Friendship in Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick Essay Example

In Rodman Philbrick’s book, Freak the Mighty, he describes the main character’s ,Max and Kevin, friendship exactly like the quote above. Freak the Mighty tells the story of Max and Kevin’s growth as friends and as people in general. Kevin suffers from a disease that doesn’t allow him to grow taller and he needs to wear braces and use crutches. The other main character, Max, lives with Grim and Gram because his mother died and his father is in prison. Max suffers from multiple learning disorders which make school difficult for him unlike Kevin who is a star student. Kevin and Max face many challenges and they overcome them together. 

Max had a pretty hard life before he met Kevin. The boys had actually met earlier in life when they went to the same daycare (pg.2). After Max’s father killed his mother, he moved in with Grim and Gram. Max was in classes for kids with learning disabilities and he did not have any friends. He was also made fun of because he is Killer Kane’s kid (pg.39). Kevin is a brilliant kid but he also has many struggles. Kevin and his mom moved into a house near max and was starting a new school, but Kevin suffers from a disease that requires him to use braces and crutches. People frequently stare at him and make fun of him. For example, when Kevin and Max were walking to the fireworks Tony D, the school bully, confronted them and said, “Yeah, Andre the Giant and the dwarf!” Tony D. was just one example of Kevin and Max being made fun of. As their friendship grew, they were stronger together rather than apart.

Max and Kevin grew closer over time and they were building trust. One example is when they go places together, Max puts Kevin on his shoulders so he doesn’t need to walk using his crutches. “I just sort of pick freak up and set him on my shoulders.”  Is what Max was thinking. Once school starts Max and Kevin are in all of the same classes. Being in the same classes as eachother helped their friendship grow even more, but it wasn’t perfect. Sometimes friends protect eachother by not being totally honest. This is mainly shown when Max is told his Dad is on parole and is out of jail, and he didn’t tell freak. Kevin also protected Max by not telling him that he would die. Kevin told Max that he was going to get a secret operation and get taller. Max didn’t know the truth until after Kevin died. Kevin wanted to be treated the same by Max and be normal. Max and Kevin’s friendship continued to blossom. Both of the boys in the end, became better people because of the understanding they showed to each other. 

At the end of the story, Kevin’s life was coming to an end. The doctors were doing their best to make Kevin comfortable because there was nothing that they could do. Still, Max thought Kevin was having a special operation to give him a new body. When Kevin was in the hospital, he asked to see Max (pg. 148). This shows that Kevin cared so much for Max that he wanted to see him even as he was dying. After Kevin died and Max found out there was no secret operation, he was extremely depressed. “I hid in the down under for days and days and kept the door closed, which is why I missed the funeral.” Max was struggling  from losing Kivin but he remembered what he gave him before he died. Kevin gave Max an empty journal so he could write down all of their adventures and he would remember them. Max wrote and wrote for a long time all about his adventures with Kevin. By writing down all of their adventures, this gave Max the ability to move on. Even though Kevin died, Max was able to carry on his legacy. 

Though Freak the Mighty did not end the way many expected, it gave us an example of what a true friendship looks like. Even though Kevin died, Max was able to experience what a true friendship was. Kevin also benefited from Max’s friendship. At the end of the story, Max knew that a true friend understands where you have been and what you have become. Though Freak was no longer with Max, he continued his friendship through the stories he wrote about their adventures.