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
Curled up in the buffalo pen, Maniac hears someone calling, “Magee!” over and over. It’s two days later. Maniac responds and soon sees Mars Bar on the other side of the fence. Mars Bar is incredulous that Maniac actually sleeps at the zoo—Amanda Beale told him, but he didn’t believe it. They’re silent for a while, but finally Mars Bar asks Maniac why he didn’t help Russell the other day. Maniac asks if Russell is okay, but Mars Bar wants an answer first, and he makes Maniac get out of the buffalo pen.
Maniac responds to grief in the way he usually does—by running. Only this time, people come searching for him—and, thanks to Amanda, who truly knows Maniac, Mars Bar knows just where to look.
Themes
Maniac tells Mars Bar about his parents’ death. Maniac explains that he’d never stood on the trolley’s level before, and that seeing it up close had made his vision of their death more nightmarish than ever. Mars Bar says he knew Maniac couldn’t have been scared.
Maniac opens up to Mars Bar, showing that a genuine trust has developed between the two of them in recent weeks. And Mars Bar shows that he’s developed a genuine respect for Maniac.
Themes
As they walk through the zoo, Mars Bar tells Maniac what happened on the trestle. He did rescue Russell, who couldn’t let go of Mars Bar afterward. Mars Bar didn’t know what to do, so he took Russell and Piper home. As soon as they got there, Russell jumped into Mars Bar’s mom’s arms, and his mom proceeded to “baby” the little boys and make Mars Bar play with them. Finally, when he took the McNabs home, they begged Mars Bar to stay and play Rebels with them—they’d let him be “white,” they promised.
In Maniac’s absence, Mars Bar had a chance to be the hero—something it seems that Maniac subconsciously expected would be the case. Mars Bar’s mom seems to recognize how badly the neglected McNabs needed a mother. And the little boys’ newfound affection for Mars Bar seems to be genuine, despite their clumsy and deeply ignorant expression of it.
Themes
Mars Bar invites Maniac to come and stay at his house. His mom wants Maniac to come, he explains. After circling the entire zoo, Maniac finally says he can’t. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but when he’s around, things just happen. Mars Bar tries to convince him that it isn’t a big deal, but Maniac hurries away before he can change his mind.
Scarred by his losses, Maniac can’t get himself to accept Mars Bar’s invitation—he believes he only brings pain to those who offer him a home—though he clearly wants to and seems to recognize what a big step this is for his new friend.
Themes
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