Point of View

This novel uses the main character, Greg Heffley, as a first-person narrator. The novel is formatted to appear to be Greg's personal, handwritten diary. Accordingly, there are a number of unconventional stylistic elements which the author utilizes to have the novel appear to be more authentically told by a junior high student. One of these features is that Greg does not directly quote dialogue from any other character. Instead, he relays what other characters say, according to his own words. This means that the other characters do not speak for themselves, as much as Greg speaks for them. For example, here is how Greg avoids using direct dialogue when he is lost with his friend Rowley in the woods: “Rowley was PANICKED, but I wasn’t. I knew that if you get lost in the wilderness, as long as you have WATER, you’re FINE...