Previous
Symbols
Knots symbolize problems that appear unsolvable on the surface, but that—in careful, deft hands—can be gradually unraveled. Maniac Magee is gifted at untying knots. He’s the first member of the Beale household who can successfully untangle little Hester and Lester’s shoelace knots, and soon Hester and Lester send their friends to Maniac to get their sneakers’ knots untied, too. Most memorably, Maniac unravels the legendary Cobble’s Knot, a four-blocks-long ball of string that has thwarted a whole generation of kids. Maniac takes his time with the task and has a surgical delicacy: “He had to find the right routes to untangle the mess, or it would just close up again like a rock and probably stay that way forever.” These words might as well apply to the much knottier problem of race relations in Two Mills, Pennsylvania, as Maniac learns throughout the story that forging friendships between kids of different backgrounds isn’t a quick, miraculous fix, but a process that requires time, wisdom, and patience.
Knots Quotes in Maniac Magee
The Maniac Magee quotes below all refer to the symbol of Knots. 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 20
Quotes
After polishing off the Krimpets, Maniac did the last thing anybody expected: he lay down and took a nap right there on the table, the knot hanging above him like a small hairy planet, the mob buzzing all around him. Maniac knew what the rest of them didn't: the hardest part was yet to come. He had to find the right routes to untangle the mess, or it would just close up again like a rock and probably stay that way forever. He would need the touch of a surgeon, the alertness of an owl, the cunning of three foxes, and the foresight of a grand master in chess.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Maniac Magee LitChart as a printable PDF.
Knots Symbol Timeline in Maniac Magee
The timeline below shows where the symbol Knots appears in Maniac Magee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13
...Everyone’s fingertips heal, because Maniac takes over the job of untying the little ones’ shoelace knots.
(full context)
Chapter 15
...his shouting in church. Little kids, sent by Hester and Lester, bring him their shoelace knots to untie. Big kids come to the vacant lot to test his football skills. Hands...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...how relieved she is. The next morning, after Maniac helps a little kid undo a knot in his yo-yo string, Amanda gets an idea. She thinks she has a plan to...
(full context)
Chapter 19
The legend of Cobble’s Knot goes like this: Mr. Cobble was running a struggling corner grocery store. One day he...
(full context)
Amanda convinces Maniac that if he successfully unties the knot, he’ll become a hero, and nobody will mess with him. Maniac teases Amanda that she...
(full context)
Chapter 20
From the moment Maniac takes Cobble’s Knot in his hands, everybody knows that the knot is in big trouble. Maniac spends a...
(full context)
