Greg Heffley
Encyclopedia
Gregory "Greg" Heffley is the main protagonist
of the realistic fiction book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid
created by American cartoonist Jeff Kinney
. Greg has appeared in Diary of a Wimpy Kid
, Rodrick Rules
, The Last Straw
,. Dog Days
,. The Ugly Truth
, and will appear in Cabin Fever
. He has also appeared in all of the spin offs, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book
, and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary
, along with the expansions The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 2: Rodrick Rules
for the school newspaper before he quits when Mr. Ira, a teacher at his school who edits the comics, ruins it by trying to use it as an ad for the school's library. Greg comes up with many different ideas and sub-jobs, including becoming a safety patroller in school. He also has a crush on Holly Hills until the end of The Last Straw
, where he decides it wouldn't work out because she mistakens him for Fregley. He began to have a crush on a new girl that moved to his street, called Trista, but it seems like she didn't have any interest in him. Greg later began to impress Heather Hills when she became a life guard at the town pool, but that didn't work either. It is presumed that Greg's family believes in the Catholic Christian faith because they attend church and in the visual novel Greg goes to confession. Greg often tries avoiding certain events (such as being in a school play) or to achieve a goal (such as impressing a crush), but almost all of Greg's schemes fail and sometimes leads to serious, frustrating, and always unfair outcomes.
He is shown to be quite paranoid in numerous occasions, usually over petty reasons. For example, he believes he will be arrested for returning to a library where he has forgotten to return a book years ago. In "Cabin Fever", he is afraid that he may not graduate due to being unable to skip in the first grade.
He is shown on a few occasions to be a hypocrite, usually directed towards his thoughts of his friendship with Rowley. In "The Ugly Truth", he believes that a friendship will only work if one friend is a lackey to the other, which he believed wasn't the case with him and Rowley (thinking they were equals), when in reality Greg constantly abused Rowley for selfish reasons, which was one of the reasons they were no longer friends in that book. In the same book, Greg becomes angry at Rowley's choice of going to a party without him just because Greg couldn't go, causing Greg to angrily state that he's glad he's not friends with him anymore to Rowley's "selfish choice", when in reality Greg abused him constantly for selfish reasons.
One of the main points of the series is that rarely does anything good ever really happen to Greg, at least in the short-term. He is often seen in embarrassing, unfair, and overall unpleasant and difficult situations. This stems from both his selfish and lazy personality and the fact that he does not get along with his family, Rowley or peers at school, and sometimes because of simply bad luck, which usually trumps over any good luck he's had in the series.
As the series progresses, Greg is fit enough to do push-ups, sit-ups and even climb up trees. He also reads books and newspapers more actively. It is noted that Greg has a talent for comics and loves illustrating and writing them, even known for starting the successful comic, Zoo-Wee Mama!, but his comic was under Rowley's name when they were enemies.
Rowley has a number of peculiar characteristics which mostly embarrass Greg but sometimes interest him.
What Greg resents the most of Rowley is his lack of macho and with rather strange interests, such as a "Sweet Secrets" diary, an interest in the band singer Joshie (who Greg thinks might be for six-year old girls, although Rowley thought he was just jealous), sensitivity, love for the comic "Li'l Cutie" (which Greg hates), bumper boats, and kiddie birthday parties, Rowley's not exactly the picture of manliness. In the movie
, Greg was talking Rowley into burning a shirt of him and his mom on it that said "Me and my Mommy".
Greg and Rowley have a complex relationship. They are both great friends, but Greg has a habit of treating Rowley poorly and often takes advantage of him for his own selfish desires. Rowley starts out as a pushover in the beginning of the series, being treated poorly by Greg and often following his schemes, but this trait seems to fade away as in the fourth book, as Rowley is starting to lose patience with Greg.
Rowley's dad does not like Greg and uses him as an example of a "bad influence". Although Rowley has been described as "unpopular" by Greg (thinking that he is about the 150th most popular kid in the school), girls seem to like him because he is cute (in a little kid way) and his family is always taking expensive vacations, like going to Europe
, South America
and Australia
(as mentioned in the beginning of Rodrick Rules) and renting a log cabin on their trip to the beach late in Dog Days.
Rowley and Greg begin to slowly drift apart in Dog Days, after several fights and conflicts, which implies that Greg will no longer maintain friendship with Rowley. However, they did make up at the end of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
.
