Attack Of The Black Rectangles

Mac, Marci, and Denis have a plan for addressing the censorship in their books. They go to the principal’s office and ask the secretary to arrange a meeting with her. They show Dr. McKenny a copy of The Devil’s Arithmetic, and when she sees the blacked-out words, she tells Marci that she’ll get her another copy. The kids tell her that all of the copies have the same words blacked out and they want to know who did it. Dr. McKenny reassures them that it is not a big deal, but they insist that the censorship is “an insult to [their] intellectual freedom” (74). The students tell Dr. McKenny that they have researched book banning and censorship and that they could protest if no one addresses their concerns. Dr. McKenny doesn’t want that, but she still does think the censorship is a problem. Mac feels angry at her condescension and nonchalant attitude toward the issue, but he also worries that his intense anger makes him like his father. Throughout the meeting, Mac notices that Marci looks at Denis a lot. He also observes that when Marci is angry, a dimple on her cheek appears, which he thinks is cute.

Mac doesn’t trust that Dr. McKenny will help, but he doesn’t tell his friends. He continues reading The Devil’s Arithmetic, which features a character who can time travel. He wishes that he had been born in a different time, when adults would be honest with children, but he guesses that has never been the case.

After the disappointing meeting with the principal, Mac, Denis, and Marci talk about other ways they could fight censorship. Marci seems distracted, and Denis asks her what’s wrong. She tells them that she is “tired of the patriarchy” and explains that the censorship of words like “breast” is inherently sexist because it sends the message that discussing female anatomy, even in nonsexual contexts, is shameful and that boys can’t help but be distracted by the word (78). She tells them that sexism is harmful to men as well as women, as it is assumed that boys are too immature to handle a word like “breast.”

A fellow literature group member, Aaron, walks up to them. Hearing the word “breast,” he asks why they are talking about “bad words.” Mac feels angry again; he is angry at censorship, that Dr. McKenny doesn’t care, that Aaron is ignorant, and that his dad smashed his mom’s mug and said he couldn’t love. Marci notices that something is wrong but gets distracted by a stray football that almost hits some classmates.

Back in the classroom, Marci is called to the office. Mac and Denis assume that the principal wants to follow up on their complaint about the censored books. Mac thinks that Ms. Sett and Dr. McKenny might be trying to “divide and conquer” by turning Mac, Denis, and Marci against each other so they will stop complaining about the books. When Marci returns, she is wearing a large sweatshirt and has been crying. Later, Marci tells Denis and Mac that Ms. Sett reported Marci for a dress code violation: When she lifted her arms to catch the football at recess, her shirt went up and revealed some skin. Both boys lift their arms and see that their shirts also rise up a few inches. No one had ever had a problem with that. Denis asks Marci how the patriarchy is connected to this situation if Ms. Sett, a woman, is the biggest enforcer of the dress code. Marci explains that the patriarchy is a system that everyone participates in, not just men. Mac reflects that Marci explains a lot of these concepts to them and that, like his mom, she must use a lot of grace to do so.

Dr. McKenny calls the kids back to the office to tell them that the book issue has been settled. She says the person who marked out the words had done so because when she taught the book years ago, the words made some students uncomfortable and boys would giggle at them. When she uses the pronoun “she,” they know that the person who censored the words was Ms. Sett. 

Marci and Mac push back at this reasoning. Mac says he doesn’t believe that anyone ever complained about the book. They demand that the books be replaced, but Dr. McKenny protests that it is just a few words marked out and they already know what they are.

After their talk with Dr. McKenny, Denis is worried that Ms. Sett will be mean to them since they told on her to her boss. Mac and Marci don’t care; they are still determined to fight back. That day, they learn about Christopher Columbus since they have a day off for the Columbus Day holiday next week. Mac is angry that this lesson celebrates Columbus as a hero who discovered America. He insists on discussing the reality of what Columbus did, which was destroy the lives of the native people who were already there. Ms. Sett gives Mac detention for his confrontation.

In detention, Ms. Sett asks Mac to stop challenging her in front of the class. She doesn’t want to teach that uncomfortable aspect of history and says that he should keep the things he learns at home to himself. He points out that Aaron is allowed to proclaim that the earth is flat, which isn’t even true, but Ms. Sett insists that is different because the class already knows that the earth is not flat. She thinks they will figure out the truth about Christopher Columbus on their own, just like Mac, Marci, and Denis figured out the words in The Devil’s Arithmetic on their own. Now Mac knows that Ms. Sett knows that they told on her. Again, Mac is so furious at her willingness to avoid the truth that he is dizzy with rage. He hates the way all adults except for his mom and grandad avoid telling children the truth.

Mac, Denis, and Marci confront Ms. Sett about the censored books now that she knows that they know that she did it. She tells them that adults sometimes do things that don’t seem like they are in children’s best interests when they really are. She maintains that she was right to censor the books, and the children are angry at her condescension and her unprincipled attempts to curb their freedoms. 

Meanwhile, Mac is getting more distracted by Marci. He feels strange and almost sick when he’s around her. Denis can tell that Mac likes Marci, and he thinks that Marci likes him, too. He encourages Mac to ask her to the homecoming dance. Mac goes home and talks to his grandad about it. His grandad says that if Marci is interested in social justice and activism, then Mac should find something to protest that will impress her. It is obvious that the censorship issue is the best place to start. Grandad takes Mac to the record store and buys him some punk rock and love songs, saying, “You gotta learn about love somehow, kid” (106).

After going to the record store, Grandad must leave, and Mac’s mom is not home yet, either. He is home alone and getting a snack when his dad walks in the house. Mac is alarmed because it is Thursday, and his dad always comes on Friday. Neither his mom nor his grandad told him about his dad coming, so he senses that something is wrong. His dad says that his mom knew he was coming over for dinner, but Mac is still uneasy. He goes up to his room, and soon, his dad comes upstairs, which he never does. Mac tries to get him back downstairs and outside, and they eventually go sit on the porch until his grandad returns. When he does, Grandad tells Mac to go inside while he talks to Mike. Mac believes he’d been right and that Mike had not been expected and he shouldn’t be there. 

His grandad texts Mac’s mom so that she is not blindsided by Mike, and she arrives home with extra pizza. At dinner, Mac tells his family about how his friends are fighting censorship at school. Since the principal and his teacher are not taking it seriously, he thinks the next move is to contact the superintendent and attend a school board meeting.