Freak The Mighty: Archetypes! Woohoo!

         For my rereading book, I chose Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. In this story, Max is the Hero. He isn't doing much in his life, but then he meets Freak and he starts on his journey through the book. I think this is kind of a loss of innocence book. Max starts off being "stupid" and as the book goes on, he becomes more and more educated, not only academically speaking, but also about the way the world works? He learns more about why Freak wants to get the replacement body parts if no one else has done it before. There is this one part in the book where Max is just asking Freak all these questions like "Won't it hurt?" and "But why do YOU have to be the first?" and he really just doesn't understand, until Freak explains it to him.
         The mentor in Freak the Mighty is definitely Freak. Freak is the one who is teaching Max everything. Also, not just academics. This relationship between them can be good, but it also can have harsh effects. For example, Max refuses to learn in school. He thinks that Freak teaches him better, and the teachers just don't understand.
         The shadow in Freak the Mighty is Max's insecurity. Max seems to think that he is ugly, stupid and worthless, but that is untrue. His believing that really gets in the way of him learning and growing. He just keeps shying away from it. But another shadow may be Max's father. He seems to actually cast a shadow over Max. What he did is passed on, and it adds shame to Max's life. His father is "not to be spoken of" and people start to judge Max by his father.
         The shapeshifter is well...... um......... I have absolutely no idea. I don't think there is one.


                                                                   ---- Lulu!!!!! <3