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
By now, it’s normal for Freak to ride on Max’s shoulders and steer. Freak doesn’t always know where he’s going; he prefers to make things up. Max loves it. He sometimes thinks they’re just walking down the sidewalk, but really, they’re crossing a dangerous bridge. Freak tells Max to head east and he pulls out a compass with the Cub Scout logo on it. He insists it’s actually a rare and valuable King Arthur relic. Max heads east and they walk for miles. In a ritzy neighborhood, Freak points out all the houses that are actually castles. Eventually, Max asks if they can stop for a Coke. Freak says they’re almost to the fortress—after they get there, they can buy a Coke.
Through storytelling, Freak is able to turn ordinary or mundane activities, like walking down the sidewalk or through a neighborhood, into something magical. Max loves spending time like this with Freak because it begins to show him the power of imagination and of storytelling. It also helps him deepen his trust in Freak, which in turn helps the boys strengthen their friendship and come up with even more adventures.
Themes
The fortress turns out to be a hospital. Freak leads Max to a new building in the back that’s labeled “Medical Research.” He explains that they do experiments there and he asks Max to swear to keep a secret. Freak talks Max through making a blood pact with saliva and then he whispers that inside, there’s a lab called the Experimental Bionics Unit. There, they’re developing a new form of bionic robot—and Freak is going to be “the first bionically improved human.” Max doesn’t know what “bionics” means and he asks Freak to just tell him rather than making him look it up. Freak defines it as the science of designing new parts for the human body.
Freak’s insistence that he’s going to be “the first bionically improved human” is, importantly, a story that helps him make sense of the consequence of his disease—the most serious being that Freak likely isn’t going to live a very long life. Choosing to fixate on getting a bionic body gives Freak something to look forward to and hope for, rather than fixating on the fact that he’s going to die. By telling this story to Max, who takes it at face value, Freak also ropes Max in and he makes the story even more real.
Themes
Freak says that the Bionics Unit is building him a whole new robot. It will look like him, just bigger and better. Excitedly, Freak says that he comes to the Bionics Unit every few months for tests, and they’re hard at work fitting him for a bionic transplant. Max can tell that this isn’t pretend or pure imagination. This is important to Freak. Max understands this, even if he doesn’t comprehend what it means to be a human robot. Max asks if it’ll hurt. Freak is quiet for a moment but then he says it will—but he can think his way out of pain. Worried, Max asks if someone else can be first since it sounds dangerous. Freak says that life is dangerous and then he suggests that they head home.
Less important than Max’s understanding of what Freak is saying is the fact that Max understands entirely how important this is to Freak. Again, this is so important because the thought of a bionic body is one of the things that keeps Freak moving forward with hope and happiness. It likely also helps him develop his friendship with Max, as he knows that Max is going to believe him and not remind him of the truth (that he’s going to die). Max’s willingness to believe gives the story more power.
Themes
