For Max, the "learning disabled" boy who has low self
esteem at the beginning of the novel learns that he does, indeed, have value and merit.
Through his experiences and adventures with his newfound best friend, Kevin (who has
Morquio's Syndrome, and is deep denial of his impending mortality), Max learns to read,
and eventually write his experiences, which turn out to be the book, "Freak the Mighty,"
itself.
For Kevin, our tragic hero, his flaw is his outward
denial of his disease, which has left him stunted in growth, though his mind is far
beyond those of his 7th-8th grade peers. He has strong transhumanist views, ultimately
wishing to be surgically given a "new body." His fascination with knights and robots
brings us a theme of human frailty and its need for mechanical improvement, which is
ultimately ironic, considering Max's newly gained "strength" of mind and selfhood, the
opposite of physical weakness.
Another theme of the book is
that one does not have to turn out like one's parents, as evidenced by Max using his
great size and physical might in only beneficial ways (despite some tantrums). He proves
this to the community after he escapes his father. Max did have something to prove, and
this frightening experience teaches us that we do have some control over our destiny.
Another irony: Kevin did not. Hence his flight into his transhumanist
delusion.
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