Attack Of The Black Rectangles

Marci is one of Mac’s two best friends and is part of the campaign against censorship. She is intelligent and mature and teaches Denis and Mac about feminism. She gets along well with Mac’s grandad and participates in the protests that he and Mac join on weekends. Grandad fondly calls her a “firecracker” because of her confidence and intelligence. Mac is attracted to her for these same traits and pursues a relationship with her before reverting back to friends due to their young age.

Marci serves as a catalyst for the book’s events when she finds the black rectangles in The Devil’s Arithmetic. She explains to Mac and Denis that the fact that the word “breasts” is blacked out is sexist because it implies that a word for a female body part is inappropriate and that boys are too immature to read it. This is especially insulting because the word appears in a scene about the Holocaust, where even young readers would know by the context to be mature about the use of the word.

Denis is Mac’s other best friend who also becomes involved in protesting censorship. He is anxious and sensitive, and Mac often tries to help him calm down about the things he’s worried about. Mac introduces comic relief within the narrative and represents differing sexualities as he shares his lack of romantic interest in others. After attending the dance with Hoa under the impression of going as friends, Denis quickly ends the night when he realizes Hoa is attracted to him as more than friends. His concern about the development illustrates his thoughtful character. Mac struggles at times to see Denis’s thoughtfulness, as he doesn’t always agree with how Denis goes about things. For example, Denis tells Marci about Mac’s feelings for her without Mac’s consent, spurring their relationship development on further. Ultimately, Denis is an understanding friend and positive influence in Mac’s life who supports him in his protest against the restriction of their intellectual freedoms.

Ms. Sett teaches sixth grade and frequently publishes her opinions in letters to the local newspaper’s editors. Ms. Sett’s blacking out of passages in the book the literature circle group reads begins the conflict of the novel and lends the book its name. Before Mac even enters Ms. Sett's classroom, he is aware of her reputation for being a major proponent of the town’s strict rules. She is known for defending rules like the curfew and only white paint being allowed for houses. He reflects on his first interaction with her when, on a field trip to Philadelphia, he asked how many of the Declaration of Independence signers enslaved people and she tried to get him to be quiet. Given these circumstances, Mac is skeptical of Ms. Sett in the beginning of the narrative.

When Mac is placed in Ms. Sett’s class, he is surprised that she treats them like adults. Ms. Sett’s censorship sparks Mac’s character development as he confronts her about her dishonest portrayal of Christopher Columbus. During these contentious interactions between Ms. Sett and Mac, her attitude is unbothered and condescending; she maintains that she knows what’s best for her students.

Mac’s mother is characterized by her strength and grace as Mac observes her hard work in hospice care as well as navigating her relationship with Mac’s father. She is patient and kind and gives people the benefit of the doubt. During her confrontation with Mike, Mac’s father, she maintains composure and grace through her feelings of distress. Mac notices and appreciates these qualities in his mom. Additionally, she also has an affinity for social justice like Grandad. A shift in her character changes after Mac’s father leaves, and she becomes more involved with protesting the censorship Mac faces. His mother’s expanded support provides Mac with additional encouragement as he faces the school board again, and her concerns about the issue importantly validate Mac’s feelings.

Mac’s grandad serves as Mac’s father figure in the novel and guides him through every challenging aspect of Mac’s life in sixth grade. He is a Vietnam War veteran who uses wellness practices like yoga and meditation to cope after having fought in a war at a young age. Grandad introduces Mac to the countercultural elements of the 1960s and 1970s, such as civil disobedience, protesting, and punk music, to help him channel his anger productively. He also encourages him to vent his anger and sadness freely. Mac realizes that even though his dad is absent, he still has a father figure because Grandad is there for him.

When Mac was eight, Mike moved out of the house. Mac does not fully understand why his father had to leave, but he still sees him on Saturdays when Mike comes over for dinner and works on Grandad’s car. Mike serves as a character who inspires Mac’s own character development through their differences. Mike tells Mac that he is an alien and that Grandad’s car is his spacecraft. While Mac attempts to entertain these stories to maintain his relationship with his father, Mike’s admission that he cannot love like most people do upsets Mac. Additionally, Mike’s presence and absence cause inner turmoil for Mac, who tries to conceal his family struggles from his friends. As Mac doesn’t believe in lies of omission, this causes a character conflict that Mac must overcome throughout the narrative. In the novel’s resolution, Mac reveals that he and his mother have ceased communicating with Mike, who has begun to go to therapy.