Earl Grayson is a character in Maniac Magee known for "saving" Maniac (Jeffrey). He had been quite successful in parts of his life, regardless of his poor upbringing. The two characters seem to lead parallel lifestyles. Earl was on his own at a very young age, as was Jeffrey.
Grayson's biggest accomplishment in Maniac Magee is his success as a baseball pitcher. He plays AAA baseball, one step below the major leagues. He ends up blowing his chance at making it in the end. Jeffrey is intrigued by Grayson's past, but Grayson is not keen of talking about it.
In the book, Jeffrey teaches Grayson to read. One might say that this is an accomplishment for both Grayson and Jeffrey. The two seem to find things in one another they long to find in their actual families.
I would say that another of Grayson's accomplishments is his ability to care for Jeffrey in a way he never had been before. Sure, Grayson has essentially nothing to his name, but he takes Jeffrey in and makes him feel important and loved. This is a feeling very new to Jeffrey.
I can think of two major accomplishments that should be mentioned concerning Earl Grayson. The first accomplishment is that he made something of himself after running away from his horrible home life. He turned himself into a quite good baseball pitcher. He had a shot at the major leagues, but he didn't perform well on the day the scout came to watch; however, Grayson was a good enough pitcher to stay in the minor leagues for more than 20 years. It's a huge accomplishment to stay that good for that long.
The other accomplishment that I think should be mentioned is his learning to read. Grayson didn't learn to read as a kid, so Maniac Magee had to teach him. This is important because it shows that he is still willing to learn, and it shows Maniac the importance of learning and school as well. Grayson doesn't become a great reader, because he dies just after Christmas; however, he does successfully read an entire children's book on his own.
No comments:
Post a Comment