Freak the Mighty: Looking Past the Appearance
In the novel, Freak the Mighty by, Rodman Philbrick Max and Kevin, two best friends, are throughout the book being judged by other people on their appearances. Max a big, tall, strong, dyslexic boy always gets judged about his dad and how his dad murdered his mom. People always are scared of him and mistake him for his dad. Kevin a small, smart boy with morquio syndrome always is being portrayed by other people as frail and poor. A constant theme demonstrated throughout the novel is that people should not judge people based on their appearances.
Max and Kevin are both people that get judged on by their looks, one is really small but smart, and the other is really strong but kind. Rodman shows the reader this when he writes, “All that walking you do, it must be stretching out your legs. And carrying poor Kevin around, that seems to be putting real muscle on you” (54). Grim always calls Kevin, “poor Kevin” which isn’t very nice. Just because he has a disability doesn’t mean he is “poor” and needs to be treated as a child. Kevin does not seem like the type of person that would like being called, “poor” to describe his physical appearance. Kevin is not poor due to inside his brain there is a whole new world of imagination. When people in the hall at their school says things “like, hey who’s the midget? And, there goes Mad Max; and, excuse me while I barf; and, look what escaped from the freak show; and, oh my gawd that’s disgusting”
so they became forever friends. In both the movie and the book Freak dies because his heart grew too big for his little body. Both the book and the movie are amusing. Both Freak and Max were bullied. Both in the book and the movie Max had a disorder with his body that prevented him from playing sports.
Maxwell Kane is a middle school student with no friends, no motivation, and a murderer for a father, but will he inherit his father’s violent ways. Rodman Philbrick’s story, Freak the Mighty, focuses heavily on heredity and history through the characters of Max, Killer Kane[Max’s father], and Max’s best friend, Kevin. Others may argue that Max’s actions throughout the story show that he is a decent citizen, but his appearance and violent actions both younger and current make clear that heredity does influence personality and decisions. As a young child, Max’s behavior is considerably violent.
In the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, there are contrast and contradiction moments that are revealing change. In the book, Grim and the School nurse both say,“ Everything is going to be okay maxwell, I am sure of it.” But, Max thinks he is okay and nothing bad is going to happen and Freak is the one that needs someone to tell him he is going to be okay, because stuff is happening to freak.
In the story, all the characters had something going on that they refused to face. Tub tried to cover up the fact that he had a weight problem by telling Frank and Kenny that it was his glands that is causing him to gain so much weight. Frank has the erg to leave his wife for the kid’s babysitter saying “… a hundred years ago she’d had been an old maid by that age” (p.174). In his mind he feels like it is okay to talk to a fifteen year old girl because back in the days it was normal when truly he is a pedophile. Kenny on the other hand, shows no signs of problems but feels the need to use the insecurities of others to make him feel better about
Max thinks Freak is just a crippled and dumb kid. He is actually smarter than him. He thinks he is trying to walk but he is just trying to get his bird out the tree. Max was kinda scared because he didn't know who he was. Freak thought Max was gonna kidnap him or hurt him, but Max just wanted to help him.
Imagine you have no control over your strength and you share your emotions in a dissimilar way. Imagine you are always dependent on someone else; you shadow their every step and word. You are now in the giant shoes of Lennie Smalls; he has a retardation (autism) that makes him unique and stand out of the run-of-the-mill crowd. On the day the horrific homicide took place, George Milton, the suspect, stole not only a Ruger gun but also an innocent
Murphy lacks mobility and sensation in his lower body other than the feeling of occasional muscle spasms, and has limited movement in his upper body below the neck including his arms. Murphy writes the story as it recounts events throughout his entire life, from childhood onwards. He was sixty-two when he wrote the novel. The story provides Murphy’s anthropological commentary on the life of a person with a disability and how society views and treats people with disabilities (Murphy, 1990). Murphy’s performance patterns both support and inhibit his occupational engagement.
Max has his meeting with the principle, then soon after Freak chokes on food. Also, the novel and the movie both have or show Max living with Gram and Grim. There is also Freak naming the elements of the fireworks show while sitting on Max’s shoulders. They find Loretta’s purse in the drain.
Sir Max the Mighty C.S. Lewis once said, “Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” Rodman Philbrick wrote his book Freak the Mighty about how the two most unlikely of friends can change each other for the better. Freak the Mighty is all about the adventures of two boys named Max and Kevin. Max is a large, misunderstood, learning-impaired boy with a very complicated family life. Kevin, also known as Freak, is a crippled prodigy and overall genius.
Imagine that you were considered freaks like Kevin and Max because of your freakish attributes. One super tall, strong and dull and the other short, frail, and intelligent, as one they are Freak the Mighty. Throughout the story Max and Kevin show their individuality, but they are also similar in the fact that they are both considered freaks. Even though Max and Kevin have somethings that are similar they are different in strength, and personality. These differences help complete Freak the Mighty because they have things that the other one does not.
On of the main characters, Lennie, is retarded and often gets him and George into trouble. In the story, the author gives many clues that allude to the fact that Lennie has a mental illness. Throughout the story, he says and does things that shows the reader of this. The ways Lennie is shown as retarded is through his childish manner, his memory loss, his incapability to control his strength, and his cowardness.
Mental and physical disabilities are shown through how the different characters interact with their environment. Disabilities can create obstacles in a person's life but they also allow for other people to create an identity for them. Steinbeck shows that disabilities can create a political statement. They all had dreams to be something better than what they were but the tag that society gave them they were unable to pursue their thoughts and ideas. All these characters possed the same characteristic of being hopeless but in reality if they were given hope they may have been able to achieve their ambitions, prospects, and
Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendak is an interesting children’s picture book. The main character is a little boy named Max, who has a wild imagination. He uses all five senses as well as thought and his actions to express his personality as well as how he reacts and interacts with his surroundings. Max’s id, ego and super-ego are greatly shown in this book through the way that the author has portrayed him. Not only is this book a children’s story, but it can also be perceived as a life lesson.
Friendship “A best friend is someone who you can talk to, who won’t judge you, loves you for you, and most of all, makes you feel like you are worth something.” Even though this is written by an anonymous person, it is still extremely empowering. During the novel Freak the Mighty, Max and Kevin demonstrated a strong friendship. In fact, when they accepted each other without judgment and made each other feel like they belonged, their friendship grows. Friendship is important because having a good friend can get you through rough and frustrating times.
If Max had known much earlier that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, he would not have experienced the traumatic life experience as he had. Max would have accepted his shortcomings and have the freedom of will to change for the better. It’s just that people and society in general are not aware of the many types of disorders and that help is available. Max is just unfortunate that he is an orphan and did not have anyone to help him. Mr Erikson say that the Identity vs Role Confusion stage usually ends when the teenager is aged 25 to 30 but the theory lacks any object way to determine if a person has “passed” or “failed” a particular stage of development.