his ignorance of sharp racial boundaries in the town. The book is popular in elementary school curricula, and has been used in scholarly studies on the relationship of children to racial identity and reading. A film adaptation of Maniac Magee was released in 2003.
Contents |
Jeffrey Lionel Magee's parents were in a trolley when a drunk driver crashed and sunk the trolley into the Schuylkill River in Bridgeport, PA, orphaning him at age three. After living with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan in another town and enduring their mutual hatred and silence, he runs away during a school musical performance. One year (The Lost Year) and 200 miles later, Jeffrey finds himself across the river from Bridgeport in Two Mills, PA, where Hector Street sharply divides black East Enders from white West Enders.
He meets Amanda Beale, an East Ender who carries her library of random books in a suitcase, and he borrows a book before continuing his dash through town. Along the way, he intercepts a football pass made to local football star James "Hands" Down, infuriates gigantic little-leaguer John McNab by hitting home runs off his fastball, and saves an unlucky child from Finsterwald’s back yard. The Finsterwald house is a house dreaded by everyone and has a bad reputation. Because of these acts, he earned the nickname "Maniac" and started a local legend.
When bully East Ender "Mars Bar" Thompson corners Maniac and rips a page from Amanda's book, Maniac is rescued by Amanda herself, who takes him home to her chaotic but loving household. Maniac finds a temporary home there, helping Mr. and Mrs. Beale with the chores and pacifying their youngest children, Hester and Lester. Soon though, a few East End residents make it clear that they don't want him in the East End anymore by writing racist graffiti on the Beale's garage door. His final effort to gain acceptance is by untying the famous Cobble’s Knot (a huge, grimy ball of string with a year's supply of pizza waiting for its vanquisher.) After finishing the task he is praised by everyone as confetti is thrown into the air. Amanda Beale realizes, too late, that the confetti was made from the pages of her favorite book. Maniac runs away again so he won't hurt the Beales anymore. He takes shelter in the buffalo pen at the zoo and occasionally eats with the Pickwells—West Enders who provide spaghetti dinners for anyone who shows up at their dinner table.
At the zoo, Maniac meets Earl Grayson, a washed up minor-league baseball pitcher who turns out to be groundskeeper in the future , who hasn't ever learned to read, and who insists he has no stories. For a few months Jeffrey has a home again with Grayson, helping at work, celebrating holidays, and teaching Grayson to read. When Grayson dies in his sleep, Maniac wanders off aimlessly.
On the verge of frozen starvation he encounters Piper and Russell, child-ruffians who are running away to Mexico, and who turn out to be John McNab's brothers. Maniac leads them back home, bribing them with free pizza, and stays at their cockroach-infested, decrepit house. Here, Maniac finds the worst that the West End has to offer as he learns that the McNab's are making a bunker because they believe the East End is planning a rebellion. He endures the coarseness and squalor of the McNab home in hopes of keeping Piper and Russell in school and under control, but eventually gives up.
After beating Mars Bar in a foot race (running backward) and goading him into crashing a birthday party at the McNab's, Maniac is homeless again. He moves back into the buffalo pen, and runs for miles every morning before Two Mills wakes up. Before long, Mars Bar starts running with him as if by coincidence, and the two never say a word to each other. One day they come across a hysterical Piper McNab, who frantically leads them to Russell, stuck on the trolley trestle where Jeffrey's parents died. Maniac walks away silently, nearly unconscious and stunned by fear, while Mars Bar rescues Russell, becoming a hero in the child’s eyes. Maniac retreats to the buffalo pen, where Mars Bar leads Amanda Beale to persuade Maniac once and for all to come live with her family again.
Jeffrey Lionel Magee struggles to find identity throughout the story, even as he grows into a legend as Maniac Magee. The standard identifiers of name, race and place of residence seem not to apply permanently to him.
