Double Down

“I’ve tried to explain my theories to my parents and other grown-ups, but it’s pretty clear nobody wants to hear what some kid has to say.”

Throughout the novel, Kinney builds an ongoing tension over whether Greg’s rich imagination is a strength or a weakness. Greg imagines vivid worlds where all kinds of fantastic things are true, but the adults in his life do not appreciate his imagination; they see it as evidence that he is immature and irresponsible, perhaps because of his frequent, fantasy-based lies.

“I THOUGHT I was allowed to pick whatever I wanted, but it turns out Mom expected me to spend the money on BOOKS.”

Mrs. Heffley tries to encourage her son to challenge himself academically and creatively, primarily by encouraging him to read. Greg, however, has other priorities and does not understand his mother’s perspective.

“That’s a nice idea and all, but I feel like every time Mom’s tried to get me to step out of my comfort zone, I’ve fallen flat on my face.”

Greg never seems to be able or willing to live up to his mother’s expectations of him. He lacks Perseverance and Commitment, and resists challenging himself unless he thinks his efforts will make him popular.

“Once Mom got it in her head that I was SPECIAL, she wouldn’t let it go. She even tried to get me into the Talented and Gifted program at school.”

Throughout the book, Mrs. Heffley navigates her own personal line between Reality and Illusion, creating a narrative that Greg is a misunderstood prodigy, even though Greg is quite happy to remain academically mediocre.

“Mom said she wanted me to get books that were more ‘challenging,’ but I didn’t really have much of a choice. Since the book fair is a few weeks before Halloween, this is the kind of stuff they’re selling.”

Greg continually goes against his mother’s wishes and expectations for him. Though she believes that he has potential, Greg refuses to take responsibility for his shortcomings, preferring to blame things on external forces outside of his power. The excuses Greg provides highlight his desire to push back against his mother’s expectations and define himself on his own terms even though he lacks the self-awareness to articulate it.

“This time of year is TORTURE for a kid. There are all these candy commercials on TV, and every time you walk into the grocery store it’s like they’re TRYING to mess with you.”

Greg believes the presence of so much candy during the Halloween period makes it very difficult for him to control himself—an attempt to make sense of himself, his behavior, and his place in his world. These challenges appear to him to be additional evidence that his life is rigged against him.

“If you ask me, people should just be happy the Cheese Touch is behind us and stop trying to replace it with something else. Because the last thing you need in middle school is anything EXTRA to worry about.”

The mention of the Cheese Touch is a callback to a trend in Greg’s school in the first two Wimpy Kid books in which the kids try and pass along the “Cheese Touch” by tagging each other. Greg demonstrates rare maturity in wishing that his peers would move on from obsessing over the Cheese Touch.

“I didn’t want these people thinking I was some weird kid who makes friends by sending out letters attached to helium balloons. But I guess it didn’t really matter. I figured I could just take my balloon back and send them on their way.”

Throughout the Wimpy Kid series, Greg does not put enough thought into his actions. The lies in his balloon letter are just one example of this: He believes that he can lie—blurring the lines between Reality and Illusion—to get what he wants, without repercussions or consequences.

“Listen, I’m not proud of myself for lying, but trust me, I’m not the ONLY one in this family who bends the truth. I’ve heard grown-ups lie ten times a week, but if you ask me I’ll bet it’s even MORE than that.”

Constructing the book as a diary of Greg’s private thoughts, allows Kinney to give readers his version of a middle-school kid’s view of the world—including Greg’s attempts to reckon with the behavior adults want to instill in him even if they themselves don’t always model it. Although Greg knows that his lies are a big problem in his life, he does not try to stop lying. Instead, he uses the lies that others tell him as a model and justification for his own behavior.

“Mom says I should set my sights HIGHER and become an engineer or a doctor or something like that. She says if I just play video games all day and don’t take school seriously, I’m gonna end up being a garbage collector.”

Mrs. Heffley desperately wants her sons to demonstrate Perseverance and Commitment in order to succeed in their lives. She tries to encourage Greg by warning him that he will end up in what she deems to be an unimpressive job if he does not take his schooling seriously. Like many of her plans, this one backfires; Greg thinks that being a garbage collector sounds pretty cool.

“Rowley’s gonna get invited, though, because he’s in the band. But believe me, if he goes to a party like THAT, he’s gonna be in over his head.”

Greg’s diary frequently involves creating his own narrative that justifies his wants and needs rather than simply articulating them. Though Greg is not notably popular or socially adept, he claims to be far superior to Rowley Jefferson when it comes to social situations. He tells himself his actions are motivated by Friendship and Loyalty to Rowley, instead of admitting that he himself wants to go to the Halloween party.

“Mrs. French knew her stuff when it came to the piano, but I was a TERRIBLE student.”

