MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of English language and literature

Educational Issues in Diaries of a Wimpy Kid

Final Thesis

Brno 2020

Supervisor: Author: Mgr: Lucie Podroužková, Ph.D. Mgr. Tereza Langová

Prohlášení

Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem studenta Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb. o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon) ve znění pozdějších předpisů.

V Brně dne

Mgr. Tereza Langová

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to Mrs Lucie Podroužková, supervisor of this thesis, for her valuable comments and advice on writing this work.

Annotation:

This thesis deals with problems of adolescents, especially in their relationships, through the analysis of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. Third and fourth chapters summarize basic information about the author, main characters and topics contained in this book series. The main purpose of this work is to analyze relationship of the main character Greg to his best friend Rowley as an inappropriate example of a friendship with signs of bullying for young readers.

Keywords: adolescents, relationships, friendship, bullying, young adult literature

Anotace:

Tato práce se zabývá problémy adolescentů, především pak v jejich vztazích, skrze analýzu knižní série Deník malého poseroutky. Třetí a čtvrtá kapitola shrnuje základní informace o autorovi, hlavních hrdinech a tématech obsažených v této knižní sérii. Hlavním cílem práce je analyzovat vztah hlavního hrdiny Grega s jeho nejlepším kamarádem Rowleym jako nevhodný příklad přátelského vztahu vykazujícího známky šikany pro mladé čtenáře.

Klíčová slova: adolescenti, vztahy, přátelství, šikana, literatura pro mládež

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 7

2. ADOLESCENCE ...... 9

2.1. Adolescents and relationships ...... 10

2.1.1. Self-concept in adolescence ...... 10

2.1.2. Family members ...... 10

2.1.3. Friends and Peers ...... 12

2.2. School problems ...... 13

3. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID ...... 15

3. 1. The genre of diary literature ...... 15

3. 2. Jeff Kinney ...... 17

3. 3. The main characters ...... 18

3.4. Topics in Diary of a Wimpy Kid ...... 24

3.4.1. Family ...... 24

3.4.2. School ...... 28

3.4.3. Friendship ...... 31

4. FRIENDSHIP OF GREG AND ROWLEY ...... 33

5. CONCLUSION ...... 42

6. REFERENCES ...... 45

7. APPENDIX ...... 49

1. INTRODUCTION

This thesis deals with the analysis of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. The books are written as a journal narrated by a teenage boy who experiences many troubles and solves many problems typical of the stage of adolescence. Adolescents try to define their own identity and they want to find answers to many questions about their personality as well as the world around them. As a result, their relationships with family members, authorities, peers and friends are usually changed because of different opinions, ideas, interests, etc.

The author Jeff Kinney loved comics when he was a child, and so he wanted to be a cartoonist. However, he started to write notes about his experiences from childhood with his older brother after his dream to be a professional cartoonist was not fulfilled. This text was completed with pictures which seemed as they were drawn by a child. And the idea of writing a diary from a child’s point of view was born. (Wimpy Kid.com) Jeff wrote all books humorously for adults, and he could never imagine them as children’s literature. (Parker-Pope) There is a question if this type of humor is really suitable for emerging opinions of adolescents. However, young readers so much love this book series that all books became bestsellers. The first Diary of a Wimpy Kid was published in 2007 and so far the last book titled Wrecking ball in 2019 (see table 1). Besides this book series there are available do-it-yourself book, movie books and spin-off written by Rowley’s perspective, the last one with title Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure will be on sale in April 2020. (Wimpy Kid.com)

Greg Heffley is the main character and the narrator of the diary. This thirteen-year-old boy writes down all his experiences, problems and troubles from family and school life. Greg’s dream is to be famous and so many decisions he made are geared towards popularity. He also often mentions his best friend Rowley and the reader gradually finds out that their friendship is

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not full of fairness, trust and understanding. Greg usually only wants to take advantage of being a friend of Rowley and quite often treats him badly.

This book series have engaged millions of 8-12 year old readers, and there were more than 200 million copies sold in 64 languages. (Wimpy Kid.com) However, the books became very disputable topic among parents who consider moral questions contained in diaries to be a bad example for young readers. Many psychologists provided comments to this book phenomenon and according to them parents should learn from Greg and the diary can help them to find out more about children’s minds. In addition, this book series has turned many children into readers and they so love the books that the publisher was forced to increase the number of copies in initial print. (Parker-Pope)

The thesis is divided into four main chapters apart from the introduction and the conclusion. Chapter two represents a theoretical basement for the analysis of books and provides information about changes in adolescents’ relationships, behavior and interests. The next chapter is focused on the introduction of the genre of diary literature with the analysis of a style of the Wimpy Kid books, next there is introduced the author’s motive to write this type of books, and there are also described the main characters of the books. This part of the thesis also provides an overview of interesting topics contained in Greg’s narration. The main character’s life is full of humorous scenes as well as troubles happened in family, school or with his best friend Rowley. The main fourth chapter argues that despite the fact Greg keeps pulling his audience on his side, his motivation and behavior needs to be questioned. It will be shown that his attitude to Rowley is an inappropriate example of friendship for young readers.

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2. ADOLESCENCE

The term adolescence was derived from the Latin verb “adolescere” which means to grow up, to become adult, mature (Lesser 75). As the term for the specific stage of human life it is used differently in psychology, medical science as well as in sociology and pedagogy. The teenage phase is defined differently according to science and various literature sources. “Adolescence is the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood that occurs between ages 13 and 19. But the physical and psychological changes that take place in adolescence often start earlier, during the preteen or "tween" years: ages 9 and 12” (“Adolescence” 2020). The World Health Organization specifies this period of development as the period between the ages of 10 and 19 years: “Adolescence begins with the onset of physiologically normal puberty, and ends when an adult identity and behavior are accepted”(“Age limits and adolescence”) The period of adolescence is considered to be the imaginary bridge between childhood and adulthood, and it is really important not only for individuals but also for the whole society. Teenagers during adolescence move: “from the pre-conventional to the conventional level of moral thinking in which moral thinking is guided by the individual’s interpersonal relationships and place in society” (Hazen et al. 166). Teenage age is time of: “instability, of development and transition, physical and psychological” (“Adolescence” 1954). Children at this age often test their limits, try to find answers to questions about their personality, who they are and who they want to be. This exploration leads to identity formation (Cherry). Many questions about independence and identity may lead to difficult choices regarding friendship, family, school, sexuality, gender identity, alcohol and drugs (“Adolescence” 2020). Adolescence is a period of life which is very different from any other period. It is necessary to divide this phase of life into three stages: early adolescence is typical for children aged twelve to fourteen years, middle adolescence lasts from fifteen to sixteen years and late adolescence for people aged seventeen to nineteen. Each stage has its typical characteristics

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and also the comparison of twelve and nineteen years old teenagers indicates the evident difference (Worthen 282).

2.1. Adolescents and relationships

2.1.1. Self-concept in adolescence

According to Sebastian: “social psychology studies indicate that during and afterpuberty, children become increasingly self-conscious andmore aware of, and concerned with, others' opinions” (441). Increased self-reflection is typical for the period of adolescence. An adolescent realizes himself as a bearer of various social roles as well as an actor of his own behavior in various situations. He or she can be confused with their own feelings and experience. A teenager with more experiences can use self-reflection when he evaluates his own behavior. “Direct appraisals of ‘what we arelike’ can be abstracted from our own reactions to pastevents and experience, whereas reflected appraisals resultfrom our beliefs about how we are seen by others, a concepttermed the looking glass self” (Sebastian at al. 441). The major goals of psychological development in adolescence is: “the development of a healthy and stable self-image”. Otherwise, teenagers tend to problematic behavior and have difficulties in peer and family relationships, risky behaviour, poor school performance or substance abuse (Hazen at al. 164).

