Freak the Mighty Annotation Entry 10/3/10

Annotation: pg.51 "Does he believe it or is he just trying to keep their friendship together?"


What I was reading about when I wrote this is when Freak is telling Max about his robotic surgery. My big question is does Freak actually believe that he will have robotic surgery? I know Max does, cause he will believe anything, but Freak? I find it hard to believe that he actually believes that and is lying to Max to keep them together, but I may be wrong.

Later in the book they say that Freak knew he didn't have much time left in his life. That gives me a vibe that he was lying. I mean, he knows that Max has gone through pain before, like the loss of his mother. So, maybe he didn't want to set that off again by telling him he's going to die. What people usually do in the real world to avoid mental pain is to not get involved, which would mean Max and Freak would not be friends anymore. Maybe, Freak knew that would happen and didn't want that. They have such a nice bond, it would be a complete waste to throw it all away, because of him dying. He needs a friend by his side. Even if that friend doesn't know the truth.

Sometimes people can make themselves believe something that isn't true. Remember something that didn't happen. Even mistake dreams for the real world. I think this might be an explanation for Freak. I think if i was in the 7th grade and knew I was going to die in a year or so, I would have a mental breakdown. And what I think is maybe Freak just couldn't take it. He couldn't take that he was going to die, so he made up this story in his head, that he truly believed happened. But there is still that thought in his head that he's going to die, so he keeps it away from people like Gwen, Grim, Gram and other people that would tell him otherwise. That's why he told Max. He knew he would believe it because he doesn't know about his life. And once Max believes it, it's almost like it's even more real to Freak. So pretty much, it's possibly true what Freak is saying. True in his mind.

I've decided that Freak is lying to Max. It makes way more sense than believing it's true. Maybe all he needs is a friend to get him through his dread of dying. That's why he lied. He didn't want Max to go. If Max left. He might not have anything to live for. He might want to die.