The Theme Of Bullying In “Freak The Mighty” By Rodman Philbrick Essay Samples

In his novel “Freak the Mighty,” Rodman Philbrick advocates the moral principle that every human has his/her worth. Deformity, defects and other kinds of flaw does not make a man’s worth lesser than the rest of humanity. To strengthen his theme, he directly criticizes the act of bullying and highlights the genius behind the small and physically handicapped boy. Through the character of Kevin Avery, Philbrick shows that physical difference is not synonymous with abnormality.
One dominant form of bullying in the novel is when people call the main character as “freak” eventhough he has a decent name. Just because he is short and suffers from morquio syndrome, most of the people gave him a name that emphasizes and ridicules his physical deformity. However, Philbrick defends Kevin by showing that his physical oddity does not determine his worth as a person. He reveals his worth through Max dialogue that says, “I never had a brain until Freak came along.” (Ch. 1, par. 1) This line proves Philbricks moral ideal that even a man so small can possess such greatness that he was able to inspire other people and cause positive changes. Kevin is a small boy with a big heart; he is crippled, but he was strong enough to save Max from death and give him a new and brighter future.
“Freak the Mighty” is a meaningful piece of literature as it serves as an anti-bullying advocacy that inspires the readers to respect individual differences. Philbrick thoughtfully explore the details about what it takes to be normal and challenge the judgemental notion of the society that people who are physically different are “freaks.”

Work Cited

Philbrick, Rodman. Freak the Mighty. Scholastic Paperbacks, 2001. Print.