Maniac insists to anyone who asks that his name is Jeffrey, since he was afraik of losing his name, and with it the only thing he had left from his mother and father. [1] Mrs. Beale assures him that "You'll be nothing but Jeffrey in here. But … out there, I don’t know.".[1] The theme of names and nicknames is extended with Mars Bar, whose moniker stems from the candy bars he constantly eats, and whose fame has spread across both Ends of town.
Race and racism play a prominent role in the story, with Maniac drawn as a neutral observer with the inability to see "black" and "white." He observes to himself that East Enders are "...gingersnap and light fudge and dark fudge and acorn and butter rum and cinnamon and burnt orange. But never licorice, which, to him, was real black.",[2] and that he himself has "...at least seven shades of color right on his own skin, not one of them being what he would call white (except for his eyeballs, which weren't any whiter than the eyeballs of the kids in the East End)".[3] During a summer block party, an old East Ender complains to Maniac, "You got your own kind. It’s how you wanted it. Let’s keep it that way. NOW MOVE ON. Your kind’s waitin' up there [West End]!" [4]
Homes and homelessness are consistent themes in the novel. At Grayson's house, Maniac is comforted by having an address, and he later paints a "one oh one" (101) on the bandshell for the same purpose.[5] Jeffrey even finds a home in the buffalo pen, where he shows affection to the buffalo calf and its mother, who show concern in return.
The imaginary town of Two Mills is based on Jerry Spinelli’s childhood town of Norristown, PA.[6] Spinelli has said that material from the story was inspired by his childhood experiences there,[7] and a number of geographical correspondences confirm this. Norristown, like Two Mills, is across the Schuylkill River from Bridgeport, and neighboring towns include Conshohocken, Jeffersonville and Worcester, all of which are mentioned in the novel.[8] In fact, Conshohocken has a Hector street, which historically served as a boundary between African American and White residents. The Elmwood Park Zoo is in Norristown, and Valley Forge, where Maniac wanders,[8] is nearby as well.
Maniac Magee was well-received upon publication, variously lauded in reviews as "always affecting," [9] having "broad appeal," and being full of "pathos and compassion." [10] Booklist reviewer Deborah Abbot says, "...this unusual novel magically weaves timely issues of homelessness, racial prejudice, and illiteracy into a complicated story rich in characters and details...an energetic piece of writing that bursts with creativity, enthusiasm, and hope." [11]
Reviewers noted that the theme of racism was uncommon for "middle readers".[12] Criticism concentrated on Spinelli's choice of framing the novel as a legend, which Shoemaker calls a "cop-out," [10] which frees him from having to make it real or possible. It has also been called "long-winded," and seeming like a "chalkboard lesson." [9]
Maniac Magee is popular in elementary school curricula. Many study units and teaching guides are available,[29] including a study guide by the author.[30] The novel has been used as a tool in scholarly work on childhood education and development. Fondrie cites it as an example in a discussion of how to bring up and discuss issues of race and class among young students.[31] McGinley and Kamberlis use it in a study of how children use reading and writing as “vehicles for personal, social, and political exploration.” [32] Along the same lines, Lehr and Thompson examine classroom discussions as a reflection of the teacher’s role as cultural mediator and the response of children to moral dilemmas,[33] and Enciso studies expressions of social identity in the responses of children to Maniac Magee.[34]
In a less pedagogical vein, Roberts uses the character of Amanda Beale as an archetypical also a black girl becoming Jeffrey's sister "female rescuer" in a study of Newbery books,[35] and Sullivan suggests the book as being useful in discussions of reading attitudes and difficulties.[36]
Maniac Magee was adapted as an audiobook by Listening Library in 2005 (ISBN 0307243188) [37] and as a TV movie in 2003,[38] which was nominated for the Humanitas prize in the children’s live action category.[39]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Number the Stars |
Newbery Medal recipient 1991 |
Succeeded by Shiloh |
| Preceded by The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story |
Winner of the William Allen White Children's Book Award 1993 |
Succeeded by Shiloh |