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Mars Bar Thompson
Finsterwald lives at 803 Oriole Street. Finsterwald never actually appears in the story—he’s just the subject of ominous rumors spread by generations of West End kids. It’s believed that if a kid—like Arnold Jones—is dropped into his backyard, the kid will go crazy with fear—a condition called the “finsterwallies.” Nobody understands exactly what Finsterwald does to cause such terror. Maniac Magee is the only kid who isn’t afraid of Finsterwald. In fact, he even knocks on Finsterwald’s front door and walks away smiling, though nobody knows what transpires between Maniac and Finsterwald.
Finsterwald Quotes in Maniac Magee
The Maniac Magee quotes below are all either spoken by Finsterwald or refer to Finsterwald. 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 8
Quotes
The town was buzzing. The schools were buzzing. […]
Buzzing about the new kid in town. The stranger kid. Scraggly. Carrying a book. Flap-soled sneakers.
The kid who intercepted Brian Denehy’s pass to Hands Down and punted it back longer than Denehy himself ever threw it.
The kid who rescued Arnold Jones from Finsterwald’s backyard.
The kid who […] circled the sacks on a bunted frog.
Nobody knows who said it first, but somebody must have: “Kid’s gotta be a maniac.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 36
Quotes
The door closed. Maniac bounded down the steps and came jogging toward them, grinning. Three kids bolted, sure he was a ghost. The others stayed. They invented excuses to touch him, to see if he was still himself, still warm. But they weren't positively certain until later, when they watched him devour a pack of butterscotch Krimpets.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Maniac Magee LitChart as a printable PDF.
Finsterwald Quotes in Maniac Magee
The Maniac Magee quotes below are all either spoken by Finsterwald or refer to Finsterwald. 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 8
Quotes
The town was buzzing. The schools were buzzing. […]
Buzzing about the new kid in town. The stranger kid. Scraggly. Carrying a book. Flap-soled sneakers.
The kid who intercepted Brian Denehy’s pass to Hands Down and punted it back longer than Denehy himself ever threw it.
The kid who rescued Arnold Jones from Finsterwald’s backyard.
The kid who […] circled the sacks on a bunted frog.
Nobody knows who said it first, but somebody must have: “Kid’s gotta be a maniac.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 36
Quotes
The door closed. Maniac bounded down the steps and came jogging toward them, grinning. Three kids bolted, sure he was a ghost. The others stayed. They invented excuses to touch him, to see if he was still himself, still warm. But they weren't positively certain until later, when they watched him devour a pack of butterscotch Krimpets.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
