The city or town is not explicitly given in Philbrick's Freak the Mighty, but the "in-depth" link below says that the author indicates Portsmouth, New Hampshire as the backdrop. More specific locations for the setting include Max's basement room, Freak's house, their school, Iggy's house in the tenements, the early days of daycare, and the hospital. They also have quite an adventure at the city park and pond on the Fourth of July...
The city or town is not explicitly given in Philbrick's Freak the Mighty, but the "in-depth" link below says that the author indicates Portsmouth, New Hampshire as the backdrop. More specific locations for the setting include Max's basement room, Freak's house, their school, Iggy's house in the tenements, the early days of daycare, and the hospital. They also have quite an adventure at the city park and pond on the Fourth of July where Max and Freak conquer a "dragon" named Tony D. who pulls a blade on them. (They only run into the muddy pond to get away, but at least they didn't get cut!)
Max says about Kevin in the first line of the book, "I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while" (1). This first statement not only piques the curiosity of the reader, but also shows that Max eventually understands that he is not a butthead, but that he can learn and flex his brain muscles like anyone else.
Max considers himself a butthead because he is placed in Learning Disabled (L.D.) classes. He's also grown to be larger than the average kid in his class and he feels like he trips over his feet too often. When Kevin comes along, Max feels stupid around him because he has a wide vocabulary that he uses on a casual basis. In an effort to help Max understand him, Kevin defines many of the words he uses each day. Eventually, Kevin teaches Max how to use a dictionary; then, he makes Max his own dictionary of favorite words and gives it to him at Christmas. Kevin also helps Max by giving him a reason to go to the more advanced classes and helping him through them as well. Kevin helps Max to realize that he can learn things even if it takes a little bit of work.
The other thing that Kevin does that helps Max not to feel like a butthead is he loves him unconditionally. They are true friends. Kevin demonstrates his loyalty to Max by not giving up searching for him when Killer Kane kidnaps him. It is Kevin who storms the castle and defeats the dragon (Max's dad) with a squirt gun filled with vinegar and curry powder. Anyone who is saved by a friend like that is sure to feel like a human being rather than a butthead.
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