Maximum Ride: The Psychological aspect.

WARNUNG: I am not a psychologist nor an expert. I've only the studied general psychology. This is all mainly speculation combined with research. All art belongs to its respectful owners.



I think when most of us were reading the books, we were all amazed at just how well Max and her Flock were adapted to society despite all the horrors they had been through.
You'd think that these mutant kids would act a bit more strangely in public. Especially at school. They seemed well behaved (for the most part). Yet the only psychological problems Max's flock experience would be paranoia, trouble with authority (which isn't unusual for a kid/teenager LOL), a phobia of all things medical related, night terrors and perhaps some Insomnia and PTSD.

I mean think about it. Imagine it to the best of your ability. You're a human child experiment. The experiments are incredibly inhuman, invasive and painful as hell. Some are even to the point of monstrous. Your capters make you feel worthless; you are worse than dirt, than feces; they dehumanize you, you have no sense of identity, no value, nothing! You are no different than a lab frog ready for dissection. Also keep in mind that will have reminders all over your body from your past and you will never be thought of as normal ever again, regardless if you manage to escape Hell or not.

So why does it seem like the kids in Max Ride have such an "easy" time with life??????

First off, they really don't. I've already mentioned the problems they experience with themselves in the series. Even though James Patterson didn't put a bigger emphasis on these facts through out character development, he at least did his research.

We also have to keep in mind that the kids didn't stay their ENTIRE lives in that sterilized Hell hole. Jeb Batchelder got them out of there and for a while he gave them a safe Haven. Jeb gave back their Humanity in a sense. He taught them the right things. He became their parent to teach them "right" from "wrong". So if we look back on it, Max and the others were the lucky ones compared to other kids who could have escaped (i.e. The Other Flock/Ascending). And though Angel was far too young (an infant at the least) to remember being experimented on, she turns out to be the most psychotic of them all. Go figure.

And that concludes my review of the psychological aspect of the Maximum Ride series.

Your thoughts?




-Maxim Wolf