Maniac Magee Themes

Imagine, you are living a normal life. Then, your whole world turns upside down because of a tragic event. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Jeffery Lionel “Maniac” Magee’s parents died in a trolley accident because the driver was drunk. He is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. They want a divorce, but they refuse to get one because they are Catholics. After living with them for 8 years, Manic runs away. The reason he runs away is because he is unhappy, due to his aunt and uncle disliking each other. He did not like the way things were. They had to share him daily. He ran to the town of Two Mills. The themes in Maniac Magee are family, prejudice, and homelessness. He resides with the Beales, an African-American family. Maniac is deeply saddened by the prejudice he and the Beales face. There are two sides of the town, divided based …show more content…
Maniac loves being with the Beales on the East End, but faced racism. For example, at a 4th of July celebration, a Caucasian man from the West End heard music blasting from the party and walked over to the East End. He saw Maniac and told him to go home, but Maniac said that he resides in the East End. Another example showing the conflict of race is that Mrs. Beale noticed that on the outside of her home, the derogatory word, “Fishbelly”, had been painted. A Caucasian boy that ran away from his hometown should have been adopted by a Caucasian family. Due to the hatred of both ethnicities, Maniac runs from the Beales’ home. Then, he lives with an elderly man named Grayson. Sadly, Grayson dies within a few weeks. After that, Maniac goes to live in the zoo. One of the main characters, Mars Bar, hates Maniac for residing with African-Americans. Manic met Mars Bar when visiting the West End after standing up to him for bullying a kid named Arnold Jones. They develop a close bond as Mars Bars’ views about African-Americans