2.1.2. Family members

Family as the group of the closest people for each of its members can be: “the source of our deepest attachments as well as our most bitter and painful conflicts” (Arnett 187). Parent-teenager relationship’s quality is the primary step for socialization, and parents are central to their child's development and

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maturation. Relationships and family ties have to be considered continuously as the previous development of this relationship in childhood is important. However, adolescence with all its stages is typical for significant changes in a parent-child relationship. (Worthen 282). Changes in an adolescent-parent relationship are influenced by the quality of relationships with parents in childhood. It depends on many factors such as the marriage of parents, bonding with the child and parenting style. In the adolescent period there is typical that children have more autonomy, move from the limited environment of the family into extended teenage and later adult world, get to know new opinions and experience which creates their own identity. And these processes can influence the development of their relationship with parents (Arnett 187-188). “The quality of parent-child exchanges and shared decision making, over and above the specific content of parental teaching, should contribute to the development of autonomous, responsible adolescent behavior by facilitating role-taking skills, ego development, and identify exploration” (Laursen and Collins 26). Another relationship within a family which is predicted to transform during adolescence is the relationship with siblings. The power of change depends again on family cohesion or conditions. The importance of the sibling relationship is getting more importance during the stage of adolescence. Siblings who are not so older or younger than adolescents represent people with the same needs, interests, attitudes, and they are members of the same adolescent culture. Furthermore, they participate in family socialization as the members of the same family. The age difference between siblings plays the important role. The older sister sometimes serves parental function in “the caregiver relationship”. Arnett also mentions other types of relationship between brothers and sisters. For “buddy relationship” is typical friendship between siblings, whereas “critical relationship” is full of conflicts and teasing. “Rival relationship” is characterized by competition between children and finally “casual relationship” is typical for siblings who have little to do with one another and their relationship is not emotionally intense (190). On the other hand, adolescents spend much less time with their siblings than during childhood, and that is the reason why their

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relationship usually gets “more casual and less emotionally intense” (Arnett 191).

2.1.3. Friends and Peers

Worthen mentions that: “during adolescence, friendships become increasingly important. Studies show that while parents are most influential during early adolescence, middle and late adolescence is characterized by a much greater influence of friends” (283). Friendship has a special value of importance during adolescent stage for which is typical that: “the emotional centre of young people’s lives is shifting from their immediate families to persons outside the family” (Arnett 225). Most studies deal with how young people value their friends and which qualities, that children look for in friends, are important. It usually depends and changes with age as well as gender. In general, people look for friends who understand them, have similar interests and experiences. Children want their friends to be helpers, non-judgemental, trustworthy, but by early adolescence, expectations become more “emphatic, with an emphasis upon opportunities for self-disclosure and shared interests and values” (Howe 99). Not only close friends are important during adolescence. As young people become less independent of their families, they need to find a place in the larger world of peers (Berndt 51). “Peers are simply people who have certain aspects of their status in common” (Arnett, 225). Peers are usually groups of people studying at the same school, attending the same after- school clubs, etc. Adolescents invest time and attention in peer relationships the more, the worse relationship with parents they have. Furthermore, strict and over-controlling parenting style leads to association with deviant peers and extreme peer orientation (Dekovic and Meeus, 164).

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2.2. School problems

School environment is another significant place where adolescents spend time. The major part of the day is spent with peers and schoolmates: “Peer influence is particularly salient during early and middle adolescence when adolescents are facing new developmental challenges, such as autonomy and identity exploration, that are facilitated through interaction with peers” (Williams 659), and this time is sometimes longer than time spent at home. Children are supposed to deal with new school experience when they become adolescents. Firstly, adolescents usually spend more time with after-school activities with their friends and peers. Secondly, they cope with more difficult subjects and it can cause their worse school performance, which is related to their social status between other young people. And, finally, they tend to have more confrontations with teachers and other authorities (Brandt 55-56). Arnett distinguishes two groups of adolescents according to their popularity among peers. Unpopular “rejected adolescents” are considered to be aggressive, disruptive and quarrelsome, and for these features they are actively disliked by their peers. In comparison with this group, there can be distinguished group of “neglected adolescents” for whom is typical low number of friends or no friends because of their diffidence, and they are usually unnoticed by peers, they are nobodies (244). According to Arnett bullying is: “an extreme form of peer rejection in adolescence” (246). In the Western research tradition: “bullying refers to repeated aggressive acts against someone who cannot easily defend themselves” (Smith 38). Aggressive behavior can be physical as well as emotional and the relationship between aggressor and victim is usually complicated. Some studies discuss motives and causes of bullying. One aspect studied in the particular topic is the connection between aggressor and victim. Bullying is usually difficult to recognize in case that victim and aggressor are friends: “having a friend does not necessarily guarantee protection and support, and some friends are actually aggressive and abusive” (WeiandJonson-Reid 253). Researchers provide the results of

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studies about minor aggressive behavior as the part of friendships between adolescents. “It seems that some adolescents do treat friends in a rough way, at least occasionally” (Wei and Jonson-Reid 253). In addition, teenagers do not think that it is a big problem and they consider some aggressive acts to be amusing and enjoyable.

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3. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

3. 1. The genre of diary literature

Is is necessary to define the term diary as a literary genre. Although diaries are the part of literature for the last two centuries, it: “has only recently come to be recognized as a form in its own right” (Field 4). In The Concise Oxford Companion to the English Literature a diary is: “a day-by-day chronicle of events, a journal” (157). Diaries as a literary genre are becoming to be very popular because: “the diary is an intimate journal, a personal dialogue between the writer and his private persona, in which anything can be discussed outside the push and pull of editorial fashion” (Merry 3). Children may prefer books based on diaries as this reading gives them a special feeling that the writer shares things which he or she would never tell another person in his or her life (Westcott). According to Mocná and Peterka, two types of the diary as a genre can be distinguished: “primary diary and fictive diary”. The first type is the intimate confession by the author which is or is not primarily determined to be published. On the other hand a fictive diary is narrated by a fictional person which was created by the writer of the diary (9). In Diary as Literature, diary writing is considered to be: “a quasi-literary genre that offers a unique insight into lives of those we may have otherwise never discovered.” Typical features of diaries can be simply recognized. The text is chronologically structured by dating and past tense is used as well. The main role has the author whose writing reflects his opinions, experience, interests, as well as his age, temperament, ability to express own thoughts and how to write them (Bočková). On the other hand, there are some features with no vital place in diary-writing, for instance, imagination, passion, scholarship, fancy, vision, etc. (Rendall 57). Greg’s personal journal is written chronologically, his notes are about his experience, he writes down all thoughts and ideas and he often tells stories about his memories of family or school life which happened in the

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past. However, most of these memories happened to the author of the books when he was a child. The first Wimpy Kid book starts with the beginning of a school year, in September. Greg describes his school days with all boring routines, he does not leave out all annoying experience with teachers, classmates and other people he meets. Readers can get an idea of his weekends and all holidays with family or friends, especially with his best friend Rowley. Some of Wimpy Kid books are dated only in time of summer holidays (for instance the fourth one titled Dog Days). At the beginning of each day’s entry, Greg writes the name of the day, the exact date is not included. He does not contribute with notes every day, three or four days are usually skipped. He probably writes the entry of the day in the evening as he uses past tense. There are many tag questions in the text, Greg as a fictional narrator writes his journal to avoid answering stupid questions asked by his fans when he is a famous and rich person one day. He also directly interacts with his readers and gives them advice: “By the way, let me give you some good advice. On the first day of school…” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4). He also explains to readers some situations, for instance why he did not reveal the joke by his older brother Rodrick who woke him up in the middle of the night pretending it is the morning: “ You might thing I was pretty dump for falling for that one, but Rodrick was dressed up in his school clothes and he’s set my alarm clock…” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 11). Underdeveloped teenager Greg Heffley “wears a nearly permanent frown, if he had eyebrows: Kinney draws his characters like emoticons, with dots of eyes, U-shaped noses, and downturned-bracket mouths” (Parker 38). All Wimpy Kid books are full of pictures that are an important humorous part of Greg’s diary. The illustrations have to evoke similarity to cartoons, they help understand to context and they represent helpful complementation to the narrator’s speech. In all pictures there is used the direct speech. The choice of font used in books is purposeful to make its appearance the same as a diary written by hand. To support this idea, all pages are lined.