's 18th island, Wimpy Wonderland, revolving around the Wimpy Kid series
, was made into a film, released in March 19, and Greg was portrayed by Zachary Gordon
.
, Rotten Tomatoes
has said that Greg is an "unlikable protagonist
". Pomeranz disliked the character of Greg Heffley, saying "I really thought he was unpleasant. I did not want to spend time with him. I couldn't wait for the end of this film." Greg also appeared as a balloon in the 2010 and 2011 Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the realistic fiction book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of fiction books written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The books are the journals of the main character, whose name is Greg Heffley. Befitting a child's diary, they are filled with hand written notes and simple drawings of his daily adventures...
created by American cartoonist Jeff Kinney
Jeff Kinney (writer)
Jeffrey "Jeff" Kinney is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, and author of children's books including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. He is also attributed to be the creator of the children-oriented website Poptropica...
. Greg has appeared in Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a realistic fiction novel by Jeff Kinney. It is the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book is about a middle-school child named Greg Heffley and his struggles in middle school. Greg also had problems with his best friend, Rowley Jefferson. The books focuses...
, Rodrick Rules
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a realistic fiction novel by Jeff Kinney. It is the second book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series released on February 1, 2008, and a film of the same name released March 25, 2011...
, The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw is a novel written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, the third book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book acts as a journal and follows the adventures of Greg Heffley, the narrator of the book, who is in the second half of his seventh grade...
,. Dog Days
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is a realistic fiction novel written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, the fourth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series It was released on October 12, 2009 in the USA and October 13, 2009 in Canada....
,. The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, is the fifth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released on November 9, 2010.-Plot:...
, and will appear in Cabin Fever
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever is the sixth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, written by American author Jeff Kinney. It was first announced in The Ugly Truth as "More Diary of a Wimpy Kid", then it was announced in The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6". The title...
. He has also appeared in all of the spin offs, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, is an activity book created by American author and game designer Jeff Kinney. This book is divided into two sections: an activity section and a "Whats Your Story?" section...
, and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is a movie tie-in book by Jeff Kinney about the making of the 2010 movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which stars Zachary Gordon as Greg and Robert Capron as Rowley. Unlike the other books, it is non-fiction.-Background:...
, along with the expansions The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 2: Rodrick Rules
Actions in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Unlike his brother, Rodrick, Greg has been shown to show remorse for his actions and enjoys sleeping. He explains that he is good at nothing except video games, which he spends most of his time playing. He grows an interest of drawing comicsComic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
for the school newspaper before he quits when Mr. Ira, a teacher at his school who edits the comics, ruins it by trying to use it as an ad for the school's library. Greg comes up with many different ideas and sub-jobs, including becoming a safety patroller in school. He also has a crush on Holly Hills until the end of The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw is a novel written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, the third book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book acts as a journal and follows the adventures of Greg Heffley, the narrator of the book, who is in the second half of his seventh grade...
, where he decides it wouldn't work out because she mistakens him for Fregley. He began to have a crush on a new girl that moved to his street, called Trista, but it seems like she didn't have any interest in him. Greg later began to impress Heather Hills when she became a life guard at the town pool, but that didn't work either. It is presumed that Greg's family believes in the Catholic Christian faith because they attend church and in the visual novel Greg goes to confession. Greg often tries avoiding certain events (such as being in a school play) or to achieve a goal (such as impressing a crush), but almost all of Greg's schemes fail and sometimes leads to serious, frustrating, and always unfair outcomes.
He is shown to be quite paranoid in numerous occasions, usually over petty reasons. For example, he believes he will be arrested for returning to a library where he has forgotten to return a book years ago. In "Cabin Fever", he is afraid that he may not graduate due to being unable to skip in the first grade.
He is shown on a few occasions to be a hypocrite, usually directed towards his thoughts of his friendship with Rowley. In "The Ugly Truth", he believes that a friendship will only work if one friend is a lackey to the other, which he believed wasn't the case with him and Rowley (thinking they were equals), when in reality Greg constantly abused Rowley for selfish reasons, which was one of the reasons they were no longer friends in that book. In the same book, Greg becomes angry at Rowley's choice of going to a party without him just because Greg couldn't go, causing Greg to angrily state that he's glad he's not friends with him anymore to Rowley's "selfish choice", when in reality Greg abused him constantly for selfish reasons.
One of the main points of the series is that rarely does anything good ever really happen to Greg, at least in the short-term. He is often seen in embarrassing, unfair, and overall unpleasant and difficult situations. This stems from both his selfish and lazy personality and the fact that he does not get along with his family, Rowley or peers at school, and sometimes because of simply bad luck, which usually trumps over any good luck he's had in the series.
