Overcoming Obstacles



Overcoming Obstacles

The Realistic Fiction story, Freak the Mighty, tells the tale of an adventurous friendship between two characters, Max and Freak. Max is a very large boy who although seems quite intimidating, is actually afraid of everything. In fact, he avoids fighting and violence at all costs. Freak is the complete opposite. He is very small for his age but isn’t afraid of confrontation or people. In fact, he likes to be involved in everything!

At first glance, you might think that this story is just about a lonely boy who isolates himself in the basement of his grandparents’ house and finally meets a friend who is able to help him come out of his shell by introducing him to new things. But if you really think about it, you’ll realize that the story is trying to tell the reader that when faced with obstacles in life, you cannot run away from them. You must pick yourself up and face your challenges. It might be hard at first, but you can overcome anything as long as you never give up and try to move past it!

One reason why I know this is the message is because the main character, Max Kane, is faced with many challenges in the story. For instance, he has very low self-esteem because of a learning disability known as Dyslexia. In the story, he constantly refers to himself as a “butthead” and is tormented by the other kids at school. In fact, he down-right hates school and reading just makes him feel even more like a “butthead.” Therefore, instead of facing this challenge, Max hides out in his basement and tries to avoid people. Although Max starts off this way, by the end of the story, Freak is able to help him through it and even gets him to start reading. This makes me think that the author wants us to know that we shouldn’t let an obstacle, like a learning disability, stop us from being the best we can be.

Another reason why I know this is the message is because of the secondary character, Freak. Freak was born with a rare disease that prevents him from growing. For instance, he never hides from it and never lets it stop him from going on quests or taking on bullies. In the story, Freak knew that his condition would eventually lead to death, however, he lived life to the fullest and tried to experience everything he could. Freak could have just given up and isolate himself just like Max did. But he didn’t. He made it a point to get up every morning and begin a new adventure. This makes me think that the author wants us to know that even when a problem can’t be fixed, you cannot let it hold you back. You just have to continue going and find things that make you happy.

One last reason why I know this is the message of the story is because of Max’s greatest obstacle that he must face at the end of the book. Unfortunately, at the end of the story, Freak’s illness catches up with him and Max must face the death of his best friend. For instance, Max tries to avoid this obstacle by hiding in his basement for days and even goes as far as missing Freak’s funeral. This shows just how badly he did not want to deal with it! Good thing for Loretta Lee, who bumps into Max and teaches him a very good lesson. In the story, Loretta asked Max what he has been up to and Max replies, “Nothing.” I remember what she said. She told him, “Nothing’s a drag kid.” From that moment on, Max realizes that he cannot avoid his problems any longer and that Loretta Lee was right.

In conclusion, Freak the Mighty sends the reader a very powerful message. It shows us that although life can be difficult at times, we cannot hide from our problems or let them stop us from being happy. We must move passed them and overcome them. In the story, Max had to face many challenges such as a disability and the loss of his family and best friend. Yet, by the end of the story, Max stops letting his problems weigh him down. In the end, this learning disabled boy became a great author, where he was able to tell all about the adventures of Max and Freak. This story teaches me that I too cannot let anything or anyone hold me back from being happy and making wonderful friends. I hope that one day, I could be so lucky as to meet a friend as wonderful as Freak.

Here is a quote that I once heard that reminds me of the friendship between Max and Freak…

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay for a while and leave

footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”

|Literary Essay Plan |

|One idea I have about this story is… |

|One reason why… |

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|For example, in the story… |

|Another reason why, |

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|For example, |

|One last reason why, |

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|For example, |

|In conclusion, |

|Literary Essay Plan |

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|At first you might think… _____________________________________ but really this story is about… |

|One reason why I know this is the message… |

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|For instance, in the story… |

|Another reason why I know this is the message, |

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|For instance, |

|One last reason why I know this is the message, |

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|For instance, |

|In conclusion, |

|Literary Essay Plan |

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|Both ______________________ and ______________________________ are stories about… |

|Evidence from story #1 |

|Evidence from story #2 |

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|In conclusion: |

|Other prompts you may want to use for your introduction: |

|** The difference between_______________ and________________ is… |

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|** Unlike _____________ in __________________, __________________ is… |

|Literary Essay Plan |

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|The characters in ___________________________ and ______________________________ are both… |

|Evidence from story #1 |

|In the first story, the character is _________________ because…. |

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|Furthermore… |

|Evidence from story #2 |

|In the second story, the character is _________________ because…. |

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|Furthermore… |

|In conclusion, |

|Other prompts you may want to use for your introduction: |

|** The difference between_______________ and________________ is… |

|** Unlike _____________ in __________________, __________________ is… |

The Reality of Being Homeless

Both of the stories No Home and Fly Away Home are about the struggles of poverty and being homeless. Both stories share the same perspective in that they both tell the story from the point of view of the homeless. Both authors show the reality that families must face when dealing with poverty.

In Fly Away Home, the father and son family live in an airport and struggle to remain “unnoticed.” This is because if they are noticed, they will be asked to leave the airport and will no longer have a place to stay warm. The author definitely wants us to feel bad for the homeless family because he explains how the family became homeless in the first place. It has been difficult since they lost the income of the mom and the father is struggling to find a higher paying job. I think the author included this part so that the reader understands that it is not their fault that they became homeless. Some people in the world might think that people are homeless because they don’t want to work or got involved in something that made them lose their job. However, this is definitely not the case in this book.

In the story No Home, the family is currently living in an apartment but they are faced with the fact that they might lose their home. Again, here, the author tells the story from the point of view of the homeless because

In conclusion, both stories help readers understand how people become homeless in the first place and they struggle and fight to overcome this.

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