Diary of a wimpy kid
The “Diary of a wimpy kid series” is a popular web comic transformed into a fiction novel created by Jeff Kinney, an American author and cartoonist. The series of books acts as the journals of a middle school student named Greg Heffely, who allows his readers to take a peek of what life is like in the middle school for a wimpy kid like him. The pentalogy is best described as “novels in cartoons” due to the books’ diary like structure with graphical presentation of stick drawings and hand written notes about Greg’s adventures and misadventures in middle school (Kennedy, 2009, n.p. ).
Diary of a wimpy kid It has been a social perception that boys should not keep diaries, but is it true? The first book of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a wimpy kid series proved such perception wrong. “Diary of a wimpy kid” serves as the diary of Greg Heffley, except that from the very beginning of his narration, Greg is telling the audience that by no means “this is a journal, not a diary” and that “…this was MOM’s idea, not mine. ” Despite his mother forcing him to make a diary, Greg recounts in detail the events that happened at his sixth grade year.On the way, Greg uniquely revealed through his simple words, interspersed with his caricatures, how weaklings just like him share the school with kids who are meaner, taller and already shaving. He speaks about the school bullies, his best friend Rowley, his obliviousness about his family, and how his continuous conquest to uplift his status and be the ladies man (Kennedy, 2009, n. p. ). Jeff Kinney recalls the pains of middle school and presented it in a realistic yet humorous manner.
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His main character, Greg Heffely, is an epitome of how teens usually do not do the right things during the first time. Likewise, his being clueless about the things he experienced on the way is a clear depiction of how kids adapt to the challenges they face inside the school and within their families. Though one can easily tell that Greg is not the perfect model for an adolescent, his characteristics especially his obliviousness about his faults is something that makes him the protagonist that anybody can identify with.
What adds up to the realistic approach of Kinney’s presentation are Greg’s hand writing and cartoon sketches which actually makes the book appear more like a diary. More importantly, the themes that were covered within Greg’s adventure in the first installment of the series gives a lot of twist and humor to the banal life of kids like Greg (Kennedy, 2009). Diary of a wimpy kid: Rodrick rules In the second book of the “Diary of a wimpy kid series,” Greg returns for another round of his journal entries.
He had a lot to gripe about most especially what he has gone through for the summer. Greg is very much eager to put his summer experience behind. However, secrets have always a way out most especially when there is a diary involved. Unfortunately, Greg would have to deal with his older brother, Rodrick, who is the only one, aside from his journal, that knows the embarrassing incident that happened to him during summer. What makes the situation worse is that Rodrick is taking advantage of the situation by using Greg’s humiliating experience to blackmail him.
Despite his worry, Greg manages to make himself busy with practical jokes, listening to his best friend’s summer vacation, figuring out a way to cheat on the examinations, and most especially looking for ways to get back at Rodrick (Shannon, 2001). “Diaries of wimpy kid: Rodrick Rules” takes the same format of its predecessor with Greg’s hand writings and sketches, making it more realistic. Kinney’s second take on the series once again managed to bring its audience into Greg’s life extending it to his quirky relationship with his family, most especially with his older brother, Rodrick.
Rodrick Rules is able to encompass the theme of sibling rivalry which is evident with the actions both taken by Greg and Rodrick to find faults against each other. However, despite Rodrick’s continuous blackmailing, by the end of the book, Greg set aside his animosity towards his brother and helped Rodrick to redeem himself, proving that blood is indeed thicker than water. Greg may still remain as the wimpy boy that he was on the first book, yet in this sequel he somehow learned to mature in his own way, through his experiences.
What is good about Rodrick rules is that just like the kids in the middle school, the characters were caught in situations that allow them to make choices. They got caught with the wrong things they did, and suffer the consequences of the choices that they made. Likewise, just like the Greg’s first journal it treated the audience with delightful twists and turns. Diary of a wimpy kid: The last straw In Jeff Kinney’s third book entitled “Diary of a wimpy kid: The last straw,” his middle schooler protagonist Greg Heffley continues his hilarious journal entries.
Known to be a wimpy lad, Greg’s wimpy behavior is challenged by his dad, Frank Heffley. Frank begins to wonder whether he needs take drastic actions in order to get into his son’s head in order to make Greg an athletic kid, and the only solution he can see is to put Greg in a Spag Military Union for summer. Frank’s perspective appears to be a huge problem for Greg, because he is already dealing a lot in school. Along the way, the journal continues with its story of Greg’s academic drama, family complaints, his first school dance and his budding courage to talk to his crush Holly Hills.
Just like Greg’s past experiences, nothing goes as planned and he usually ends up under embarrassing circumstances (Book review: Diary of a wimpy kid- the last straw, 2009). The emphasis of Kinney’s third book is about Greg’s conflict with his father and his growing interest with girls. As it is normal for a middle school to have crushes along the way, being able to look good is one top priority that seems to be a hard task for Greg. However, his desire to grab the attention of his crush and in order to appease his father’s scheme allowed Greg to realize that he has to get out of his shell.
Kinney chronicled in his third book how Greg is beginning to adapt to his situation despite the discomfort he feels. Just like the past two sequels, Kinney stick to his formula of realism when he discussed issues such as the abilities of parents to humiliate, relationships and the unexpected lessons that one can learn from life, and just like its predecessors, the last straw is a good read that tackles the realities of middle school in a humorous and easy to relate with manner (Book review: Diary of a wimpy kid- the last straw, 2009).
Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a wimpy kid series” is a laugh-out-loud journal of Greg Heffley, a middle school student, who takes his audience through his academic years’ worth of funny experiences. His loose recollection of his experiences are presented in a strong voice that are interspersed with illustrations that makes the whole journal entries a must read. The books gained wide readership because of Kinney’s ability to stick with realism.
His main character, Greg Heffley is an imperfect middle schooler that people can easily relate with. His imperfections make him much real compared to other novel characters, and his experiences are strong depictions of what youngsters of today are going through at school and within their families. The relationship dynamics are presented in a manner that is close to real life, and the secondary characters are representation of the people that an individual deals with in everyday life.
All in all the “Diary of a wimpy kid series” is packed with life lessons that are put together in an easy to read and relate way. The simplicity of the storyline as foretold by a middle school student is reminiscent of the realistic day-to-day situations that are often overlooked by many. Kinney’s gift of preteen dialogue makes his books fun to read and allow his readers to traverse through the drama of middle school while juggling time with friends and family that makes it heart warming.
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