Throughout the book, Greg has a few moments of true self-awareness where he doesn’t attempt to justify or spin the truth of his experiences to make himself look better. He recognizes that he is a terrible piano student, though he never makes any effort to change or grow from this knowledge.

“Mom and Dad got into an argument in front of everyone, and it was kind of embarrassing. Dad said we were spending too much money on something I’d quit in two weeks, and Mom said he needed to show more FAITH in me.”

While Mrs. Heffley staunchly believes in her son’s potential, Mr. Heffley does not believe that Greg is capable of Perseverance and Commitment. He tries to offer a voice of reason to the discussion, but his wife thinks that his lack of belief in their son’s abilities is contributing to Greg’s stagnancy.

“The great thing about the band is that there are no tryouts or anything. Basically, if you buy an instrument and show up, you’re in.”

Greg sees being in the school band as something that does not require any Perseverance or Commitment, which initially makes him view joining as an easy way to get invited to the Halloween party. He soon learns that playing an instrument requires a great deal of skill and practice, and quickly loses interest.

“So tonight we got to work making the costume out of some sheets I found in the linen closet. When Mom got home from school, I realized I should’ve asked permission before cutting them up. But she was really happy me and Rowley were MAKING something instead of playing video games like we usually do.”

Greg is so used to doing the wrong thing and being punished for his mistakes that he assumes that his mother will be angry with him for cutting up her sheets. Mrs. Heffley, on the other hand, sees this as an example of the creativity that she is always trying to encourage in Greg, and further evidence of Greg’s potential.

“From that point on Mom was running the show. She invited everyone at the party to play these corny Halloween games. I thought I might actually die of embarrassment, but everybody got into it and seemed to be having a great time.”

Greg’s embarrassment at his mother’s presence at the Halloween party is a relatable experience for many pre-teens learning to find their own autonomy apart from their parents. Greg immediately begins crafting a narrative in which his mother humiliates him in front of his peers, but then he contrasts that narrative with the reality that people are actually enjoying his mother’s games.

“I decided he was just gonna have to wait until we got home to deal with it. So I tried to go back to having fun, but Rowley made it kind of impossible for me to enjoy myself.”

At the party, Greg confronts the challenge of following through on the Friendship and Loyalty he wants to show Rowley, when it becomes inconvenient for him. Rowley’s discomfort threatens his own goals for the party, and his choice to deny Rowley the bathroom demonstrates his belief that the world revolves around him.

“I could tell Dad wasn’t gonna let it go, so I promised him I’d keep trying. He seemed pretty happy with that, and I thought I was off the hook.”

Mr. Heffley tries to get Greg to demonstrate Perseverance and Commitment by forcing him to stick with the band. Greg does not yet understand what it means to persevere and believes that if he simply says he will try, his father will forget about his promise and not hold him to it.

“I sit right next to Evan Pittman in band practice, and he can play his French horn just fine. I realized if I just piggybacked on him and PRETENDED I was playing, he could do the work for BOTH of us.”

Greg’s imagination allows him to find creative solutions to the problems in his life. However, part of his arc involves navigating the tension between an easy solution and a valuable outcome.

“No matter how many times I explained to Dad what had happened at the Fall Concert, he didn’t want to hear it. He said me and Rowley were goofing off when we should’ve been performing with the band, and that’s all he needed to know.”

Mr. Heffley, unlike the reader, is not privy to Greg’s inner thoughts and feelings, so his perspective on Greg’s actions is based on an observed pattern of past behavior. He is so fed up with Greg’s excuses that he refuses to hear Greg’s explanation about what happened. Greg’s lies have finally caught up to him: Even if he is telling the truth about what happened, no one wants to listen, and he has to face the consequences.

“I figured I’d give Rowley a few packets of gummy worms for helping me out with the cleanup. But I couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to play a little prank on him first.”

Greg’s attempts to demonstrate true Friendship and Loyalty to Rowley are usually clouded by attempts to amuse himself. He does not yet have the maturity to show genuine care or compassion for his friend.

“The person who’ll deserve the BIGGEST thanks is MOM. She’s the one who’s always saying I should use my imagination and do something creative, so when I’m a famous director I’ll bet she’ll be proud.”

This quote shows another moment of self-awareness on Greg’s part. Though he rarely appreciates his mother’s efforts to get him to use his creativity, he recognizes an opportunity to actually fulfill her hopes for him rather than fall short of them.

“Rowley said HE wanted to write, too, but I really didn’t want to share credit on this thing since it was MY idea. So I told him he could do the storyboards, which are little drawings that show how each camera shot is supposed to look.”

In another attempt to define his own autonomy, Greg is reluctant to share any potential fame with Rowley. Making their movie becomes less about the creative pursuit, and more about Greg’s imaginative fantasies of achieving stardom and popularity.