In the novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, Loretta Lee has a somewhat sad life, so she is harsh. She is short and scrawny with blond hair, “hard eyes,” and red lipstick smeared on her face. Loretta wears ratty old bathrobes and slinky red dresses. Her trashy looks attract a trashy guy, Iggy Lee, who seems to have dragged Loretta into a life of crime. Iggy, the boss of a “bad-news motorcycle gang,” is “a big hairy dude” with a beer gut and tattooed, muscular arms, and “a beard that looks like it’s made out of red barbed wire.” Worse, Iggy is friends with Killer Kane, a dangerous murderer who killed his own wife and kidnaps his son, Max. Iggy and Loretta live in the “New Testaments”— which are, in actuality, tenements—about which
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When Kevin and Max, young misfits who become friends, first encounter Loretta, they are returning her lost purse, which they’d found in a sewer. She does not seem particularly grateful for the favor. In fact, she calls Max a “retard” and wants her low-life husband, Iggy, to “have some fun” teasing the two boys. She even goes as far as calling Kevin’s dad a “magician,” explaining that he disappeared as soon as he learned that his son suffered from a birth defect. In a way, Loretta seems to enjoy belittling the same young boys who were trying to pay her a favor. In particular, the comment about Kevin’s father is nasty because it is aimed at a sore spot for Kevin, his disability. She is an adult, but she acts almost like a child sometimes, making fun of someone rather than being grateful for his kindness. However, when push comes to shove and Max really needs help, Loretta does the right thing and tries to rescue Max from his father, Killer Kane. In fact, her bravery nearly costs Loretta her life. She sneaks into an abandoned basement and tries to free Max from captivity, where his murderous father has strapped him to a chair. Before she can finish the job, Killer Kane catches her and nearly chokes her to death. Here, Loretta seems to have set aside her immaturity, and, in this sober moment, she has redeemed herself. At the end of the story, Max meets up with Loretta one more time. She is
When Kevin and Max, young misfits who become friends, first encounter Loretta, they are returning her lost purse, which they’d found in a sewer. She does not seem particularly grateful for the favor. In fact, she calls Max a “retard” and wants her low-life husband, Iggy, to “have some fun” teasing the two boys. She even goes as far as calling Kevin’s dad a “magician,” explaining that he disappeared as soon as he learned that his son suffered from a birth defect. In a way, Loretta seems to enjoy belittling the same young boys who were trying to pay her a favor. In particular, the comment about Kevin’s father is nasty because it is aimed at a sore spot for Kevin, his disability. She is an adult, but she acts almost like a child sometimes, making fun of someone rather than being grateful for his kindness. However, when push comes to shove and Max really needs help, Loretta does the right thing and tries to rescue Max from his father, Killer Kane. In fact, her bravery nearly costs Loretta her life. She sneaks into an abandoned basement and tries to free Max from captivity, where his murderous father has strapped him to a chair. Before she can finish the job, Killer Kane catches her and nearly chokes her to death. Here, Loretta seems to have set aside her immaturity, and, in this sober moment, she has redeemed herself. At the end of the story, Max meets up with Loretta one more time. She is