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3. 2. Jeff Kinney

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid bookseries was written by an American children's author Jeff Kinney, who was born in 1971 in Maryland. In this state he grew up and attended the University of Maryland (Wimpy Kid.com). His dream was not to be the author of children’s books, he has a burning desire to be a cartoonist. As a child Jeff loved cartoons and this passion became stronger as his father collected comic books. His first own cartoon character - a bug-eyed Igdoof - was created during his studies at university (Author & Illustrator Jeff Kinney). He needed to get past the syndicates, a company that gets the comics into newspapers, to become a professional cartoonist. Unfortunately, the answer was negative and his pictures were rejected. His life was changed as he got married and started to live in Massachusetts. The married couple needed money and Jeff had to get a job as a newspaper designer (P. Kinney 43). He became a programmer at a medical software company to earn more money and his cartoon characters were used to create a game. The marriage was not successful and after divorce Jeff rebuilt his life. He tried to stay focused on his dream to become a cartoonist and so he began writing and drawing his journal about every story and funny moments that happened during the day. The “little doodles to illustrate some of these funny stories” (P. Kinney 46) between the text brought him an idea for a book. He considered the pictures like the ones drawn by a child and decided to pretend and write a book as it is a diary created by a kid (Author & Illustrator Jeff Kinney). This book was named Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the chapter below deals with main topics which are inspired by writer’s life and most of his experiences from childhood. Jeff was born as the third child in Kinney’s family, he has older sister and older brother who played pranks on him. Luckily, the younger brother Patrick was born and Jeff became a big brother. Family life was full of events and moments which were his

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inspiration and are included in Jeff’s work. “I wouldn’t say I was a wimpy kid, but I definitely had my wimpy moments” (P. Kinney 18). All works on the first book was started when the author was twenty- seven years old and it took him nine years to publish it in 2007. Immediately, it became an instant bestseller and Jeff Kinney is considered to be one of the most influential people in the world (Wimpy Kid.com).

3. 3. The main characters

Greg Heffley

"First of all, let me get something straight. This is a journal, not a diary. Yeah, I know what it says on the cover, but when my Mom went out to buy this thing, I specifically told her not to buy one that said "diary" on it. This just proves Mom doesn't understand anything about kids my age. The only reason I agreed to write in this thing is because when I'm rich and famous I'll have better things to do than answer people's stupid questions all day long.” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 1-2). From these words can be deduced to the character of Greg who starts 6th grade at middle school. This thirteen-year-old teenage boy is a fictional character who writes and narrates his journal and show us wimpy moments from his life. Laziness, bad mood, arrogance, dishonesty are example attributes of his personality. His world is full of troubles and inconveniences. Greg believes that the adults do not understand teenagers’ problems connected with school, friendship, lots of duties etc. And he is sometimes fed up with the adult world, with his parents and all authorities who give him commands or tasks and tell him what to do and what to do not. Wimpy Kid is a lazy teenager and he does not like any sport, exercises or housework. The only activity he really loves is playing video games. “ I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I am super good at video games…Unfortunately, Dad does not exactly appreciate my skills. He’s always getting on me about going out and doing something “active” “

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(Diary of a Wimpy Kid 24). Greg’s big suffering is when he is in trouble and he cannot play video games. It is the big punishment for him: “This video game ban is a whole lot tougher than I thought it would be” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 41). Another his hobby is comics but not so much as video games. Apart from these two interests he does not have any talents or hobbies. Maybe he can sing because the music teacher chose him for the school play and told him he had a nice soprano voice. On the other hand, Greg seems to be ambitious and hardworking when he talks about his dreams how to be rich and famous. But it is only a dream and desire, Greg is not able to do anything for making his dreams come true. What is more, he is quite egocentric, selfish and when he causes some problems and gets into trouble himself or anybody else, he tries to find a scapegoat to blame. He rarely admits that he was wrong, he wants to be popular and wants people to love him. The fifth chapter deals with Greg’s relationship with his “best” friend Rowley. But also this friendship is full of troubles, argues, lies and bad influences.

Rowley Jefferson

Rowley is a teenage boy who is the best friend of the main anti-hero Greg Heffley. They met a few years ago when Rowley moved near the Heffley’s family house and Greg felt sorry for Rowley and decided to take him under his wings. (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 19) Rowley comes from a good family and he has very protective parents. His father Mr. Jefferson does not like his friend Greg at all, he knows that Greg is a bad idol for him. Rowley is quite immature and seems to be very naive because of his belief in good friendship with Greg who often takes advantages of him by manipulating him. They often argue in situations when Greg wants to lead him and change his behavior in some way. Rowley’s desire to be like Greg and the fact that he never goes against Greg is evidence of his naivety. Rowley does not want to be so popular as Greg wants to be, Rowley is not interested in what people think about him. Greg says: “ I try to explain

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all this popularity stuff to my friend Rowley…but I think it just goes in one ear and out the other with him.” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 8) On the other hand, Rowley is charming and cheerful and when he is in trouble because of Greg, he is much more popular with other classmates (especially with girls) than Greg. In the eighth book of Wimpy Kid Rowley has even a girlfriend. This fact is a real pain in the neck for Greg who is jealous of it. In Greg’s eyes, Rowley is very childish. The first example of this fact is the situation after schooling when Rowley asks his friend “want to come over to my house and plaayyy?” and Greg’s comment is: “I have told Rowley at least a billion times that now that we’re in middle school, you’re supposed to say “ hang out”, not “play”….” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 18). The next examples of Rowley’s immaturity are the facts that he sleeps with his stuffed toys, he likes a singer Joshie, whose audience is children and he gets childish gifts at Christmas.

