Did your grandmother ever tell you, "You can't judge a book by a cover"? Well, it turns out it's true; appearances can be deceiving. Just ask Max. Everyone thinks he's going to be exactly like his dad just because he happens to look like him. And how about Freak, a little guy with a huge personality. In Freak the Mighty, both of our main squeezes have to battle against others' perceptions of them based on their appearance. But these two are able to see past the outward appearance to what is inside: a big brain (Freak) and an even bigger heart (Max).
Questions About Appearances
- Okay, so we know appearances are deceiving when it comes to Max and Freak. But what about the other characters? Does anyone's appearance actually match their personalities?
- Max is the one giving us the descriptions of all these characters, right? How accurate do you think his descriptions are? What might be influencing him?
- Why don't we get a very detailed description of Grim and Gram, when we have such detail in other descriptions?
- Does Max believe people's impressions of him? Does he let it affect the way he thinks about himself?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
In Freak the Mighty, appearances are always deceiving.
If Freak weren't so tiny and Max weren't so big, they never would have been friends.