Presentation ideas
King Arthur & Guinevere
Lancelot
Sir Gawain
Chivalry
Hell’s Angels (or similar motorcycle gang)
Parole
Tenement
Morquio Syndrome
Rodman Philbrick
Quests: Jason and the Argonauts
Quests: Perseus
Fairy Tale
Dragons
Darth Vader
Mondegreen
The Montreal Massacre
Final Screen references your sources
A Teaching Guide to: "Freak the Mighty"
See Also: Max The Mighty Guide || Study Guide by Dr. Alexa Sandmann || The Mighty Film Study
Guide
Written by Arthea J. S. Reed, Ph.D., Professor and Chairperson of
Education, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC
"I wrote Freak the Mighty because Max, the mighty half of
Freak the Mighty, insisted and he's bigger than I am." Rodman Philbrick
To the Teacher
"Freak the Mighty" is an unusual, well-written young adult
novel. Although likely to be classified as realistic fiction, it has
many elements of fantasy and fairy tale: the handicapped hero who is bigger than
life, exciting quests, events that have numerous levels of meaning, and magical
moments. Philbrick's novel of two handicapped and troubled young men, one
smaller than a yardstick and the other outgrowing size thirteen shoes, is about the
strength of friendship, family, intelligence, and life. The poignant story is told from
the perspective of Max, who through the life and death of his friend Kevin, learns to
respect his own intelligence and endure his own frightening heritage.
Philbrick's novel, most appropriate for middle school readers, has won significant
critical acclaim and is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. It is an excellent book to
teach and to discuss. Not only will adolescent readers devour it and rejoice in the
victories of Max and Kevin, but teachers will love all its teachable themes.
Summary
The novel's plot is circular. In the first two sentences Max states, "I never had a brain
until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while, and that's the truth, the
whole truth. The Unvanquished Truth." But it is not until the novel's final page that
we learn why and how Max wrote a book about the adventures of Freak the Mighty.
In the first chapter, we meet the cast of characters: learning disabled and very large
Max, severely handicapped and incredibly intelligent Kevin, Gram, and appropriately
named Grim, Max's grandfather. We learn that there is a Him in Max's life, someone
his grandparents fear and someone Max resembles.
Max and Kevin had known each other in day care, but do not meet again until the
summer before eighth grade, when Max, who is so big he is exploding out of his
clothes, places Kevin, whose body is too small for his growing organs, on his
shoulders and walks into a pond to out wit Tony D. and his punkster pals. From that
moment, with Kevin providing the directions and Max the mobility and strength, they
are known as Freak the Mighty. All summer they rescue fair maidens and slay
dragons. Loretta, one of the maidens, turns out to be a friend of Kenny Kane, Max's
father who is imprisoned for murdering Max's mother.
That Christmas, Kenny Kane, newly released from prison, kidnaps Max, and drags
him bound and gagged to the basement of a burned-out building. Suddenly, Freak
rolls down through a basement window holding a big blaster squirt gun he claims is
filled with sulfuric acid. He squirts it in Kenny's eyes. Max puts Freak on his
shoulders, and they run for their lives.
After the recapture of Killer Kane, life becomes quieter for both boys. On his
birthday, Kevin suffers a seizure and is rushed to the hospital. He gives Max a blank
book asking him to fill it up with their adventures. When Max learns the next day that
Kevin has died, he lashes out at Kevin's doctor, but she explains that no surgery was
ever possible and that Kevin knew it. At first Max hides from his friend's death in his
room down under. Finally, after many months he begins to write the story of Freak
the Mighty on the pages of the book Kevin had given him.
The Big Picture
Thinking About the Book
1. Why is Max convinced he does not have a brain? Is his assessment of himself as
a "butthead" correct? Do our opinions of ourselves affect what others think of us? Do
others' opinions of us affect how we feel about ourselves?
2. How does Kevin prove to Max he is not a "butthead"? How does Kevin help Max
learn how to read and write?
3. Why is Freak's Christmas gift of the pyramid shaped box and handwritten
dictionary so important to Max?
4. Why does Max call the first chapter of his book, "The Unvanquished Truth"?
5. Why do we care about what happens to Max and Kevin? How does the author
make us care about them?
6. How does the location of Max's room "down under" relate to how he feels about
himself?
