The book, Where the Wild Things Are, was published over 50 years ago and it is still being read everyday! This book is about Max, the main character, getting into his own imagination after being rude to his mother and being sent to bed early. In his imagination, he comes across some monsters and Max is their king. He soon understands through the monsters, how his mother felt when he was rude and learns that she cares a lot about him. The author, Maurice Sendak, is trying to convey that even when you disrespect and treat the ones who truly love and comfort you terribly, they will always be there for you.
In the beginning of the book, Max is being rude to his mother when she told him to eat dinner. Max put on his wolf costume and he got into
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"His mother called him 'WILD THING!' And Max said 'I'LL EAT
YOU UP!' So he was sent to bed without eating anything" (page 5). Max was being rude to his mom when she wanted to feed him dinner so he got punished. In his mind while he was in his costume, he was not truly himself. Although Max was punished, his mom still cares about him because she is trying to teach him respect.
Following Max's obnoxious attitude with his mom, he starts thinking about being the king of a forest with monsters of his imagination. Once Max is deep into imagination, he starts thinking he's the best creature out there and loves his life. After a while he starts getting bored of being the king and wants to go back home (stops imagining) . The book says "they, the monsters, were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things" (page 21). However, after that Max gave up being king of where the wild things are "Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye" (page 30). Max was happy and having fun being the king of the wild things but then realized that he has an even better life back at home to where his mom was who cared about him. He realized that only she would care about him
An example of their adventures is when Kevin mouths at Tony D. and his gang, defending Max and himself; after of which he discovers that Max could not have fought Tony and incredulously questions, “You mean you couldn’t take him and I was giving him lip?” (31). Kevin’s words reveal his trust in Max. He incited Tony, believing Max would be able to protect the both of them. The boys’ next conflict, an encounter with Iggy, the head of a troublemaking motorcycle gang, and Loretta, his wife, show Max’s concern for Kevin and his wanting to keep Kevin safe: “I feel real bad for Freak because he hated it when people try to rub his head for luck, but I don’t say a word, I just run us home, thumping the short way back around the pond, and my big feet never trip me up because I’m on automatic, I’m this running machine” (72). Max is very attuned and sensitive to Kevin’s feelings, an important quality in a friendship. Also, his desire to protect Kevin and keep him away from Iggy and Loretta prevent his clumsiness from impeding his speedy progress to home. The conflicts Freak the Mighty encounter prove the boys’ undeniable teamwork and
Margaronis, Maria. "Where the Wild Things Are." The Nation 278.23 (14 June 2004): 24-28. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 91. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
It is evident that Max tries to escape his reality and get lost in a world where he can find freedom from his complex troubles, much like every other child in the world today whom does not know how to deal with such chaotic and complicated thoughts. Max, unknowingly comes face to face with all his emotions through the lives of others, helping him to come to an understanding in his escape. In the film “Where the Wild Things Are” Max’s sister ignores him, he feels his mothers new boyfriend is taking her from him and he is overall portrayed as a lonely, lost character. Max is told by his mother that he has gone out of control, which essentially is the last straw in initiating him to run away to where he eventually ends up where the wild things are. According to the article “Fantasy - Necessary for Sanity and Morality” in order for proper development, “A child needs to understand what is going on within his conscious self so that he can cope with that which goes on within his unconscious.” This can be attained by daydreaming through stories and scenarios to ...
Later on he is ignored completely by his parents when they rediscover love for each other, leaving Max-Earnest to care for his new baby brother.
Freak thought Max that there is more to the world than his basement and comic books. Max likes to read comic books because there are more pictures than words. 1) The author quotes,”I never had a brain until Freak came along, and let me borrow his.” This shows that Freak helped Max build his knowledge of the world. 2) Freak gave Max his own dictionary so Max could lean on his free time. Max was never sharing his full potential to Freak until he helped Max to open up and show his full
While Max had problems with his past and his body, Freak had problems with his body and his future. Max was there to lend his big body for Freak’s big brain. They went on quests together like in the story of King Arthur (which was “behind” their whole friendship). It might’ve started out negatively but over time it became the glowing star in the whole galaxy.
This shows that he has a soft side because instead of worrying about himself and running away he saved Loretta. Max did all of this knowing that his father could kill him at any second. All these examples showcase how people are not what they appear and getting to know a new person can create a
However, we see him giving the bird thing to Freak and that’s how they end up meeting each other and how they become friends for the rest of the story. This refutes our initial judgment by showing that Max is caring towards Freak and that he is not the neanderthal that people think he is because they judged Max by his
Well, I was just being obedient.” This proves that Max didn’t want to prove that he was a wimp. He wanted to prove to his buddies that he was tough.
The Importance of The Quest in American Literature Some may argue that a quest is merely a knight’s journey to save a princess, or a trip to discover a treasure or a power, but when you get down to the details of a quest it can be a much more common occurrence than you would expect. Day to day life for a person may contain all of the aspects of a quest, without them even realizing it. “The quest consists of five things: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there” (Foster 3). Characters in a novel can venture out on a journey and it may contain multiple quests along the way, as long as they adhere to the requirements it takes to be considered a quest.
At the beginning, Max was held captive by Joe’s men, the War Boys. Being captured and unable to escape presents him as a weak man, slightly damaging his masculine image. His emasculation is more evident when contrasted with Furiosa’s role as a hero. She is the knight in shining armor that rescues the damsels in distress. While she is capable, Max is haunted by the memory of not being able to save those from his past.
When considering this it becomes much more difficult to analyse exactly how Max’s identity is to be perceived. One possibility is to consider his blatant and open homosexuality prior to the later events, there were no attempts to hide who he was. However, learning more about how he views homosexuals and in turn himself, observing they cannot love, implying something is inherently wrong. This paints a sexual identity that is in effect, crippled and tainted by the views of the homophobic and those who do not
Various people hold different opinions on what is wrong with the world today. Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild is the novel of a young man named Chris McCandless. Chris’ heterodox views about the government and society cause a rift between his friends, family, and himself. In 1990, he decides to leave his family and friends behind while he embarks on a wild adventure to get closer to nature. J.D. Salinger’s
Max and Freak are both very diverse from “normal” students at school, they both act, think, and learn differently than others. There are many reasons why people would chose to be one of there friends, bully them, or just ignore them. If I were a student in their eighth grade class, I would have two, very, diverse first impressions on both of them. When, Max walks into the classroom I would be startled, because he is so big and is a spitting image of his father. However, once I got to meet him, I would be friends with Max, but I probably would not be “great” friends with him, because we have very few things in common.