1. Freak the Mighty Characterization Notes 8 th Grade ELA Mrs. Walsh Mr. Cooper

2. What is characterization?  Characterization: how an author shows a character’s personality  the methods an author uses to develop the qualities and personalities of characters in a story

3. Characterization includes:  What a character says  How he/she says it  What he/she does  How he/she looks  How he/she treats others  What others say about him/her—how he/she interacts with others  Thoughts, emotions, background, experiences  Likes and dislikes

4. What he says:  Max calls himself “butthead,” “goon,” etc.  Says he has a “vacant brain”  Tells us that Grim is afraid of him  Etc.

5. How he says it:  Max uses words that sound quite hard on himself.  Sometimes he uses a humorous or sarcastic tone. (ex: “yeah, right” or “eek eek”)

6. What he does:  Spends time alone in the “Down Under”  Tries to hide while watching Freak and Gwen move in  “Kicker”; he uses his fists and feet to react

7. How he looks:  He’s a big guy.  Seems to have grown faster than others his age  His feet are “exploding out of his sneakers.”

8. How he treats others:  Stays away from other kids  Seems to avoid Grim and Gram  “Kicker”

9. Interactions with others:  Grim calls him “dangerous”  He isn’t sure how to react to Freak; however, he never kicked Freak.  People seem to make fun of him. (“Mad Max,” “Maxi Pad”)

10. Thoughts, emotions, background, experiences:  He thinks he’s not smart (“goon,” “vacant brain,” etc.)  Thinks Gwen is beautiful, but assumes that such a woman would never acknowledge him  His mother is deceased; did his father have something to do with her death?  Doesn’t like to be touched; “phony hugs”

11. Likes and dislikes:  Likes to be alone in the “Down Under”  Likes comic books  Likes “the fair Gwen of Air”  Does not like to be touched  Dislikes himself

12. An overview of Max:  Based on the eight aspects of characterization, we can tell that Max is a boy with low self-esteem and is a loner. He reacts physically rather than verbally; he doesn’t seem to know how to make friends. Perhaps this is because of what happened to his parents. Deep down, he’s a sensitive boy who has to deal with some tough life experiences and with a body that seems to be growing faster than he can handle.