7. How does Freak get Max out of his room? What is "magic" about their quests?
8. Does Freak really believe that he will be "the first bionically improved human" by
having a body transplant? What does Freak mean when he says "you can remember
anything, whether it happened or not"?
9. Why does Max agree with his father, who says, "I, Kenneth David Kane, do swear
by all that's Holy that I did not murder this boy's mother"? What does the story Kenny
tells about the "injustice" that was done him, tell us about him?
10. How are Kevin and Kenny similar in how they deal with the world? How are they
different?
11. What is the irony in calling the tenements the New Testaments? What is ironic
about Killer Kane posing as the Reverend Kenneth David Kane? Why is Kenny's
remark that you should never trust a cripple ironic?
12. Why does Loretta try to save Max? What does this tell us about her? Why is Max
not surprised when he sees her drunk at the end of the novel? How does she finally
save Max?
13. Why is the scene with Kevin and the squirt gun funny? Does Kevin recognize the
humor? Does Max?
14. With whom is Max angry when he realizes that Kevin is dead? Why? What helps
him get over his anger?
Student Activities
1. Help students search for aspects of the novel that make it fantasy-like: the biggerthan-life hero, the quests, the magical moments, and meanings beyond actual words
on the page.
2. Discuss with students the meaning of the word "sobriquet." Identify the sobriquets
used in the book. Suggest that students write a sobriquet for a partner reflecting a
positive quality in that per son.
3. Each day, write one of the many interesting quotes from the book on the
chalkboard. Have students write about what they think the quote means, write a
poem that includes the quote or helps explain the quote, or tell a story that
incorporates the quote or uses the quote as a moral.
4. Explore some of the novel's themes: the importance of friendship and family, the
difference between myth and reality, recognizing the worth in all humans, the
importance of positive self concept, and dealing with death.
Freak the Mighty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Freak the Mighty
Freak the Mighty paperback cover
Author
Cover artist
Rodman Philbrick
David Shannon
Country
United States
Genre(s)
Young Adult
Publisher
Blue Sky/Scholastic
Publication date
1993
Media type
Print
Pages
160
ISBN
ISBN 0785765948
Followed by
Max the Mighty
Freak the Mighty is a child novel by Rodman Philbrick. Published in 1993, it was
followed by the novel Max the Mighty in 1998. The primary characters are friends
Maxwell Kane, a large, very slow, but kind-hearted kid and his friend Kevin Dillon,
nicknamed “Freak,” who is physically crippled but very intelligent.[1]
The novel was adapted for the screen by Charles Leavitt; the film was shot in
Toronto, Canada and Cincinnati, Ohio, and directed by Peter Chelsom, and released
in 1998.[2]
Plot
The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the
rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (July 2008)
In the beginning of the book, Max (Maxwell) Kane is a boy with low self-esteem. He
lives in the basement of his house under the protection of his grandparents who he
calls "Grim" and "Gram". He thinks he's stupid and people are afraid of him because
of the fact that he looks like his father, "Killer Kane," a convicted murderer. The story
starts out when Max is in day care and he describes a small kid on crutches who
loves robots. This kid is named Kevin. Max, however, calls Kevin, "Freak". Many
years later when Max is in middle school, the story begins.
Max finds that people are moving into the adjacent house. The new neighbors turn
out to be Freak and his mother Gwen, who Freak calls "The Fair Gwen" after King
Arthur's wife. Max takes Kevin to the Fourth of July fireworks, and puts Freak on his
shoulders so he can see. The tough guy, Blade (Tony D), chases the two into the
pond because Freak called him a cretin (someone who has mental problems). They
are rescued by the police before Blade does any harm.
After this incident, the two become friends and Freak starts riding on Max's
shoulders. The two go on adventures such as going to the hospital which Freak
claims has a secret department called the "Bionics Department" which has had his
body cat scanned to be fitted into an artificial body. Later on, the two also find a
woman's purse in the sewer. They return it to the woman who is named Loretta Lee.
She is the wife of Iggy Lee, the boss of the Panheads, a motorcycle gang who "strike
fear in everyone, even the cops" as Max puts it. Iggy says that the two of them once
knew Max's and Freak's father but they do not harm them because they are afraid of
Max's father.