Frank Heffley

Greg’s father is another main character of Wimpy Kid book series. He is also the father of Rodrick and Manny and the husband of Susan Heffley. Frank is a critical, over-reactive, irritable man who also takes care after his family. He has a right idea about his sons’ activities, careers and future. On the other hand, their relationship is quite complicated and sometimes it is full of misunderstanding. Frank has an exact idea about what his son Greg should do or how he should behave. He is disappointed with Greg’s lack of interest in sports and other active hobbies. “I guess Dad must have been pretty happy with himself for making me go outside yesterday, because he did it again today” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 28). Frank would be satisfied if Greg went out instead of playing video games. “Whenever Dad says “friend” that way, you know you’re in trouble. The first time Dad ever said “friend” like that to me, I didn’t get that he was being sarcastic” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 38). Greg often explains to readers the father’s behavior and his exaggerated reactions which do not last too

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long. And what is more, immediately after their argument it is usually all right. Frank is shrill and emotional, but he is also a father with a loving good heart. “Tonight, Dad yelled at me for about ten minutes…The good thing about Dad is that when he gets mad, he cools off real quick, and then it’s over” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 38). Frank would like to be a good authority for their sons, but he makes big mistakes. This fact is confirmed by Greg in the third book titled The Last Straw when his father breaks the promise not to eat unhealthy food. “And Dad said he was gonna go on a strict diet, but after dinner I caught him out in the garage, stuffing his face with brownies” (2). Frank’s relationship with Greg is full of different opinions, interests and ideas, but there is an exception that can make their relationship much better and friendlier. It is their common desire for comics as the reader finds out after finishing the fourth book titled Dog Days.

Susan Heffley

Greg’s as well as Rodrick’s and Manny’s Mom is a supportive parent. She tends to be loving and supporting, but she is also quite strict and wants their sons to behave according to her moral principles. Her parenting style is very different from father’s emotional reactions. “Mom has a totally different style when it comes to punishment. If you mess up and Mom catches you, the first thing she does is to take a few days to figure out what your punishment should be” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 39). Susan often uses the punishments which are typical for her job because she worked as a pre-school teacher. “Mom told me and Rodrick we each had to write down what we did wrong, and then we had to draw picture to go along with it…” (Rodrick rules 22). This task for Greg and Rodrick was one of her efforts to make a better relationship with her sons. She tries to make their family atmosphere more friendly, kind and considerate in this regard. Not only their sons' relationship, but also the Frank’s approach to their children she wants to get better. Susan often plans family trips and vacations as well as the daily program for all members of her family.

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“At dinner tonight, Mom could tell something was bothering me, so she came up to my room afterward to talk. I told her…I didn’t know what to do. She didn’t try to pry and get all the details. All she said was that I should try to do the “right thing”, because it’s our choices that make us who we are” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 182). Susan is a caring and loving parent and Greg appreciates her approach to this situation. However, her advice was not so useful for Greg as she did not ask for more details and their communication was quite poor. On the other hand this communicative style was satisfactory for Greg. In many cases Susan commands and decides what (especially) Greg has to do, and he is forced by Mom to take a part in many school performances, competitions and other challenges. Susan usually tends to ignore her older sons, she knows a little about them, her attention is directed to the youngest Manny. She favorites him and also spoils him.

Rodrick Heffley

Rodrick is Greg’s older brother and another character who annoys him. Their sibling relationship is full of pranks and rivalry. Greg remembers the situations from his childhood when Rodrick told him lies. One day during summer vacation Rodrick played a trick on Greg waking him up in the middle of night. “He told me I slept through the whole summer, but that luckily I woke up just in time for the first day of school” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 11). Rodrick’s main passion is music. He is a drummer in a heavy metal band “called “Loaded Diaper”, only it’s spelled “Löded Diper” on Rodrick’s van” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 30). Mom supports Rodrick’s hobby and she even bought him the drums. Dad hates this type of music and also Greg is irritated when Rodrick’s band has a band rehearsal at their house. Rodrick is lazy and inactive, his favorite activity apart from music is sleeping. He hates learning and writing essays and papers to school. Although Mom wants Rodrick to learn more, Dad usually writes his paper himself. “ Rodrick doesn’t know how to type…doesn’t really care about the mistakes…but Dad can’t stand typing a paper with errors in it, so he just

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rewrites Rodrick’s paper from scratch” (Rodrick rules 47). Rodrick is good at manipulating people and many times he lies and exploits his younger brother Greg. There are still moments when their relationship is getting better. In the second book titled Rodrick rules is the optimistic ending when Greg claims: “And even though Rodrick can be a huge jerk sometimes, he IS my brother. So that’s why I offered to help him out with his project, but just this one last time” (Rodrick rules 217).

Manny Heffley

The youngest child in the Heffley family is Manny. Greg thinks Manny is spoiled and he is quite jealous of him. “Mom and Dad protect Manny like he’s a prince or something. And he never gets in trouble, even if he really deserves it” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 21). On the other hand Manny knows about his parents' preferences and so he takes advantage of it. Many times he gets everything he wants and parents trust his lies to Greg and Rodrick. When Manny tells Mom that Greg efforts him to eat a spider, Greg is the child who has a problem. “And that’s also why my only New Year’s resolution is to never play with Manny again” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 135). Manny also gets every Christmas presents he wants, he can play educational video games during Greg’s video game ban, he can draw on the door , etc. Manny does not play with other children, he has only the imaginary ones. He is also a source of humorous situations in the family and it seems he loves his older brother Greg when calls him “bubby”.

Fregley

Fregley is another character who appears in many books. He is a schoolmate of Greg and wants to be a friend of him. But he is very unpopular with his jokes and “he has the whole made-up language” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 29). He says disgusting things and behaves extremely strange. Greg sometimes wants Fregley to be his friend to make Rowley jealous. But only in situations when Greg’s best friend Rowley finds another

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friend too. It usually turns out to be a disaster, for instance Fregley becomes hyperactive after eating all sweets and leaves Greg's house while annoyed Greg locks himself in the bathroom.

3.4. Topics in Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series evoke many topics for discussion. Greg’s narration about his troubles and moments which happen in his family or school life can be similar to situations and questions asked by teenage readers of these books. This part deals with the main themes across the whole book series.

3.4.1. Family

The first topic is family life, relationships of all family members and their behavior to each other. The question is how this topic is beneficial or vice versa inappropriate for young readers who may deal with similar situations in their families as Greg.

Greg mentions his parents many times and their approach to Greg is solved throughout the series. Mother and father are for every child the most important people who give them advice, are ideals and authorities for them, make rules and determine direction of their life. As children grow up through adolescence into adulthood, the parents’ role is transformed into more equal and mutually supportive. (Vassallo et al. 8) Susan and Frank would like to be good parents but from Greg's narration it seems to be very different. Greg has usually the long way before he finds out his parents could be good partners and supporters for him. Family atmosphere is obviously determined by the parents’ relationship. “Family factors, specifically family togetherness and support, to be more predictive of adolescence well-being than neighbourhood, school, or peer factors” (Williams 658). Greg often evaluates behavior and

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decision of his parents. Frank and Susan seem to be a couple of two people and each of them has a little bit different idea about disciplining their children, household and they do not agree on some important questions. “Mom wasn’t happy that Dad picked out a car without talking it through with her, though” (Cabin Fever 81). A typical situation in Greg’s family is when Dad does something that he does not tell Mom and later she is angry and does not agree with him. Greg sometimes complains about their disagreement but mostly he takes an advantage of it. For instance, when Greg needs to do more exercise to be more muscular because of Physical Education and wants parents to buy him some equipment, Dad would like to support him, whereas Mom is against. “So it looks like Mom and Dad aren’t going to be any help. And that means I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands, as usual” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 89). Sometimes parents are people who make bad decisions and do not even know about how it can disappoint or get into trouble their children. Greg complains about his father’s behavior when he breaks Greg’s and Rowley’s snow ball. As the result of this act, Rowley is angry with Greg instead of with Mr. Heffley. On the other hand, there are a few situations when parents want to support Greg. In the first Wimpy Kid book Greg celebrates his father’s enthusiasm for Greg’s candidacy for student government. In Greg’s family Mom seems to be the head of the family. She usually decides about their daily program and tries to get better the relationship of their three children each other or Dad’s relationship with their children, and of course her and Frank’s marriage. The reader has the opportunity to get it know from Greg’s point of view. In the second book titled Rodrick rules there is revealed how different hobbies the parents have. Mom would like Dad to watch some romantic films with her, whereas Dad’s passion is working on his Civil War battlefield in the furnace room (Rodrick rules 25- 26).

