The Resource Room

Literature-based Skill Building

Freak the Mighty, Chapter 13

The following are comprehension activities related to the novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, chapter 13. NOTE: Keep reading fun! Don't do all of t hese for every chapter! It may be appropriate to simply have a student complete the "learning log" for each chapter, or to discuss questions and answers instead of requiring the reader to write responses.

Chapter Thirteen: American Chop Suey

1. Learning Log

A. Give this chapter a new title. Consider what happened and the feelings of the chapter.
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B. Setting: Identify the setting of the two important events of this chapter.
time (what times of day for each)________________________________________
place (what rooms in the school for each) _______________________________________________

C. Summarize the two alarming events that happen in this chapter.

D. Questions:

Ask a question about something that happened in this chapter, or what might happen.
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2. (New Skill) Symbols

English teachers really like to talk about a thing called "symbolism" in literature. It's not as complicated as it sounds. A symbol is something real and concrete -- something you can put your hands on -- that stands for an abstract idea -- like hope or heroism, something you can't actually put your hands on, but you know when it's there.

Advertisements are full of these symbols. A truck that is "like a rock" uses the rock as a symbol. The rock is a real, concrete thing you can put your hands on. Rocks last a long time without changing much. The idea of something lasting a long time -- durability -- is not something you can put your hands on, but you know it's there.

In Freak the Mighty, knives are symbols of fear -- and of trust conquering that fear. Blade even takes part of the knife as his name, and uses the knife to threaten and hurt people. When Max hears the knife swishing behind him, he runs into the mucky pond, fearing for his life. But he decides that Gwen is okay because when he hands a knife to her, she does not flinch. She isn't scared of Max just because he is big and his father is in jail for something horrible, not even when he has a knife.

When discussing symbols in literature, it helps to describe them in four steps: Draw the symbol (and label it), Describe it in a few words or phrases, explain the Idea it stands for, then give an Example from the story of the idea.

Be sure, when you describe it, to focus on connections between the symbol (the knife) and the story. A knife can be very useful, even used for art -- but that doesn't happen in this story.

Here's what the symbol analysis process looks like for the knife in Freak the Mighty.

1. Draw (drawing here)

2. Describe:
Knives are dangerous and are used to threaten and hurt people.

3. Explain the idea:
In this story, knives symbolize danger and threat from other people.

4. Give an example:
For example, Blade swishes his knife just to scare people, and enjoys his reputation for hurting people.

The dictionary is another example of a symbol. It's more than a book with words -- it is Freak's favorite book, which lets Max knows that Freak is smart and curious and likes to share knowledge. Intelligence and curiosity and sharing knowledge are all abstract ideas.

Use the four-step method to show how the dictionary is a symbol in Freak the Mighty.

Draw the symbol:
Describe it: _________________________________________________________________________________________
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What idea could the dictionary symbolize (there are many possible answers here)?
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What is at least one example from the story of that abstract idea? _________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Picture It! x 2

There are two important events in this chapter. Sketch the scene for each of them. Include at least three details that show what happened.

4. Inferences

People make many inferences in this chapter. For example, Mrs. Donelli infers that Max doesn't know the answers because he doesn't answer questions in class. Mr. Meehan has inferred that Max is lazy and stubborn.

When Max gets the note requesting his presence in the principal's office, what does he infer first?
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When Max sees Mrs. Addison and the way she is trying to smile, he wonders why she would be smiling, since she's "not really a smiling kind of person." What does he infer?
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What can we infer about Max from his reaction when the principal just mentions his father's name?
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When Max sees that the nurse is crying, what does he infer?
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Max is more worried about Freak than about himself. What does Mrs. Addison infer about Max?
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Do we know enough to infer what the principal was going to tell Max about his father? What would be one possibility?
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