Racial segregation can be defined as a separation of people based on their race who live in a fixed boundary. Each group experiences the same life styles by participating in the same activities or eating the same foods but just in another part of town. The book Maniac Magee can be compared to the artwork New Kids in the Neighborhood in several ways by creating a mood dictated through the setting of racism. The setting of Maniac Magee takes place in a small town called Two Mills where blacks and whites are separated by Hector Street. Each side lives their own lives but never interfere with the opposite side as a result the mood can be characterized as sad. New Kids in the Neighborhood by Norman Rockwell creates a scene that takes place in 1967. The artwork was painted when America was going through the civil rights movement. The setting takes place in a nice neighborhood where families of different races are starting to move in the same areas.
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Two groups of children are in a neighborhood standing in a driveway staring at each other due to their different skin colors. The children are confused on how to act around the other race either because they have never been in contact with them or they are afraid of how the adult in the window will react. This setting creates a feeling of sadness for the viewer because at this time children did not fully understand the reasoning behind racism but were still expected to support the views of their parents or society on how to treat one another. I chose this artwork because I thought it ties into the book Maniac Magee perfectly because the overall setting of racism leaves the viewer with a sad feeling. Sadness is also demonstrated through the children because they do not know how to interact with one another even though they may have several things in common. I chose the artwork New Kids in the Neighborhood as an illustration to represent Maniac Magee because several elements are similar. It fits into the novel by creating the theme of race, are just houses not homes, and eventually uniting as one. Race is the major theme in both the novel and artwork. It helps identify the overall mood by demonstrating the characters do not know what to say or do to someone of another race. It is perceived both races are very different in the kind of activities played, food eaten, or clothes that are worn. When in reality both sides are very similar and have many things in common. The artwork shows similar things the children have in common for instance playing baseball, love for animals, around the same ages, and the girls are wearing the same pink bow in their hair. The reason the opposite race in the artwork and Greyson in the novel are so curious is because they never took the time to learn about one another. Each group was under the impression they were superior and never thought twice regarding what the others had. Maniac lived in many houses during the novel where he felt like it was only going to stay there a short while. Finally he found a home represented by a house number where he could finally feel loved and be comfortable. The artwork has several houses in the setting but none of them have a house number on
Two groups of children are in a neighborhood standing in a driveway staring at each other due to their different skin colors. The children are confused on how to act around the other race either because they have never been in contact with them or they are afraid of how the adult in the window will react. This setting creates a feeling of sadness for the viewer because at this time children did not fully understand the reasoning behind racism but were still expected to support the views of their parents or society on how to treat one another. I chose this artwork because I thought it ties into the book Maniac Magee perfectly because the overall setting of racism leaves the viewer with a sad feeling. Sadness is also demonstrated through the children because they do not know how to interact with one another even though they may have several things in common. I chose the artwork New Kids in the Neighborhood as an illustration to represent Maniac Magee because several elements are similar. It fits into the novel by creating the theme of race, are just houses not homes, and eventually uniting as one. Race is the major theme in both the novel and artwork. It helps identify the overall mood by demonstrating the characters do not know what to say or do to someone of another race. It is perceived both races are very different in the kind of activities played, food eaten, or clothes that are worn. When in reality both sides are very similar and have many things in common. The artwork shows similar things the children have in common for instance playing baseball, love for animals, around the same ages, and the girls are wearing the same pink bow in their hair. The reason the opposite race in the artwork and Greyson in the novel are so curious is because they never took the time to learn about one another. Each group was under the impression they were superior and never thought twice regarding what the others had. Maniac lived in many houses during the novel where he felt like it was only going to stay there a short while. Finally he found a home represented by a house number where he could finally feel loved and be comfortable. The artwork has several houses in the setting but none of them have a house number on