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From Philbrick's Freak the Mighty, what are three important things that Kevin teaches Max?

The opening lines of Philbrick's Freak the Mighty inform the reader about one of the first things Kevin does for Max: he teaches him how to use his brain. 



"I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while, and that's the truth, the whole truth. The unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say it, and for a long time it was him who did the talking" (1).



Kevin teaches Max to think for himself and how to find answers when he has questions. For example, Kevin shows Max how to use a dictionary to improve his vocabulary and speech. Max even receives a personal dictionary from Kevin for Christmas. It has all of the interesting words Kevin likes along with his own definitions. Once Max knows how to use a dictionary, he feels empowered to teach himself about words he doesn't understand.


Another thing Kevin teaches Max is to be brave. First, Kevin takes Max on quests just like King Arthur's noble knights did. This is Max's introduction to chivalry and doing brave things. Then, when Max is kidnapped, Kevin bravely confronts Killer Kane with a water gun that he says is filled with a deadly acid. When he sprays it into the kidnapper's eyes, the solution stings badly enough to distract Killer Kane so the boys can escape. Max learns just how clever Kevin is because he did not put deadly chemicals in the water gun--he filled it with soap, vinegar, and curry powder!


Finally, Kevin instills a sense of confidence in Max that he might not have found. He is able to do this by teaching Max about reading and writing in a way that teachers could not. For example, in chapter 13, Kevin tells Max that reading is like listening and writing is like talking. Max's response to this is as follows:



"Like Freak says, reading is just a way of listening, and I could always listen, but writing is like talking, and that's a whole other ball game" (82).



Before Kevin dies, he tells Max to write down all of their adventures. This is scary for Max because he does not believe that he can read and write well. Kevin refuses to accept Max's fear of writing and tells him that all he has to do is write down all of the memories he has about their adventures as Freak the Mighty. After Kevin dies, Max eventually gets around to writing their story and realizes that he can write. All he has to do is overcome his fear of failure and complete the task at hand. In the end, Max learns to use his brain to find ways to learn for himself; next, to be brave and confident in everything he does; and finally, to conquer his fear of reading and writing by simply tackling each task that comes his way.

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