It is important for parents to determine functional rules, which are respected by all family members, to make a satisfied and happy family atmosphere. For Greg’s family, it is typical to punish children for wrong

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behavior or breaking rules in the way in which parents ban favorite activities which they do not like and their children do them. In Greg’s case it is playing video games. Greg knows that when he does something wrong, lies or cheats, parents will be angry and punish him. Greg often describes different educational styles of his parents. Dad usually screams and reacts immediately. “Mom has a totally different style when it comes to punishment. If you mess up and Mom catches you, the first thing she does is to take a few days to figure out what your punishment should be” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 39). This type of punishment seems to be ineffective because Greg as well as his older brother Rodrick try to avoid all bans and it leads to another trouble in many cases. For instance, Greg needs some money and Susan prepares the plan how he can earn them. She thinks up “Mom Bucks” and Greg can earn them by doing chores and later trade them in for real money. It seems like a good idea until Greg finds out “Mom Bucks” are the same ones as false paper money from a game (Rodrick rules 66). On the other hand, the fact that Greg and Rodrick are forced by parents to do some housework and have some responsibility for something in the household is a very good model for young readers.

There live three children in the Heffleys family. The older boy Rodrick is seventeen years old in the first diary, the second boy Greg is twelve and the youngest one is three-year Manny. As the journal is written by Greg, there is more often described his relationship with both brothers. It is not showed much about how well Rodrick gets on with Manny. Teenager Greg does not like to spend time with his brothers. The older Rodrick has a different interest than Greg, especially in metal music. Greg hates it and cannot stand listening to music played by Rodrick’s metal band. These two brothers often argue and usually do not understand each other, their relationship is full of Rodrick’s pranks on Greg. Rodrick as the older brother has a worse influence on Greg. For instance, Rodrick lies parents and when he has to look after Greg, he organizes a party at their house. Greg is supposed to not tell parents about it. Another situation happened during one day when Greg and Rodrick have to help grandmother in the garden. Rodrick’s advice is to cheat in filling bags with

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leaves (Rodrick rules 87). There are many similar examples of Rodrick’s effect on Greg. In addition, they spend time together only when it is a wish of their mom, who wants them to be more often together, help each other and understand each other. Rodrick has to take Greg by his van after schooling or has to learn Greg and Rowley to play the drums. Manny as the younger brother has a different position. According to Greg, Manny is spoilt and he can do and gets anything he wants. Greg was happy to have a younger brother at first because he looked forward to doing the same pranks on him as Rodrick plays on Greg. But he finally finds out he cannot because parents protect Manny very much. In many cases Greg is angry with Manny when he breaks him something or reveals a secret to Mom. But Mom always says that Manny is a cute child and she tries to explain that Manny likes Greg despite the fact that he irritates him. But it would not be Greg if he did not find an advantage in it. “Even though Manny drives me totally nuts, there is ONE reason I like having him around. Ever since Manny started talking, Rodrick has stopped making me sell chocolate bars for his school fund-raisers” (Rodrick rules 44).

Mom knows how important is for a family to spend time together. And it is her who plans trips and vacation for her husband and children. But Greg is not usually thrilled when they have to go together somewhere. Greg’s description of the time spent with his family seems to be a tragedy, and it could be really unattractive for all young readers of the diary. Greg’s family meets with other relatives at Easter, Christmas and other celebrations and events. Surprisingly, this family get-together is nothing funny for Greg as well as his brother Rodrick. “We’re having Easter at Gramma’s house again this year, which kind of stinks, because Gramma’s house isn’t very kid-friendly” (Hard Luck 119). Christmas time is also boring for Greg as he does not get what he really wants. He is usually disappointed with presents. On the other hand, Greg also thinks up gifts for others at the last minute or he forgets to buy presents. The Christmas is for most children special and magic time full of joy, miracles and love. Greg has of course a different opinion.

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However, there are also moments when Greg knows how important is the family. “I know Mom's always saying friends come and go and family is forever, and maybe that’s true (Hard Luck 216).

3.4.2. School

Each teenage child spends a lot of time being at school or preparing for schooling. Going to school is the only duty for many children and it is really important for them to be motivated. Greg does not like going to school and he would be rather at home and did nothing or played video games. “Let me just say for the record that I think middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3).

Children who go to the same school as Greg are not so interesting for him. Greg does not usually try to be a friend of them. He mentions some situations when his schoolmates irritate him. However, the reader cannot find out the reason why Greg does not like them. In the first book he comments: “Like I said, I’ll be famous one day, but for now I’m stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2). There is interesting the fact that peers’ influence is really important for teenagers because family system as well as peer system are: “arguably the greatest sources of social influence in adolescence” (Williams 658). Greg considers his schoolmates as a source of information if he has a problem during writing tests. He often tries to take an advantage of sitting with the cleverest boy, doing a project with other pupils, etc. Greg quite often writes down his experience and impressions from his school environment but overall he mentions his schoolmates and interaction with them rarely.

The middle school attended by Greg is the place where bullying exists. Greg complains about the difference between the boys at school. While he is little and immature, other schoolmates are taller, bigger, hairy and dangerous. “And then they wonder why bullying is such a big problem in middle school” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3). Greg describes a school as a

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place where it is dangerous to spend time. In the sixth book Greg takes part in competition of the best anti-bullying slogan and he writes about the only real bully Denis Root at school. On the other hand, there is described a story when Greg and his schoolmates decide to have a little fun with Chirag Gupta. They start to ignore him and pretend he is not there. Greg admits it is not fair to behave in this way but he also admits it is fun and finally a whole class later pretend absence of Chirag. But it would not be Greg if he had no excuse and defense of this behavior for his readers. “Before you go and say I’m a bad friend for teasing Chirag, let me just say this in my own defense: I’m smaller than about 95% of the kids at my school, so when it comes to finding someone I can actually pick on, my options are pretty limited. (Rodrick rules 52-56) In addition, Greg’s friendship with his best friend Rowley is not the example of a fair relationship. The fifth chapter deals with their relationship in detail.

Another problematic topic in the Wimpy Kid books is Greg’s approach to adults, especially to teachers. When he writes about them, he chooses quite inappropriate words. A pupil should not talk about a teacher in this way. “…we’re just waiting around for the teacher to hurry up…” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4), “…and the teacher would be too dump to notice (2008, 128). Greg is usually very disappointed with teachers’ decisions and requirements: “I think it’s dumb that Madame Lefrere won’t let us use e- mail with our pen pals” (Rodrick rules 113). Greg is happy in situations when he is successful in lying to teachers or persuading them that he is not guilty. Greg does not get any punishment in the story with schoolmate Chirag Gupta because Vice Principal Roy is mistaken and Greg apologizes to the other boy. (Rodrick rules 61)

Cheating is quite typical for Greg when it comes to school and doing projects and homework. He does not have the best model of doing homework in his family as Dad does all Rodrick’s school projects. But when Greg asks Dad to help him with a task to history, Dad refuses and Rodrick finally offers him help. At first Greg does not want to use the same

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Rodrick’s homework but finally he takes it. Unfortunately, he could not hand in it and had problems. Greg has no problem with cheating during writing tests and when he wants to copy the main cities from the board, his schoolmate Patty Farrell warns the teacher to cover it up before writing the test. “So thanks to Patty, I ended up flunking the quiz. And I will definitely be looking for a way to pay her back for that one” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 94). Greg never admits he should learn more to avoid these situations. He even thinks again about how to cheat and copy the results during writing tests when he wishes to have a glass eye: “Then, during a test, I’d aim my glass eye down at my OWN paper, and I’d look at some brainy kid’s paper with my REAL eye” (Rodrick rules 127).

