theme
This overarching theme is shown through the way Max and Kevin’s individual weaknesses disappear when they work together.
friendship or teamwork
This character is the narrator of the story and lives in "the down under."
max(the mighty half of the duo)
This is the nickname Max uses for his room in the basement of Grim and Gram’s house.
the down under.
In the Exposition, we learn Max’s biggest internal conflict is that he thinks he lacks this, often calling himself a "butthead."
intelligence (or a brain)
Max uses this word, meaning to fall or drop down at high speed, to describe how Kevin's ornithopter moves.
plummet.
This object, which Kevin gives Max at the hospital, symbolizes the theme of Self-Expression and the power of one's own story.
the Blank Book.
This character is a "small person" with a big brain who is obsessed with King Arthur.
kevin (freak)
Freak the Mighty is officially "born" when the boys are forced into the mud and slimy water of this location to escape Tony D.
the Millpond.
This part of the Rising Action involves a 3:00 AM "treasure hunt" to a storm drain, which leads the boys to meet the residents of the New Testaments.
finding Loretta Lee’s purse?
This word describes something that is unavoidable or certain to happen, like Kevin's declining health.
inevitable.
The "bionic body" Kevin talks about is actually a way for him to deal with his illness, representing this theme of escaping reality.
What is Imagination or Fantasy.
This is the nickname Kevin gives to his mother, Gwen.
The Fair Gwen of Air
This is the local nickname for the run-down, overcrowded apartment complex where Iggy and Loretta Lee live.
the New Testaments (or New Tenements)
The story reaches its intense Climax when Max is kidnapped and held in a burnt-out basement by this person.
Killer Kane (max father)
After Max’s father is released, Gram is filled with this—a feeling of intense fear or anxiety about something that may happen.
trepidation.
Max’s fear of becoming like his father, Killer Kane, highlights the theme of Identity—specifically the struggle of Nature vs. ________.
Nurture.
This antagonist, also known as "The Blade," harasses Max and Kevin at the fireworks.
Tony D.
Kevin tells Max that this "imaginary" setting is where they can always find adventure, located just over the next horizon.
Yonder.
During the Falling Action, Max struggles to cope with the "Medical Research" lie after this tragic event occurs at the hospital.
Kevin’s death.
This term refers to the act of moving or traveling from place to place, which is exactly what the boys do on their "quests."
itinerant.
Kevin's obsession with these legendary figures represents the theme of Heroism and the idea that anyone can be a knight.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
These two people are Max’s maternal grandparents who are raising him.
Grim and Gram.
According to the author Rodman Philbrick, the unnamed town in the book is actually based on this real-life city in New Hampshire.
Portsmouth.
The Resolution occurs when Max finally stops hiding in the "down under" and uses the blank book to do this.
What is write the novel (freak the mighty).
Kevin uses this word to describe the "fake" or "artificial" nature of the bionic body he claims is being built for him.
ersatz.