Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Maniac Magee, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Myth, Reality, and Heroism
Racism
Love, Loss, and Home
Human Dignity, Connection, and Community
Summary
Analysis
From the moment Maniac takes Cobble’s Knot in his hands, everybody knows that the knot is in big trouble. Maniac spends a long time examining the knot, sometimes with a playful little smile on his face. When Maniac doesn’t untangle the knot within moments, the gathered spectators eventually grow bored and wander off, everyone except Amanda. Gradually, throughout the day, people drift back, both black and white (Cobble’s Corner is on Hector, the boundary between the West and East Ends). By now, Maniac has discovered the end of the knot. The crowd regathers, with Cobble selling pizza at a fast clip. A little kid offers Maniac some butterscotch Krimpets.
The position of Cobble’s Knot at the intersection of the black and white communities in Two Mills is significant—it suggests that Maniac’s success could even have a unifying effect on the community at large. Also, this is the first time that Maniac’s love of butterscotch Krimpets (a storebought pastry) is established—a lighthearted trait that shows that Maniac is a normal kid in many ways.
Themes
At this point, to everybody’s surprise, Maniac takes a nap. Maniac knows the hardest part is yet to come: he needs to figure out the right path to untangling the knot, or else he’ll just make it worse. After 15 minutes, he wakes up and starts again. By dinnertime, Cobble’s knot has been reduced to a pile of string.
