Preview

Antagonist In Maniac Magee

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
780 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Antagonist In Maniac Magee
In every story there is an antagonist who is fighting against the main character. Maniac makes this true for the book Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. In the first part of the book, Maniac annoys people without realising it and without wanting to. In the second part, Maniac turns down offers of a better life because of his worries and fears of being hurt by anyone he gets close to. In the last part of the book, Maniac chooses to stop looking after himself and gives up on life; he also speaks his mind and people get upset. Maniac is the antagonist in Maniac Magee because he is against himself throughout the book as he gives up on himself and lets himself lose relationships. In the first part of the book, Maniac annoys people without realising it and without wanting to. This causes people to become angry at him, “He could not see that Mars Bar disliked him, maybe even hated him” (Page 57). He is clearly unable to …show more content…
Maniac stops looking after himself and waits for death in a cabin at Valley Forge. He feels like nothing in his life can go right, so he gives up on life rather than trying to make things better for himself. Another time that Maniac is being an antagonist is when Maniac invites Mars Bar over to the McNabs’ house for Russell and Piper’s birthday party. Maniac does not realise that Mars Bar will be offended by the McNabs and their racism towards blacks. Mars Bar becomes angry and annoyed at Maniac. Also, when Mars Bar asks Maniac why he does not ever stay at his house Maniac does not give a reason. That hurts Mars Bar’s feelings and makes him feel as if he is not wanted. Maniac still not going to his house makes Mars Bar even sadder. Maniac does not understand that would happen. Throughout this last part, Maniac gives up on life and does not realise the reasons behind people’s emotions; so he speaks his mind, does whatever he wants and people end up becoming

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Give an example from a book you’ve read or a film/T.V. show you’ve seen in which this type of villain exists.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Antagonist-the main opponent of the protagonist. Readers hope the antagonist would defeat the protagonist. An example of an antagonist would be the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz.…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most asked questions for A Separate Peace is: who exactly is the protagonist and antagonist? Most would agree that Gene is the protagonist, however is it Gene or Phineas that is the enemy? I believe that the real ‘bad guy’ in this book is Gene. He envied Phineas from the very beginning but didn’t admit it until a little later on. Whether it was getting away from trouble, having a natural athletic ability, or simply being modest and humble about things, Phineas seemed to have been better at almost everything.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Think of this, you are stuck in a suburban mall that has a incurable super flu and going near someone is a death sentence, with no connection to the outside world. In No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz, we have four characters that switch around each chapter we have: Ryan, Shay, Lexi, Marco and at the very end we have the Senator. They all have one thing in common, they are stuck in a suburban mall with a biochemical bomb that contain a super flu, and to stop this super flu from spreading the quarantine the mall with over 3,000 people in it. It gets me thinking that maybe one of our characters could be an antagonist, and I think it is Marco.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Everybody has done at least one thing wrong. Whether it's lying or a federal offense everybody has done something wrong, and most of the time there is not a good outcome. In the book maniac magee jeffrey magee (maniac) does the wrong thing. In both parts he runs away impulsively,runs away from family,and he runs away for himself. The ending of part one and part 1 and the ending of part 2 are similar because jeffery does the wrong thing.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hero Book Report

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The antagonist of the novel is “The Bads,” Zach and Mr. Herbert refer to this organization as the bads throughout the books. They are a mysterious group of people set out to destroy the world by doing horrific acts of violence upon…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Villain Archetypes

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Both Ms. Strangeworth from “The Possibility of Evil” and Captain Torres from “Lather and Nothing Else” represent the villain archetype; however, Miss Strangeworth better represents it because she enjoys the evil she causes, whereas Captain Torres does not. First of all, the roles of the characters are shown as villains throughout both of the stories. In the case of Miss Strangeworth, it is when she sends her malicious messages to the town without regard for their feelings (Jackson 5). Meanwhile, Captain Torres is revealed as the villain when the barber remembers “...the sight of the mutilated bodies kept me from noticing the man who had directed it all” (Tellez 1) about the captain. The two of them do horrible things to their respective towns; Miss Strangeworth, by sending her…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Grinch

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In terms of characters, the antagonist is obviously the Grinch. He is a miserable person and against the happiness of the Who’s in Whoville until the conflicts of the story were resolved at the end. He can show the “bad guy” archetypal, because he pretends he’s Santa Claus to Cindy-Lou but really he’s ruining Christmas traditions while everyone is tucked away sleeping. The Grinch lives on top of the mountain, in a cave away from the Who’s. This can show him as an “outcast” archetypal.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the hero in many films is very courageous, I resonate more with the villain because they are smarter and more creative, always stand up for what they believe in, and are willing to do anything to achieve their goals. I will take these values with me into the next stage of my life. As Marilyn Manson once said, “In any story, the villain is the catalyst. The hero's not a person who will bend the rules or show the cracks in his armor. He's one-dimensional intentionally, but the villain is the person who owns up to what he is and stands by it.” I don’t want to be a one-dimensional being; I want to be both complex and raw.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Barn Burning 4

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In most stories one reads there is going to be a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist is the character in the story that is usually considered the good guy. The antagonist is usually considered the bad guy and clashes with the protagonist. In the story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner he has a clear protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist of the story is Sarti. The antagonist of the story is Sarti’s father Abner. Faulkner makes this a very interesting story to read because of the relationship between Sarti and his father. Sarti shows us in the story how scared he is of his father through what he says and his actions. The idea of Sarti ever standing up to him just doesn’t seem possible until Sarti goes through a dramatic life change and decides he is going to stand up to him.…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    According to Ann Charters in The Short Story and its Writer, "conflict is the opposition presented to the main Character of a narrative by another character, by events or situations, by fate, or by some aspect of the protagonist's own personality or nature. The conflict is introduced by means of a complication that sets in motion the rising action, usually toward a climax and eventual resolution" (Charters 1782).…

    • 2110 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are two main characters in the story. Gracie Mae Still is the protagonist. We get to know a lot about her, but she doe not really develop. The antagonist is Traynor. I don?t think it is exactly right to call him a antagonist, because there is not a strong hero versus opponent feeling in this story. The antagonist and protagonist are not enemies, they get along quite alright. The antagonist does develop in the story. He develops from a shy boy (?picking his thumbnail?) to a famous person.…

    • 2107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the beginning of the novel, Victor or man, is the antagonist and nature is the protagonist. Victor’s overwhelming hubris makes him strive to achieve his goal by any means necessary. Victor becomes so blinded by his passion for his goal that he fails to see the evil in what he is achieving. Nature, on the other hand, is the obvious protagonist, because Nature has not done anything. The role of antagonist and protagonist changes throughout the rest of the novel, but nevertheless, Victor is the antagonist because of the theme man cannot augment nature without destroying the very thing he is attempting to perfect.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    macbeth

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the play, Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, has a hard time maintaining one view during the acts of the play. He wants to become king of Scotland so he plots to kill the current king, King Duncan. Though during the course of the play, Macbeth shows many signs of bipolar disorder according to what he does through the entire play.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antihero In Animal Farm

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Antiheroes in novels are the meticulously crafted characters that to create a feeling of distaste for the reader. Notwithstanding, the particular character conveys the disapproval of the reader, the value of the character is there nonetheless. Moreover, the antihero’s value is simply just as important as the hero in any story. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Napoleon embodies this detested figure that drives the novel forward, accompanied by his continued development.…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics