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Chapter 1
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 still lives in his grandparents’ basement in a room that Grim built for him. It has cheap paneling and a rug that smells, but Max doesn’t complain. He likes it in the “down under,” since he’s alone and Gram won’t bother him about what he’s doing. Max notes that he doesn’t do much, even though Grim believes that Max is at a dangerous age and he might make bombs or hurt people’s pets. Max does say that his brain is vacant; all he does is hide in the down under and “drool” over his comic books. It’s the first of July, and Max is counting down to the Fourth. He’d like some dynamite, which he knows is exactly what Grim is afraid of.
Max’s insistence that he likes it in the “down under” suggests that to a degree, he purposefully distances himself from Grim and Gram. Given the way that Grim seems afraid that Max is suddenly going to become violent, this makes perfect sense—Max likely doesn’t feel liked or respected by his grandparents, or anyone else for that matter. Saying that he “drools” over his comic books also suggests that Max doesn’t think very highly of himself, which is likely a product of the way that others talk about him.
Themes
Bored, Max heads into the backyard. He notices a cheap moving company moving furniture into the duplex down the way and then he sees Gwen. She’s beautiful and she seems familiar, but Max tells himself that there’s no way he knows a woman that beautiful. To the reader, Max reflects that he recognized Gwen because he must’ve seen her drop off Freak at daycare. Max sees Freak ordering the movers to take extra care with his computer. Freak is less than three feet tall and he stands in a twisted way, but he waves his crutches and he shouts at the movers. Gwen finally sends Freak to play in the backyard.
While it’s not entirely abnormal to forget one’s early daycare experiences, Max likely tries to block out as much as he can about that time of his life. Given Grim and Gram’s allusions to Kenny’s violence, it’s makes sense that Max wants to forget what happened in his childhood. Like Max, Freak is an outsider, though in a very different way—but it’s likely that both boys experience prejudice because of their appearances (Max looks like his violent father and Freak is abnormally small for his age).
Themes
Max is beside himself. He creeps along in front of the duplex and he tries to act casual, but his feet are so big that he trips over everything. Freak notices Max, points a crutch at Max’s heart, and asks the “earthling” to identify himself. Max is so busy trying not to trip that he doesn’t understand Freak is referring to him. Max finally catches on and he wonders if he should introduce himself as Max or Kicker, but before he can speak, Freak pulls an imaginary trigger and tells the “earthling” to die. Max scurries off, sure that Freak really does want him dead.
Deliberating about whether to introduce himself as Max or Kicker is an early clue that Max is very thoughtful. He knows that Freak might remember him but that he may not know Max’s real name—and so it’s be a courtesy to introduce himself at first using a name that Freak would know. Max’s reaction to Freak’s play gun also shows that Max isn’t at all violent. Rather, he’s scared and he's wary of offending people.
Themes
