from the stage: "Talk! Talk, will ya! Talk! Talk! Talk!" This outburst is "the birth scream of a legend," the narrator tells us.

And the chapter ends as Jeffrey runs offstage and out the door. He never goes back to his aunt and uncle's house, and he never goes back to school, either.

Chapter five begins with a commotion in the backyard of Finsterwald's house, "a graveyard of tennis balls and baseballs and footballs and Frisbees" that no kid dares approach. The notorious Finsterwald house seems to have something of a terrifying reputation, much like the Boo Radley house in To Kill A Mockingbird.

The commotion begins with the screams of a ten-year-old boy who is in the process of being hoisted over the fence and into the backyard "like some poor Aztec human sacrifice" by a group of bullies. The ten-year-old boy hits the ground and freezes, paralyzed by the terrifying reputation of the notorious house. The bullies cheer and holler from the safety beyond the fence.

Then the narrative jumps ahead to "years later" when rumors still abound as to what happened after the boy froze and, more specifically, as to the identity of the mysterious "Samaritan" boy who rescued him. The chapter concludes on something of a cliffhanger, at least for the boys in the story, with the mysterious rescuer, "cool times ten," sitting down calmly to read a book on the "forbidden steps" of the Finsterwald house. We, of course, know that this is no other than the Maniac Magee of the title.

In Chapter Five, we are introduced to 803 Oriole Street, home of the infamous Finsterwald. All the neighborhood kids know never to go near Finsterwald's home. When their balls and airplanes land in Finsterwald's backyard, they leave them there rather than retrieving them. 

One day, a group of high school bullies picks up Arnold Jones and hoists him over the fence and into Finsterwald's yard. The high school kids hear the chattering of Jones's teeth; he is terrified to be in the yard. 

Maniac bravely saves Arnold by rescuing him from the yard. To show his courage, Maniac then proceeds to sit down on Finsterwald's front steps and calmly read a book, a feat that impresses the other kids who would never dare to touch the steps.

Maniac and Grayson celebrate a happy Christmas together, and five days later, Grayson dies.

In this chapter, Maniac is living in the band shell equipment room with Grayson, the elderly zoo groundskeeper. Maniac and Grayson wake up early Christmas morning and go out. They visit their tree and the zoo animals. Maniac even gives the buffalo presents. It is magical because there is snow on the ground.

When they return, they exchange presents. Each of them gives the other things of great personal meaning. The gifts are not expensive store-bought presents, but gifts of sentimental value.

Maniac has been teaching Grayson how to read. He made him a book for Christmas.

As in all happy Christmas homes, the gifts were under the tree. Maniac gave Grayson a pair of gloves and a woolen cap and a book. The book did not appear to be as sturdy as the others lying around. The cover was blue construction paper, and the spine, instead of being bound, was stapled. (Ch. 31) 

Grayson gives Maniac his old glove, in addition to a brand new baseball. Maniac is very touched. He knows that Grayson used to be a baseball player, and giving Maniac the glove means a lot to him. The glove is something he values that he can pass on to Maniac. 

The boy could not take his eyes off the glove. The old man could not take his eyes off the boy. The record player finished the "Christmas Polka" and clicked off, and for a long time there was silence. (Ch. 31) 

It is a good thing that the two of them get to have this meaningful Christmas, because it will be their last one. Five days after Christmas, we learn, Grayson is dead. This is obviously quite unexpected. We learn in the next chapter that he just does not wake up one morning.

Two major events are the race with Mars Bar and Amanda’s book being destroyed.

Maniac Magee is very episodic, meaning that the book is really a series of loosely connected events.  Two that can be considered important are when Maniac made an impression on the neighborhood by beating Mars Bar in the race, and when Maniac left the Beales because someone destroyed Amanda’s favorite book, the encyclopedia Volume A.

Maniac ran away from home when his parents died and he was left with a feuding aunt and uncle.  He just started running one day and didn’t stop.  He ended up in Two Mills, a town strictly divided by race.  Maniac is white, but he does not seem to notice what color other people are.  He is homeless after all.  In Two Mills, there is the West End and the East End.  If you are white, you should stay on the West End, but Maniac somehow ends up on the East End.

Maniac meets a kid named Mars Bar in the East End.  His name comes from his love of candy bars, and he considers himself tough.  Maniac baffles him by taking a bite out of his candy bar.  One day Maniac ends up racing him, and he doesn’t know what to do so he runs backward.  Mars Bar is humiliated that Maniac beats him running backward.

Maybe it was that simple. After all, who asks why otters toboggan down mudbanks! But that didn't make it any less stupid or totten a thing to do. The hatred in Mars Bar's eyes was no longer for a white kid in the East End; it was for Jeffrey Magee, period. (Ch. 38)

Maniac has no meanness in him, and he really did not intend to embarrass Mars Bar.  Maniac just doesn’t seem to really understand how to be normal.  He may have made an enemy out of Mars Bar, but he thrilled the neighborhood kids. 

The second incident actually happens first, but it is more important thematically.

Maniac ends up living with the Beale family for a while.  He loves to read, and especially gets along well with Amanda Beale, who loves books so much that she carries her entire library with her so that her siblings won’t ruin the books.  She lends Maniac a book and Mars Bar tears a page out of it, so she beats him up.

