Greg Heffley is headed down a dark path. If you have the cheese touch, you’re next!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a classic series by Jeff Kinney that is beloved by many readers. The narrator is Greg Heffley, a teen who believes the world should revolve around him and exhibits qualities of narcissism and apathy. He frames everyone as the villain claiming he is the victim, and the Paw Print has discovered incriminating evidence that will expose the wimp himself as a true and unhinged future serial killer!
To properly expose Greg Heffley, we consulted students and teachers at Harrison High School, gaining more insight on both sides of the argument. According to a quick survey, 23 of them claimed that Greg is not a good person, and over half believe that he will grow up to become a sociopathic serial killer. When asked for their opinion on the subject of Greg Heffley, one student stated, “He genuinely exhibits signs of narcissistic personality disorder.” This point can be supported with evidence directly from the series when Greg narrates, “The best I can figure out is that I’m somewhere around the 52nd or 53rd most popular this year.” (Kinney, 7) This shows how little Greg cares about others and how he only thinks about himself.
Gwynevere Hill, a sophomore at Harrison, explained that narcissism, exploitation, and lack of guilt or shame in certain situations are the most defining symptoms of sociopathy. She shared, “Most all teenagers exhibit one or all of these behaviors during middle to high school. However, it’s these behaviors that make up Greg’s personality.” Hill also pointed out Greg’s obvious and diabolical mistreatment of others saying, “He uses Rowley and other peers of his to get his goal.” Here, she detailed how his symptoms of sociopathy reflect his exploitation of his friends and peers.
This claim can also be strengthened with text evidence, particularly when Greg talks about how he took Rowley under his wing. In the first novel, Kinney writes on page 19, “It’s been great having him around, mostly because I get to use all the tricks Rodrick pulls on me.” In this line, Greg is even admitting to intentionally messing with Rowley’s head. Because Greg frequently frames himself as the victim, he gets away with behaviors like this all the time! If that isn’t serial killer behavior, I don’t know what is!
While I would feel unsafe knowing Greg Heffley is roaming the world, other students formed a much different opinion. According to one student, Greg Heffley would definitely not become a sociopathic murderer because he has, “a lot of imagination about possibilities that can happen in the world.” They argued that he is a good person, and this imagination is what forms Greg’s personality, not a tendency to murder others. Personally, it’s that wild imagination that would scare me the most. I wouldn’t want Greg to have any creative skills that could lead to him plotting my demise!
Some students argued the same point from a different perspective. Elijah Snyder, a Junior at Harrison does not think that Greg is a good person and believes he does show signs of narcissistic personality disorder. However, he believes the narrator of the beloved novel would not grow up to be a serial killer, responding, “He’s narcissistic, self-interested, and lacks empathy or compassion for others in normal amounts.” Snyder argued that Greg is just acting normally for someone his age, and simply displays natural signs of being a teenager.
Another opinion The Paw Print discovered was that Greg Heffley is a good person but will also become a sociopathic serial killer. A total of three people responded this way, which is a higher number than one might expect. According to Freshman, Kalley Staab, “Greg Heffley will be a serial killer because he was always suspicious during his shows.” Staab also mentioned that Greg scared her as she watched the events of Diary of a Wimpy Kid unfold. However, her response indicates that two other students as well as herself believe that Greg Heffley is a good person, despite the likelihood of him becoming a serial killer in the future.
Tricia Evanson, an English teacher at Harrison High School, also had lots to say on the subject of Greg Heffley. When asked whether or not Greg was a good person, she answered, “Greg Heffley is an awful person who has no normal feelings and displays the worst traits of humanity.” Ms. Evanson had many feelings regarding Greg and had many adjectives to describe him. These included negative qualities like selfishness, arrogance, and cowardice. She also described Greg as an unreliable narrator, detailing how his friends and family are depicted as either extremely stupid, or simply mean. In reality, it is more likely that the people in Greg’s life are actually super supportive of him and everything he does. Ms. Evanson stated she was 100 percent certain that Greg would eventually be a mass murderer. However, she mentioned that it is possible that he wouldn’t even be capable of murdering someone because of his lack of bravery. On a more realistic level, Evanson claimed he would at least become, “an abusive boyfriend, a tax evader, and probably a puppy kicker.” Her ultimate outlook is that Greg Heffley is a horrible person who cares about nobody other than himself.
Based on the responses we have collected, it seems that there are many sides to this argument, and these opinions have created lots of controversy. However, in the case of Greg Heffley, there is plenty of evidence pointing to his guilt. From what we have seen, this pop culture icon exploits others by acting like the victim of every situation, he is concerned only with what will benefit him, and he takes pleasure in abusing innocent people and even friends. Society deserves to know the disturbing truth about Greg Heffley, because he is undoubtedly on his way to becoming a psychopathic serial killer!
See more about Greg Heffley’s undesirable traits and the negative messages he promotes as the narrator of Diary of a Wimpy Kid here.