As the series progresses, Greg is fit enough to do push-ups, sit-ups and even climb up trees. He also reads books and newspapers more actively. It is noted that Greg has a talent for comics and loves illustrating and writing them, even known for starting the successful comic, Zoo-Wee Mama!, but his comic was under Rowley's name when they were enemies.
Rodrick
Rodrick is Greg's older brother and he loves Greg just like he loves kids at school and embarrasses him and gets away with it. Rodrick is in high school, and he is at least 16 years old, due to the fact that he can drive and that Greg said Rodrick was sick for his sophomore yearbook pictures. In the second book, Rodrick has more parts in the story, including his band called Löded Diper (according to Greg is really spelled Loaded Diaper), in which he plays the drums. He often argues with Greg. He was grounded along with Greg after their parents discovered Rodrick's party, blaming Greg for thinking that he helped Rodrick, when Greg was in fact, locked in the basement all night. Rodrick once locked Greg out of a hotel room when Greg was in his underwear (he calls them "tighty whities") in The Last Straw. It has also been shown that Rodrick greatly conceals his pranks on Greg, causing their parents to think Greg is crazy.Rowley
Rowley is Greg's overall best buddy. They met each other when Rowley moved into Greg's neighborhood. They go to the same school and walk there together, and they share 4 classes.Rowley has a number of peculiar characteristics which mostly embarrass Greg but sometimes interest him.
What Greg resents the most of Rowley is his lack of macho and with rather strange interests, such as a "Sweet Secrets" diary, an interest in the band singer Joshie (who Greg thinks might be for six-year old girls, although Rowley thought he was just jealous), sensitivity, love for the comic "Li'l Cutie" (which Greg hates), bumper boats, and kiddie birthday parties, Rowley's not exactly the picture of manliness. In the movie
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's book of the same name. The film was released on March 19, 2010. It was released on DVD, iTunes, and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010.-Plot:...
, Greg was talking Rowley into burning a shirt of him and his mom on it that said "Me and my Mommy".
Greg and Rowley have a complex relationship. They are both great friends, but Greg has a habit of treating Rowley poorly and often takes advantage of him for his own selfish desires. Rowley starts out as a pushover in the beginning of the series, being treated poorly by Greg and often following his schemes, but this trait seems to fade away as in the fourth book, as Rowley is starting to lose patience with Greg.
Rowley's dad does not like Greg and uses him as an example of a "bad influence". Although Rowley has been described as "unpopular" by Greg (thinking that he is about the 150th most popular kid in the school), girls seem to like him because he is cute (in a little kid way) and his family is always taking expensive vacations, like going to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(as mentioned in the beginning of Rodrick Rules) and renting a log cabin on their trip to the beach late in Dog Days.
Rowley and Greg begin to slowly drift apart in Dog Days, after several fights and conflicts, which implies that Greg will no longer maintain friendship with Rowley. However, they did make up at the end of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, is the fifth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released on November 9, 2010.-Plot:...
.
Allusions from other works
Greg Heffley appears on PoptropicaPoptropica
Poptropica is an online game, role-playing game made by Jeff Kinney targeted at children ages 6 to 15, where players can travel, play games, compete in head-to-head competition, and communicate safely with each other...
's 18th island, Wimpy Wonderland, revolving around the Wimpy Kid series
Film
In 2010, Diary of a Wimpy KidDiary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a realistic fiction novel by Jeff Kinney. It is the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book is about a middle-school child named Greg Heffley and his struggles in middle school. Greg also had problems with his best friend, Rowley Jefferson. The books focuses...
, was made into a film, released in March 19, and Greg was portrayed by Zachary Gordon
Zachary Gordon
Zachary Adam Gordon is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Greg Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films which are based on Jeff Kinney's #1 New York Times best seller Diary of a Wimpy Kid....
.
Reception
As for the 2010 filmDiary of a Wimpy Kid (film)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's book of the same name. The film was released on March 19, 2010. It was released on DVD, iTunes, and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010.-Plot:...
, Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
has said that Greg is an "unlikable protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
". Pomeranz disliked the character of Greg Heffley, saying "I really thought he was unpleasant. I did not want to spend time with him. I couldn't wait for the end of this film." Greg also appeared as a balloon in the 2010 and 2011 Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
Thanksgiving Day Parade.