At Greg’s school many competitions, auditions and projects are announced. It depends on how Greg is motivated if he wants to take part in it. In many cases, he participates only because his Mom wants him to do it. Sometimes he is passionate about projects and wants to take part in them. It is mostly the situation he is motivated. He usually hopes in popularity among the schoolmates. “…”Wacky Dawg” made Bryan Little a celebrity at our school, and I wanted to get in on some of that kind of fame” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 165).

Greg’s approach to school is very irresponsible and he cannot be an example of hard-working student for young readers of the Wimpy Kid diaries. It is satisfying for Greg not to be an active pupil and he even tries to take an advantage of being punished. “I fell asleep in sixth period today, and this time I was COLD - Mr. Watson had to shake me to get me to wake up. As a punishment, I had to sit in the front of the room. That was just fine with me, because at least up there I could sleep in peace” (The Last Straw 74).

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3.4.3. Friendship

The main topic, which is included in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, is a question of the rules of a fair friendship. Teenagers usually do not get on well with their parents, siblings and some schoolmates. However, they need somebody who understands them and who has the same opinions and ideas. Good friends can help us to find identity and get to know our own personality. For the stage of adolescence is: “more common to rely on friends for the kinds of advice, resources and recreation that might once have involved family, kin and neighbours” (Caine 317). Greg obviously needs to have a good friend too, but he does not know how to be a good friend. His relationship with Rowley will be discussed in the fifth chapter in detail.

Greg often hesitates what to do. He tries to do good things but it usually turns into a bad decision. Mom advises him to do the right thing and Greg tries to behave according to her advice. So he does not admit Rowley is innocent in the case with bothering small children. Greg believes it is a good decision: “I decided the right thing to do was to just let Rowley take one for the team this time around” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 183). On the other hand, when his friend Rowley does something in order to do the right thing, Greg does not understand and never appreciate it.

A friendship of two children can be various. Each person prefers having a friend who will be fair, honest, kind, etc. But the requirements can be different: “Emphasis on emotional and private rather than practical and public obligations” (Ramsden, 90) are more usual. But according to Caine: “Friendship may still have practical effects - and even influence people - but gaining advantage or fulfilling obligations are not its chief intentions and in fact could be seen as undermining it” (317). Greg wants Rowley to behave according him. But when Rowley refuses, Greg tries to find another best friend. It does not usually work with a good friendship. More information on this topic is discussed below.

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Greg does most of things and decisions in order to be popular among his schoolmates. The reason why he wants to be popular is usually the effort to be an idol for girls at school. “Man, I don’t know what is up with girls these days. I used to be a whole lot simpler back in elementary school. The deal was, if you were the fastest runner in your class, you got all the girls. Now it’s about the kind of clothes you wear or how rich you are or if you have a cute butt or whatever” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6). Greg reveals how important their appearance is for teenagers and what they value. Greg does not want anyone of his friend is more popular than he is. It seems to be more advantageous to be a friend with kids who do not matter about their popularity and Greg is not in his friends' shade.

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4. FRIENDSHIP OF GREG AND ROWLEY

This chapter discusses most of situations from the Wimpy Kid books when Greg treats Rowley badly. There is a question if their friendship is fair and right and if it fulfills some important features of each good friendship. Greg considers Rowley to be his best friend, but he does not rule out the possibility that their relationship can be easily changed. It seems that Greg does not appreciate their friendship at all: “Well, me and Rowley have officially been ex-friends of about a month now, and to be honest with you, I’m better off without him” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 196). However, Hruschka claims that: “ In many societies, adolescence is a time when friendship gains new importance and takes on novel functions” (131). What is more, adolescents establish new friendships which usually last longer than it was typical for childhood. (Hruschka 131) “Behavior that could be classified as aggressive varies in meaning across different social contexts” (Burnett 2).There are sometimes only a few differences between friendly innocent bantering and insidious bullying. For teenagers it can be difficult to recognize if a verbal challenge is negative or playful for peers or friends. “During adolescence, physically and socially aggressive behaviors such as teasing, pranking and “creating drama” are perceived as playful and exciting for some individuals, while others find them stressful (qtd. in Burnett 2).

Greg tells Rowley lies

Trust and fairness are ones of the most important features of each relationship. Trust can be completely destroyed by lying. According to Hruschka: “Reasons for friendship in adolescence involving relational norms of mutual support, sharing and trust” (132), and so the first words when it comes to friendship are usually: “closeness, love and trust” (30). At the end of the first Wimpy Kid book there is Greg’s and Rowley’s friendship at risk. As many times Greg tries to avoid being punished and

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does not tell the truth. When Greg and Rowley become members of the Patrols at school, they have to protect children going home from kindergarten. Greg decides to make fun with earthworms and Mrs. Irvin sees him spooking children. But Rowley is punished, because Greg has worn his jacket. “I knew if I confessed, I’d lose my hot chocolate privileges” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 182). Greg prefers having an advantage of being a member of the Patrols to be fair and save Rowley from being punished. One day Greg has to attend the musical course of playing the drums led by his older brother Rodrick. Greg does not want to take part in it alone, so he decides to persuade Rowley to enroll. The best way, according to the Wimpy Kid ,is to tell his friend a lie in order to get his interest. There are many situations when Greg behaves badly and is the big liar. In The Last Straw there are two stories when Greg cheats on Rowley. These two boys decide to make a secret “time capsule” and store it deeply underground. Firstly, Rowley is the only one who gives his own things into this box and secondly, Greg digs up their secret box a few days later because he does not have money to buy candy. The next story from this book is about writing the answer to Holly Hills. Greg likes this girl and he is jealous of Rowley when she writes him a nicer letter. Greg writes her Rowley’s negative answer and never tells him the truth. A man should not do things for someone without someone’s agreement.

Greg abuses Rowley

When two people should be friends, there should be clearly seen their reciprocal interest in each other. Hruschka claims that signs of this interest are: “exclusive behaviors“ such as: “spending time with a friend, sharing meals together, all activities that take time and effort and thus limit one’s ability to do the same with other people” (40). The first situation (when Greg only takes an advantage of friendship with Rowley) is when Greg cannot play video games at home. Then he remembers, he can visit Rowley and play with him. Spending time with friends should be the moment that

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people appreciate. It is sad if Greg only wants to spend time with Rowley in order to play (at home banned) video games. (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 26) What is more, Greg has no problem to pretend to be a friend of Rowley in order to go to the party as Rowley’s friend. One day Rowley is invited to go to the party by older boys and Greg wants to take advantage of this situation. Greg finally cannot go because of his family get-together and they are not friends again. At the end of the third book Greg decides to get their friendship back on track. But again, he wants to take advantage of it in future. The picture illustrates Greg’s idea of keeping Rowley on a leash in order to Rowley saves him before older boys. (The Ugly Truth 217) One of the motives in each relationship can be according to Hruschka: “the norm of reciprocity” (22). People usually do favors for their friends and then they expect they will be reciprocated. From this theory, a basic principle of gift giving was developed in many cultures. (Hruschka 22) Best friends usually try to make each other happy because a theory of relationships determines that: “partner in relationship should be happiest when his or her inputs and outputs balance those of the other partner” (Hruschka 25). When it comes to Christmas, it is supposed, that friends give each other a present. However, this rule does not apply to Greg. “I forgot to get a gift for Rowley, so I just slapped a bow on the “L’il Cutie” book Rodrick gave me” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 130). Firstly, Greg did not buy a gift for his friend, secondly, he gave him his unwanted present. On the other hand, Greg is looking forward to a present from Rowley: “Rowley’s parents have a lot of money, so I can always count on them for a good gift” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 130). It can be considered to be selfish and unfriendly. In addition, Rowley is not angry or sad because he was satisfied with a present from Greg. Greg is not ashamed to abuse Rowley’s physical strength. He wants Rowley to give him a piggyback ride. No surprise, Rowley does not agree: “so I had to remind him that we’re best friends and this is the kind of thing best friends do for each other” (The Last Straw 45). Best friends should do themselves a favor, but it should be good for both. Greg seems to be really calculating when he and Rowley want to make money and decide to offer help for money in someone’s garden.