At school, Freak nearly dies when he chokes after eating American chop suey. Max
alerts the nurse believing that Freak was choking. Freak is later taken to the
hospital. Later, Grim reveals to Max that his father has been put on parole. Max is
shocked by this news. Freak returns from the hospital and the two celebrate
Christmas Eve together. After Christmas Eve, Max is woken up by his father, Killer
Kane, who has come down the chimney to kidnap him. After Max is kidnapped by
his father, the two drive to Iggy Lee's room in the "New Testaments", which is slang
for the new tenements. Killer Kane swears on the Bible that he didn't murder Max's
mother. He also reveals that he plans to head to "warmer weather." Later, a police
car drives by Iggy Lee's house. Iggy says that Freak was leading the search for Max.
Killer Kane then gets anxious and prepares to leave. He leaves Max alone, tied up in
a room in the house. Loretta, shocked that Kane would do something like that to his
own kid frees Max. Killer Kane sees that she's untying Max and starts to choke her.
Max attempts to stop him and reveals that he witnessed Kane kill his mother in the
same fashion. Kane attempts to kill Max, but Freak arrives and saves Max by
squirting Kane with a squirt gun he claims is filled with sulfuric acid when in fact, is
filled with soap, vinegar, and curry powder. Kane is arrested and put in jail.

Later in the year, Freak dies after telling Max to record all of their adventures. Also,
Max receives a handmade dictionary from Freak and it becomes very special to him.
Doctors tell Max that Freak's heart got too big for his body. (In an interview with the
author, Rodman reveals that Freak suffers from Morquio syndrome). Max grieves for
weeks, but Loretta, with her neck in a brace, tells Max "nothing is a drag kid, think
about it." Max takes this to heart and says that Freak wouldn't have wanted him to
grieve. So, with Loretta Lee's help, Max finishes a book about Freak and his
adventures, in accordance with Freak's final wishes. Max then reveals that "Freak the
Mighty" was the book he had written about his adventures with Freak.
'Max The Mighty' Study Guide
THE BOOK
In this much anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Freak the Mighty, readers
once again encounter Maxwell Kane. Max, the giant-sized but mild-mannered young
man who in the earlier book befriended a tiny disabled genius named Kevin, in this
book finds himself coming to the rescue of another outcast nicknamed "Worm"
because of her interest in reading. When Worm's well-being is threatened by
abusive stepfather, Max joins in her search for her real father, little suspecting the
danger and adventure which await them both in Chivalry, Montana.
THEME
One word which recurs frequently throughout the Worm in her escape from The
Undertaker. is truth. Each character in the novel, however, has a different idea of
what the truth is. Explore the meanings of the word "truth" as used by: Undertaker
(Worm's stepfather), Max, and Worm. Refer to some of the following pages for
references to this important word: pp. 18, 23, 24, 71, 79, 83, 166. 5.
CONFLICT
Conflict operates on many levels in this novel. Of course, there is the conflict
between Worm and her stepfather and the conflict between Max and Worm and the
bullies. However, the inner conflict experienced by Max is perhaps the most pointed
of all. Why is Max uncertain about his actions? (pp. 13-14). Why does he question
whether or not he should interfere in Worm's life?
SETTING
The setting in this story shifts from one place to another with great rapidity.
Construct a map which traces the route taken by Max and Worm as they hitchhike
out of town and later jump a train to Chivalry.
CHARACTERIZATION
In the opening pages of the story, it becomes readily apparent that appearances can
be deceiving. For example, even though Max is a large person, he does not like to
fight; he is quite different from the bullies he confronts. Compare the outward
appearance of Max, Worm, The Undertaker, the Hippy Dippy, and/or other
characters with their inner selves.
DISCUSS
1. What is so special about the helmet Worm is wearing when Max first encounters her
(p. 5)? What clues are provided by the author as to the literal and symbolic meaning
of the miner's helmet?
2. This book is a sequel. Does it stand on its own as a her story? Do readers need to have
read Freak the Mighty in order to fully appreciate this story?
3. Max says, "when you get into trouble, head for home"
(p. 27). Is home the best place for Max? For Worm?
4. Like Huck Finn, Max breaks the rules when he assists Worm in her escape from The
Undertaker. Is it ever right to break the rules and disobey the orders of an adult?
Under what circumstances would it be permissible for someone to do something
illegal?
5. Worm reports that there is magic in the world (p. 63). She insists that book magic
seeps into the real world (pp. 121-122) and believes in people even if people do not
believe in magic. What does she mean? What kind of magic can transfer from the
world of the story to the real world?