Maniac loves the Beales.  They understand that he desperately needs a place to belong.  Unfortunately, there are some that just do not understand the concept of a white boy living with a black family.  The Beales are targeted, and the last straw for Maniac is when Amanda’s favorite book, Volume A of the Encyclopedia, gets destroyed as a message to him.

More than anything, Maniac wanted to hug Amanda and tell her it was okay. He wanted to go inside, be with his family, in his house, his room, behind his window. But that wasn't the right thing. The right thing was to make sure the Beales didn't get hurt anymore. He couldn't keep letting them pay such a price for him. (Ch. 21)

Maniac leaves because he doesn’t want the Beales to be the targets of racism or violence.  It breaks his heart, but he cares more about them than anything.  He ends up fluttering around, even living at the zoo with the groundskeeper until the old man dies.  Finally, Maniac returns to his real family, the Beales.

Jeffrey Lionel Magee, also known as Maniac Magee, becomes famous throughout the racially divided town of Two Mills for accomplishing heroic, legendary feats, which impress and astonish his peers. One could argue that the first "crazy" thing that Maniac did was run two hundred miles from Hollidaysburg to Two Mills, where he ends up befriending Amanda Beale and living with her family for a short period of time.

Maniac quickly becomes a legend by demonstrating his athleticism and courage. Maniac impresses his peers by bravely climbing over the Finsterwald's backyard fence to save a boy named Arnold Jones. Maniac's legend continues to grow after he hits the world's first "frogball" home run against John McNab. McNab pitched a frog to Maniac, who proceeded to bunt the frog, which was impossible to catch and gave him enough time to round all the bases.

In addition to entering the Finsterwald's dangerous backyard and hitting a "frogball" home run, Maniac spends his night at the deer shed located in the Elmwood Park Zoo. Maniac also ventures to the East End, which is the black side of town. Since Maniac is white, many people view his decision to travel to the East End as perilous and crazy.

Another one of Maniac's "crazy" accomplishments involves untying the infamous Cobble's Knot at the corner of Hector and Birch. Once Maniac accomplishes this feat, he wins free pizza for life from Cobble's Corner. Overall, Maniac Magee becomes a legendary figure throughout the town of Two Mills for his crazy accomplishments and impressive feats of athleticism.

The behavior that Mrs. Beale finds unacceptable is Maniac's trash-talking. The issue that Maniac is confronted with is that prior to Mrs. Beale, Maniac understood trash-talking as a sign of acceptance and bonding. The narrator even states that Maniac held trash-talking in high regard, saying, "It had spirit, it had what they called soul" (chapter 15). When he first met his friend Hands Down, Maniac was very quiet, so Hands Down would speak for him. This dynamic can be seen when the boys played sports in the vacant lot, where Hands Down used trash-talk when making a touchdown, saying things like, "Do it, man! Smoke them suckas! Poke 'em! Joke 'em! You bad-dudin' it! You the baddest! Five me, jude!" (chapter 15). When Maniac used used trash talk with Hands Down, it was positive, but Mrs. Beale does not see it that way.

While Maniac does not mean to hurt anyone with his choice of words, that type of communication and socialization is completely inappropriate and disrespectful in Mrs. Beale's eyes. She has welcomed and accepted him, and that means she expects the same from him as she does as the rest of her household. None of her other children use such language, especially not in her home, and especially not to her directly. She is shocked and angered that a child she cares for would turn around and speak to her in such a way, even if Maniac does not see trash-talk as negative. The narrator says, "She didn't like this boy bringing the vacant lot into her kitchen, and she didn't like how it fit his mouth." She then proceeds to slap Maniac in "that trash-talking mouth" (chapter 15).

I think the best way to answer this question is to make a list of significant events that involved Maniac Magee.  

1. Maniac's parents are killed in a trolley accident.
2. Maniac is sent to live with his aunt and uncle.
3. Maniac runs away after eight years. 
4. He arrives in Two Mills, PA. 
5. Maniac meets Amanda Beale. 
6. Maniac hits every pitch that John McNab can throw, and he even bunts a frog ball.  
7. Maniac solves Cobble's Knot.
8. Maniac lives with the Beale family for a while.  
9. Maniac teaches Earl Grayson how to read.  
10. Maniac learns how to throw a stop ball.  
11. Maniac convinces Piper and Russell McNab to not run away to Mexico. 
12. He lives with the McNab family for a bit.  
13. Maniac runs a race against Mars Bar and debates whether or not he should lose on purpose. 
14. Maniac moves back in with the Beale family.  

As you read the book, Maniac Magee, written by Jerry Spinelli, you will discover that it is a novel about a boy who is orphaned at a young age. The boy, Jeffery Lionel Magee, who comes to be known as Maniac, loses his parents to a trolley accident when he is only three years old. He goes to live with his aunt and uncle who have a dysfunctional relationship. As a school age boy, he prefers not to stay in this situation. One of the first things he does is to escape from his life with his relatives by running away during a performance at his school. Maniac wanders for a year before he surfaces in a town called Two Mills. Two Mills is a racially divided town and Maniac becomes embroiled in that racism in spite of the kindness of the Beale family who invites him into their home. The legend of Maniac Magee grows in Two Mills