Tuesday, April 22, 2014

In Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, what is Maniac Magee's address when he is staying with old man Grayson?

Maniac’s address with Grayson is 101 Band Shell Boulevard. 


Maniac is obsessed with having an address.  Ever since his parents died and he ran away from his aunt and uncle, he has wanted a real home.  When he lived with the Beales, he had one, briefly.  He made sure to check the address.  He had to leave the Beales because he was white and they were black.  That made him on his own again.


The zoo was comfortable enough, so Maniac found himself sleeping in the buffalo pen.  It had been a deer pen, so it may not be as strange as it sounds.  However, the buffalo pen is not a safe home and there is no address. 


Grayson, the zoo’s groundskeeper, finds Maniac and takes him in.  He is surprised that Maniac does not have a home or go to school, and also that the last place he lived was in the East End with a black family.  Grayson does not know anything about black families and is very curious about how they are similar or different.


Grayson lives at the Y, but he moves in with Maniac into the baseball room of the band shell.  Maniac feels more comfortable there, and they make themselves a happy home.  Maniac decides to give it an address.



"Fine," said Maniac. He opened the can, stirred the paint, put a jacket on, grabbed the brush and went outside. Grayson followed. He watched the kid paint on the outside of the door, in careful strokes:


101


Maniac stepped back, admiring his work. "One oh one," he proclaimed. "One oh one Band Shell Boulevard." (Ch. 29)



It is a very good Christmas, and Maniac and Grayson are happy.  Maniac has a family again.  He even teaches Grayson how to read.  The happiness is short-lived, however, as Grayson dies soon after.  Eventually, Maniac goes back to the Beales.

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