Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Freak the Mighty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
The Power of Storytelling
Memory, Grief, and Trauma
Family Legacy vs. Individuality
Summary
Analysis
Max remarks that everyone goes nuts for the Fourth of July. Dads get drunk and grill, moms try to keep kids from blowing themselves up, and kids run wild. Max assures readers that he loves the Fourth but he thinks that people don’t see what really happens—that is, that the dads just get drunk and act numb. Max says that this year, he gets to go to the fireworks at the millpond without Grim and Gram for the first time. He’s going with Freak instead. Gram thinks this is a good idea because she’s afraid people will step on Freak, which Max thinks is silly—people never step on little kids, so they’d never step on Freak.
Max’s fixation on the role of alcohol in Fourth of July festivities is another clue that he hasn’t had good experiences with his own father or with alcohol in the past. He has no reason to think that dads do anything but get drunk on Fourth of July, which suggests that even as Max tries to ignore his own memories of the past, they still influence how he interprets his present. He again stands up for Freak’s dignity when he points out how silly Gram’s fear is that people will step on him.
Themes
Max says that as expected, they have no reason to worry about getting stepped on but every reason to worry about people drinking beer. A few blocks from the millpond, Max recognizes the voice of Tony D., the local bully, shouting insults at them. Tony D. is 17 and he’s already been to juvenile court several times; Max knows that the only way to deal with Tony D. and his gang is to avoid them. Regardless, Max and Freak stop. Tony D. struts up and he asks if the boys “got any.” Max can smell beer and possibly road kill on Tony D.’s breath. Freak stares Tony D. down and he asks Tony D. what they’re supposed to have. Tony D. wants fireworks. Freak starts to walk away faster than he can comfortably go. He tells Max to follow him and to ignore the “cretin.”
That Max so willingly stops for Tony D. drives home again that Max isn’t violent; rather, Max is scared of others. Although Max seems big and scary to other people, he clearly has no interest in fighting with older bullies. This illustrates again how wrong people’s perceptions of Max are: he’s clearly terrified and he knows that even he can’t take on Tony D., no matter his reputation.
Themes
Tony D. steps in front of Freak and he asks what Freak said. Freak spells “cretin” and defines it, and Max laughs out loud. At this, Tony D. bares his teeth. Max thinks they look sharp and he believes that Tony D. is going to kill them, but fortunately, a cop car turns on its siren and it heads for the millpond. Tony D. and his gang run away. Freak breathes that that was “a close encounter of the turd kind,” which takes Max a second to get but then makes him laugh. After a minute, Freak asks if Max could take Tony D. Max says that nobody can, which just makes Freak laugh louder.
It’s impossible to know for sure whether Tony D.’s teeth are actually sharp, but it’s very possible that this perception is just a reflection of Max’s fear. Because Max is the one telling his story, readers get Max’s highly biased version of events—so while Max may present things like this as fact, it’s possible he’s exaggerating. This is another way in which Max is able to control his own story and his memories.
Themes
Freak laughs so hard that he falls over, so Max picks him up and he notes how light Freak is. Later, watching the fireworks, this gives Max the idea to pick Freak up and set him on his shoulders when Freak can’t see. Freak trembles for a moment but then he grabs some of Max’s hair and starts whooping at the fireworks. Max knows then that it’s okay that he picked Freak up like this. Freak shouts the various elements that give fireworks their colors and Max feels in awe of everything that Freak knows.
Max’s desire to not offend Freak shows again that he’s not a bully by any means. He’s generous, kind, and he wants Freak to feel respected and supported—he definitely doesn’t want to make Freak uncomfortable. In other words, Max looks at how others treat him and then does the exact opposite, but few people understand that Max operates this way.
Themes
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