Vacation

The vacation that the Heffley family takes over the December holiday season is symbolic of Greg’s parents’ desire to escape the usual stress of Christmas. This is ironic because the vacation itself ends up being much more stressful for the family than if they had just stayed home.

Traffic

The traffic jam that the Heffley family encounters on their way to the airport is a bad omen that is symbolic of all the problems they are going to have during the rest of the vacation: when the very first thing that can go wrong does go wrong, the reader knows that the rest of the vacation is likely to continue in an equally disastrous manner.

First Class

The First Class section of the plane is symbolic of Greg’s dad’s selfishness and his willingness to put his own needs ahead of the needs of...