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Mac is one of the gang of bullies who picks on Kip and incites Francis to help them rob the old woman. Although Mac is a gangster as a teenager, when he returns from war he seems entirely changed, and even defends Kip’s honor as a soldier against his own sister Jos. Mac’s character change suggests that his time as a soldier caused him to mature and grow, suggesting that even the worst individuals can experience personal development and become good people.
Mac Quotes in Nine Days
The Nine Days quotes below are all either spoken by Mac or refer to Mac. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5: Francis Quotes
I’ve got one second to make up my mind and all I can think about is Dad but then I think about Kip walking out of school and I’m not walking away from anything so I run after them and I jump on too.
Related Characters:
Francis Westaway / Uncle Frank (speaker), Mac, Jim Pike, Cray, Kip Westaway
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
133
Explanation and Analysis:
Days after his father dies, Francis is pulled into Pike’s gang to help them burglarize an old woman’s house. The other boys show Francis how to jump a tram so they don’t have to pay the ticket price, and as it pulls away, he has to decide if he will make the jump and join them or walk away. The inner dilemma that Francis experiences about joining the other boys and stepping into the life of a criminal or walking away from the opportunity suggests that, although Francis knows jumping the tram and joining them is morally wrong, their gang also offers him an opportunity to belong, to be a part of something. For Francis, having just lost his father and knowing that Kip is quitting school, leaving him there alone, this need to belong to something proves a powerful draw and suggests that Francis fears being alone in the world, fatherless and brotherless. This fear of being alone, of being left out, carries with him even after he swears to become a responsible adult, evident in the way that he obsesses over his reputation and the way others perceive him as a young man.
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Mac Character Timeline in Nine Days
The timeline below shows where the character Mac appears in Nine Days. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Kip
...could’ve said to her. Distracted, Kip nearly walks into the “four stooges,” the town bullies: Mac, Cray, Pike, and a kid he doesn’t know. Kip feels that their reckoning has finally...
(full context)
Chapter 5: Francis
...to try to keep up. Instead of catching Kip, Francis runs into Pike, Cray, and Mac. They have a bad reputation and are all much bigger than Francis, but Pike puts...
(full context)
...the gang again, and he’s thankful for the excuse to be anywhere but home. Pike, Mac, and Cray show Francis how to jump on the back of a tram after it’s...
(full context)
Chapter 6: Annabel
...it to her, they seem concerned, especially since Annabel and Francis aren’t engaged. Jos’s brother Mac approaches them, wearing a soldier’s uniform. Annabel hasn’t seen him in years. When he asks...
(full context)
...dancing and catching up, Francis angrily approaches and tells Annabel they are going to leave. Mac confronts Francis, also chiding him for remaining a civilian during the war, and it seems...
(full context)
Kip and Mac chat about the war. When Jos catches up to them, she remarks that Kip joined...
(full context)
Mac asks what happened to Jack Husting, and Kip answers that he was killed in North...
(full context)
...he used to do for old women. Francis tries to stop her from speaking, but Mac has already heard it. Mac remarks that Francis certainly has an active imagination, and thinks...
(full context)
