Diary of a Wimpy Kid Essay Questions

Is Greg a good or bad kid?

Normally when we read a book, the protagonist is also the hero or a person who we're supposed to root for. Greg is more of an anti-hero, meaning that he's a complicated kid who has finer qualities as well as some serious character flaws. On the one hand, he's funny and has a boundless imagination, but on the other, he can be pretty mean to his little brother Manny and his best friend Rowley for seemingly no reason. Additionally, when Greg's mom tells him to do the right thing with the Safety Patrol situation, Greg definitely does not do the right thing. But is this because Greg is a bad guy, or because he's just growing up and middle school is a confusing time?

How does the author use the imagery of comics within this graphic novel?

Jeff Kinney started writing Diary of a Wimpy Kid as a webcomic for fun, and a lot of the little posters and comics that he has Greg or other characters draw in Diary of a Wimpy Kid have a playful spirit. Talk about when comics appear in the book, what they say about the people who draw them, and what effect they have on how we understand the characters in this book. This is also a good opportunity to talk about Jeff Kinney's sense of humor, since the comics he puts into the story are great jokes that aren't directly related to the narrative.

What sort of influence do Greg's parents have on him?

We get pretty different portrayals of Greg's mom and dad, and they're often quite comical. Greg's dad has a goofy sense of humor and while he's quick to lose his temper, he does it in an amusing way. Greg's mom is enthusiastic about everything her kids do, but she's also the one that will dole out stricter punishments. But how does this parenting affect Greg? Does it teach him positive habits, or does he mainly pick up all the bad tendencies from his parents? Does Greg side with his mom or his dad on playing with a Barbie doll, and what does this say about him? To what extent is a middle schooler just beyond parenting, since he's developing as an independent person?

What do we learn about Greg from his relationship with Rowley?

For much of the book, we see Greg interacting with Rowley, someone who he doesn't introduce to us on very favorable terms, yet who he clearly misses during the period when Rowley isn't talking to or hanging out with him. So what do learn about Greg from how they interact? We watch them plan a haunted house and draw comics together, and we see the games they play and the jokes they make with each other. We also see Greg's dark side, whether that's playing mean pranks on Rowley or letting him get in trouble for an incident that happened while Greg was on Safety Patrol alone. What do we learn about Greg from the incident with The Cheese towards the end of the book?

Why is so much of Diary of a Wimpy Kid about being in middle school?

In this essay, you can talk about how middle school is the social center of a young person's life, with Greg exposed to girls he's starting to find attractive as well as bullies that he's worried about provoking. You can also talk about how strange of a time middle school is in a person's life, describing events like when all of the boys become obsessed with wrestling or the strange set of rituals that develop around The Cheese. You can also talk about the yearbook or the school comic as a way of discussing the significance of being the center of attention for Greg.