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
As summer wears on, Maniac sometimes thinks he hears a second set of footsteps during his early morning runs. And one day, he turns a corner and runs into Mars Bar. From then on, they encounter each other often—sometimes running in the same direction, but on opposite sides of the street. Eventually, without a word, they start meeting along their route and silently running together, matching their pace.
It seems as if Mars Bar is seeking something, too. In their shared search through their town, Maniac and Mars Bar gradually begin finding an unspoken harmony with one another.
Themes
One day, Maniac and Mars Bar are running down Main Street when they’re stopped by a sobbing Piper McNab, who is covered in mud. They follow him to the platform for the P & W trolley. Gradually, they piece together what’s happened. Piper had been sailing his raft down the river, and Russell was supposed to “bomb” him with rocks from above. But, high on the trolley trestle, Russell got scared and froze—and now a trolley is coming. Piper begs Maniac to save his brother. But Maniac stares unblinkingly at the trestle and walks away.
Russell and Piper’s emergency looks like a prime opportunity for Maniac to rise to the occasion and be the hero once again. Yet this expectation is completely subverted by Maniac’s traumatized response. It’s not completely unexpected, given Maniac’s avoidance of the trestle earlier in the story. It’s an expression of his deep-seated grief over his losses.
Themes
