Max the Mighty

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Max is falsely accused of assault and kidnapping, and he chooses to run away.

• How is Max’s decision to escape both wise and foolish? (topic sentence)
• What might have happened if he had turned himself in right away? Who likely would have won the legal fight, and what would have happened to each person involved—the Undertaker, Rachel, her mother, and Max?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, sum up how the Undertaker’s attempt to take Rachel from the mine leads to his failure and Max’s redemption.

2. Rachel believes that magic exists in the world.

• How does she believe that books create magic? (topic sentence)
• How does her belief in magic help her reconcile herself to her father’s death? Support your ideas with details from the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, answer this question: In what way is the magic Rachel believes in really a power that comes from her own heart and mind?

3. During their journey, Max and Rachel meet people who help them and some who harm them.

• Beyond giving the kids a lift, how does Dip help them? Besides feeding and protecting them, how does Hobo Joe help them? (topic sentence)
• What traits do Dip and Joe have that Frank and Joanie lack? How does each character show these traits?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how Rachel’s and Max’s encounters with Dip and Joe help them face down the Undertaker at the end of the story.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Max struggles with the notion that he’s not very smart or brave or even a good person. Citing examples from the book, argue that he’s intelligent, brave, and has a good heart. Explain how his experiences lead him toward becoming more comfortable with himself as he is.

2. During their journey, both Rachel and Max begin to come to terms with tough issues they face in their lives. Explain how each of them grows as a person. Include the lessons they absorb from Dip, Hobo Joe, and the mine tunnels.

3. Rachel uses reading to protect herself from her problems. How does she do this? Does this strategy help or hinder her? Do books offer her anything besides an escape? Explain how Rachel’s relationship to books changes over the course of the story, shifting from a protection to an inspiration in her life.