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Rowley has to work while Greg is sitting under a tree and thinking about their business plan. Rowley does not like this idea and does not want to do it. Greg does not agree with it and so they have an argument. “Believe it or not, that was enough to make Rowley walk right off the job” (Dog Days 60). A friend who does not help and is not fair cannot be a good friend. Greg cannot make a deal with his friend, and it is obviously difficult to admit a mistake. It is important to make a compromise if the relationship should work. Young readers may think, according to Greg’s behavior, it is good to do own decisions in spite of a friend’s disagreement. The reason, why Greg is a friend of Rowley, seems to be quite strategic. Rowley need learn to recognize when he should help and when it is unpleasant or embarrassing for him: “Friends use one another all the time, the challenge in friendship is not avoid such calls for help, but rather to distinguish between being useful and being used” (Hruschka 156).

Greg is jealous of Rowley

Greg’s and Rowley’s friendship is full of competition to be popular. However, this effort is obviously only Greg’s interest. Rowley is somehow often cute and popular for female schoolmates, and it is irritating for Greg who is jealous of Rowley’s success. “I tried to cash in on some Rowley’s new popularity, but it totally backfired” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 142). Friends should wish success to each other. On the other hand, Hruschka claims that: “Jealousy is common among friends” (160). Finishing comics “Zoo-Wee Mama” brings Rowley fame. Another reason for Greg to be jealous of him. Their argument almost ends with fighting, so Greg wants to use corporal punishment on Rowley. And what is more, he considers it to be only a fun. Fortunately, great courage is not the strongest part of Greg’s personality. The story with comics is according to Hruschka a typical situation in friendship: “ When two friends are completing a task they both see as important and there is explicit comparison between their performances, one is less happy when the friend does better” (33). And so Greg is not happy when Rowley is more successful in their project.

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Rowley is the only child and his parents want all his wishes and dreams to come true. He usually gets all gifts he wants for Christmas, he has a big birthday party in the shopping centre, he goes with parents on holidays each summer, etc. It can be said that Rowley has a good relationship with his parents. “Adolescents who have greater emotional closeness and bonding within family, or who perceive that their parents care about their behavior while at school, are also less susceptible to peer pressure” (Williams 665). Greg considers Rowley to be childish and spoilt. But it rather seems that Greg is jealous of Rowley. Best friends should wish the best each other. Friendship can enrich all its participants as they can inspire and motivate each other. This feature of friendship is not typical of Greg’s opinion about being a good friend. “Lately, Rowley has been totally riding me. He reads the same comic books I read, drinks the same kind of soda I drink, you name it” (Rodrick rules 71). Friendship of Greg and Rowley goes though crises quite often. But Greg can find the reason to be jealous of Rowley also during the days they do not talk to each other, The main reason is a new friendship of Rowley with somebody else. Greg tries to find another friend as well. But he is always unsuccessful. It is important to care about friendship and people should tolerate friends’ opinions and decisions. A friend is not someone’s property and a man should give him freedom. “To limit a partner’s alternatives or made it more difficult or costly to cultivate new, possibly competing friendship” (159) is, according to Hruschka, undesirable behavior of each relationship. And he also argues that: “Jealous reactions against a partner are another way to decrease outside opportunities” (160).

Greg underestimates Rowley

“Honestly, sometimes I don’t know about that boy” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 35). This similar sentence appears in the book quite often. Greg comments Rowley’s behavior, decisions, opinions, etc. in this way and never respects him. Every time Greg and Rowley have to do something together, Greg does not believe in Rowley’s ideas. The first example is working on comic

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books for school newspaper. Greg wants to do everything according to himself and cannot respect friend’s opinions. It does not work when they try to think up something together. Fortunately, Rowley does not listen to all of Greg’s commands. “And believe it or not, Rowley’s drawing skills are worse than his writing skills…I don’t really want to be partnered up with a kid who doesn’t draw noses, anyway” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 170). It seems that Greg notices only Rowley’s negative parts and mistakes. A friend should be able to appreciate someone’s effort to do something and try to help him. Greg tends to do things only according to his own aims and interests. Greg probably worries about the failure of their comic books when it is not perfect and not printed in school newspaper. However, the trust in friendship is when: “ one’s friend will act in one’s interest, if one takes a social risk with potentially negative consequences for oneself” (Hruschka 38). According to Hruschka: “trust is generally not defined as a feeling but rather as an expectation” (38). Not only Greg, but also Greg’s father does not trust Rowley. Greg usually anticipates and expects a catastrophic scenario before Rowley comes. Each friend needs support instead of underestimation. And what is more, according to Williams: “Adolescents who perceive their friends to be supportive and responsive to their needs and feeling also have fewer school misbehavior problems and better health and well-being” (665). Greg’s comments about Rowley’s inability are not suitable. Young readers could start to consider this suspicious behavior normal and common in friendship. However. “trusting a friend involves feeling that the friend is intrinsically motivated to be trustworthy” (Hruschka 38). Greg can be influenced by his father's tendency not to trust Rowley in many situations as children usually tend to unconsciously take over their parents’ opinions and behavior. It should be added that Rowley caused some problems in the past and so he should have the reputation of distrust.

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Greg tries to influence Rowley badly

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is full of stories when Greg persuades Rowley to do something bad and Rowley is later punished. What is more, Greg sometimes pretends to be guiltless. When Greg and Rowley think up to create the Hall of Screams in downstairs at Rowley’s house during Halloween, Rowley’s father finds them and “Rowley ended up getting grounded for that whole haunted house mess yesterday. He’s not allowed to watch tv for a week, and he’s not allowed to have me over at his house during that time” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 60). In addition, Greg is unsatisfied, he cannot visit Rowley and considers it to be the punishment for him: “I didn’t even do anything wrong” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 60). Greg usually commands his friend what he should do, tell and even what he should wear. Bullying can be also verbal and it is usually focused on children's appearance. For young readers it could make an impression it is all right to judge someone’s clothes and even to order someone what to wear. “When I called him earlier I told him to just wear regular clothes, but of course he didn’t listen” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 50). It is not the only situation when Greg comments on Rowley’s clothes. One day Greg decides to start to exercise, and so he invites Rowley to strengthen with him. “And when he showed up at my door wearing some ridiculous getup, I knew I made a mistake inviting him” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 90). Greg wants to influence Rowley to behave in some way. It seems that Rowley mostly does everything in order to be a good friend for Greg. This exploitation is not a good feature of relationship and it cannot work for a long time. Greg obviously considers that to make a friendship sufficiently valuable it is not appropriate when: “a partner will hesitate to behave badly if it risks ending the relationship” (Hruschka 156).

