Name ______

English, Mrs. Sheriff, Period ______

Date:______

Freak the Mighty

Chapters 10 – 13 Plot Analysis

Chapters 10 & 11

Read chapters 10 through 13, and answer each question neatly using complete sentences. You will not get credit for answers not stated as a complete sentence, unless the question says otherwise.

  1. In chapter 10, “Rats Or Worse,” Freak and Max retrieve something from the sewer that symbolizes a turning point in the story. What item did they find thatis important to the plot of the story?
  1. The title of chapter 11 is a play on words (pun). What is the title of the chapter? (Don’t forget to enclose the chapter title in quotation marks). What is the actual phrase the title is a play on?
  1. What directive did Gram give to Max about the “New Tenements” and why did Max break the promise he made to Gram about the “New Tenements”?
  2. Describe Iggy using as many details as you can from your reading and your imagination?
  3. Copy the idiom from page 66 here: (Be sure to enclose the citation in quotation marks). What does the idiom mean literally?
  1. How does Loretta describe Gwen?
  2. What really happened to Freak’s father?

Chapter 12

  1. On page 73 Freak makes the following comment about his father leaving before he was born:

“Good riddance to bad rubbish.”

Look up “riddance” and also “rubbish and then answer the following question. What does Freak mean literally when he uses this idiom?

On page 73 Freak makes the following comment about Iggy:

“Sir Iggy, wouldst thou do us all a big favor and fall upon thy sword?” What does this sentence mean literally?

  1. Refer back to the citation/quote from question #8. Why is Freak using these words and talking in this special way?
  1. You can tell that Max is embarrassed about how big and tall he is for his age. What does Gram say to Max that shows she does not approve of him being embarrassed about his size? (Be sure to enclose the citation in quotation marks.)
  1. Explain how Max gets to be in all of the same classes (“smart classes”) as Freak?
  2. Even though Freak is small, he has a big personality. Explain something that happened in chapter 12 that supports that assertion.
  1. Explain the mood and tone of chapter 12?

Chapter 13

  1. Based on what Max says in the first two pages of chapter 13, can you infer that when almost any student is taught “how” to learn AND that student cares about what they are learning, they can be successful?
  1. Find and copy a citation from page 81 that supports the above assertion. Be sure to copy the sentence(s) exactly and enclose the words from the book in quotation marks. (After the citation also include your explanation about what is happening at that particular point in the story as well as how the citation proves the above assertion.)
  1. Chapter 13’s title American Chop Suey has two meanings related to the plot? (a) What is one American Chop Suey (literal) in relation to Freak? (It may help to look the dish up on the internet or ask an adult). (b) What is the other American Chop Suey (as a metaphor) in relation to Max? (Please use details from what happened in the chapter for this one).
  1. Explain how Max is selfless in chapter 13. (If you don’t know what selfless means, review your character trait list or look it up in the dictionary).
  1. Instead of swearing on the bible, Max has chosen a different book as sacred that he would swear on (or make a solemn oath upon). What book does Max now view as sacred? (If you don’t know what sacred means, look it up).
  1. What happened to Freak on Friday the Thirteenth at the end of chapter 13? Read the following citation from page 86.

“You’d never believe a person so small could eat so much, and when he holds up his plate, he always says, “Please, sir, more gruel,” and I always say, “It’s American chop suey, not gruel, I looked up gruel, remember?” and he always goes, “I beg of you, sir, more gruel!” and so finally I go up to get him another helping.”

The dialogue that Freak is repeating is an allusion to a famous novel that has also been made into several movies of the same title. To what famous work of literature is Freak alluding? (You may get an adult to help you OR type the dialogue that Freak says into a search engine to possibly get assistance.)