In Chapters 17-20, Max lies repeatedly to his father. What inferences can you draw from his lies? Using the ACE format, answer the question and provide a quote (textual evidence) with explanation.

In chapters 17-20 of Rodman Philbrick's Freak the Mighty, one lie that Max tells his father is that he is satisfied when his father swears on the Bible that he never murdered Max's mother. Max is reluctant to answer because he knows that his father is lying. Max is not satisfied. He explains:

I want to answer him but my throat closes up and my tongue is so dry, I can't hardly open my mouth. I keep thinking about how heavy his hand was on that Bible.

Even though Max has not yet admitted to remembering his mother's murder, we can see from this passage that Max does not trust his father. Instead of becoming satisfied with his father's oath, he thinks about how powerful Kenny Kane's hands are; the hands that strangled his mom.
When his father asks if the idea of moving to a place with warmer weather is agreeable to him, Max answers:

Yes, sir, it is.

However, it is clear from the following chapters that the idea of travelling with his dad is not agreeable to him. In fact, Max would like nothing more than to escape. Max is just saying whatever will make his father happy. Another example of this is when Kenny Kane asks Max if he could tell that Kenny was a man of God. Max tries to give an appropriate answer, but he doesn't know what that is.

"Yes, sir," I say. "I mean, no, sir."
"What's that mean, boy?"
"I don't know, sir."

Not only does this answer infer that Max is simply trying to please his father, but it also infers that Kenny Kane does not look like a man of God. Max automatically answers, "Yes, sir," but quickly realized that he's not sure whether or not Kenny Kane even wants to look like a preacher-man. Instead, he plays dumb and avoids answering altogether, which is one of Max's greatest defense mechanisms.