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Greg makes fun of Rowley

Making jokes is the reason why Greg started to be a friend of Rowley. “It’s been great having him around, mostly because I get to use all the tricks Rodrick pulls on me” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 19). Not always it is really funny as it can seem. When Greg and Rowley strengthen together at Greg’s house, Greg decides to scary Rowley while he is holding a barbell. Of course Rowley could not focus and stopped working. “Rowley said he didn’t feel like working out anymore, and he went home” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 93). Greg evaluates his friend’s decision that it was clear Rowley does not manage to exercise with him. Another case when Greg thinks up inappropriate fun is driving the Big Wheel Rowley got him for Christmas. The game’s rule is to ride down the hill and try to knock the rider off with a football. The result is not good for Rowley. Greg has finally managed to knock him off the Big Wheel, and Rowley has a broken arm as a result. “I tried to cheer him up, but all the jokes that usually crack him up weren’t working” (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 140). In addition, Greg refuses to exchange with Rowley in riding the Big Wheel. It means the game becomes quite unfair. It is not the only case when Greg hurts Rowley. When Greg invites Rowley over to spend the night, they play board games and every time Rowley goes back from the toilet, he kicks a pillow across the room. This joke starts to get on Greg’s nerves. So Greg plays a prank on him when he prepares a dumbbell under the pillow. “Rowley started blubbering like a baby, and I couldn’t quiet him down” (Rodrick rules 182). Greg does not make a great effort to apologize. Accidents may happen, but if they are purposely planned, it is not so all right. Not every game is a fun. Greg and Rowley spend time together usually playing the games, and Greg usually determines the rules. A game they play in the sixth book has a rule that the one who loses has to call the other boy “sir” for the rest of his life. In addition, Greg cheats and Rowley decides to call him “sir” voluntarily. Playing jokes to embarrass or humiliate someone can be typical act of bullying. (Cabin Fever 53-56)

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Most of these situations discussed in the paragraphs above are examples of bad features of unfair friendship. On the other hand, it is not so easy for someone to find a friend who understands him, does not tell a lie, has the same hobbies, etc. Some principles are really important for a good friendship, and they are named in the book titled You are my best friend - I hate you. The first one is functional communication. It is the ability to express own opinion, ideas, requirements, wishes, etc. According to the second principle, it is important to learn to listen and so understand what is said. The next one is about learning not to judge others. A friend may have the reason why he behaves in some way. And finally, the last principle is the importance about being yourself. It means not to do some decisions and actions in order to be interesting or popular for friends. (Rushton 34-40) Unfortunately, these principles are not mentioned in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Greg’s friendship with Rowley is not the best example of being a good friend.

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5. CONCLUSION

The main aim of this thesis was to analyze the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series with a focus on typical problems in relationships of the main character Greg, especially in his friendship with Rowley. Greg is a teenage boy who does not behave fair and well in many situations. The stage of adolescence may be the phase of problematic behavior, problematic relationships with family members as well as friends and peers. The phase of adolescence is full of finding and developing children’s identity in order to become an adult. This way is not easy and adolescents usually have to solve many important questions. Greg also tries to find a way how to be adult and how not have to strictly follow adult commands. Unfortunately, he is quite lazy to achieve his goals. And what is more, he finds out, it is not so perfect to be adult during some situations in his life. He considers his family members to be unfair and too strict, and he is usually forced to tell a lie or cheat in order to avoid some problems. He means that being the second child from three children in a family is the worst because of his bad relationship with older brother Rodrick and his jealousy of younger brother Manny. School life is also boring and uninteresting for Greg. He does not like learning, doing homework or essays as well as being with classmates in a classroom. Apart from Rowley he does not have any friends. He could be expected to appreciate their friendship but it seems that the opposite is true. The relationship of Greg and Rowley was the main topic discussed in the fourth chapter. The main aim of this part was to analyze Greg’s behavior to his best friend Rowley as an example of unfair friendship with signs of bullying. Their friendship not only does not meet the principles of a good friendship but also is full of unfriendly behavior. Greg often treats Rowley badly as he tells him a lie, abuses him in many situations and then only Greg wants to take an advantage, he is jealous of Rowley, criticizes Rowley’s behavior, opinions, requirements, decisions… everything. Their friendship could not be an illustrative example of a good relationship for young readers. Firstly, they could get information and examples of how to treat

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their friends badly. Secondly, reading about Greg’s ideas on how to treat Rowley may be motivation for bullying among young readers. On the other hand, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series became the bestseller among the young readers. Greg is an “antihero” and he is the new type of the main character in books for teenagers. They primarily appreciate the humorous character of these books. This was the main intention of the author Jeff Kinney who has written this series in order to force children to read books. It can be said, this purpose was fulfilled and all Wimpy Kid books were translated into sixty-four languages. However, the question is if it is the best way how to get young readers to read books. The authors of young adult literature should also think about their works as it could be a model for adolescents’ behavior. Searching for the best way how to become an adult is the way of creating new opinions, ideas, character features, aims, etc. This book series could be rather the model of laziness, cheating and bullying. In conclusion, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is not a good example for adolescents’ friendships. On the other hand, young readers who solve some problems in their lives could be happier they are not the only ones with problems typical for the stage of adolescence. In addition, it would be better if readers’ parents or teachers talk with them about the analysis of these books after or before they read them.

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6. REFERENCES

Primary sources:

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever. New York: Amulet Books, 2011.

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hurd Luck. New York: Amulet Books, 2013.

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. New York: Amulet Books, 2007.

Kinney Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick rules. New York: Amulet Books, 2008.

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Dog Days. New York: Amulet Books, 2009.

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. New York: Amulet Books, 2009

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth. New York: Amulet Books, 2010. .

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7. APPENDIX

Table 1. Wimpy Kid series - chronological overview

Year of Number Title Main themes publication

Introduction of Greg Heffley, his friend Rowley Jefferson, their 1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2007 problems at middle school, Halloween, the Cheese Touch.

Greg tries to prevent his older brother Rodrick 2 Rodrick Rules 2008 from revealing Greg’s last summer accident.

Greg must prove himself and persuade father do not want to 3 The Last Straw 2009 send him to a military academy, the Valentine’s Day.

The summer vacation, the town pool, a new 4 Dog Days 2009 pet dog, vacation with Rowley’s family.

Greg is growing up and must face 5 The Ugly Truth 2010 to many challenges, a school lock-in.

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Heffley’s family got stuck in house when a blizzard hits, 6 Cabin Fever 2011 Greg’s fears from being imprisoned for vandalizing in school.

The school Valentine’s Day 7 The Third Wheel 2012 dance, Greg and Rowley want to impress Abigail.

Rowley and Abigail are a couple now, Greg is jealous, 8 Hard Luck 2013 Magic 8-Ball will make decisions for him.

Summer and Heffley's family go on a road trip 9 The Long Haul 2014 full of wrong or adventure moments.

Greg faces old- fashioned ideas 10 Old School 2015 about electronics-free world.

Movie - making with Rowley, Greg’s parents 11 Double Down 2016 want him to play a musical instrument, a Halloween party.

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Celebrating the Christmas out of 12 The Getaway 2017 home, stress-free vacation turns to a nightmare.

Greg and Rowley 13 The Meltdown 2018 participate in a big snowball fights.

The Heffleys make the big 14 Wrecking Ball 2019 changes in their house thanks to inheritance.

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