42 pages • 1 hour read
The Last Straw
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Themes
Ideals of Masculinity
The text investigates ideals of masculinity through Greg’s attempts to impress his dad. Kinney paints a patriarchal picture of masculinity that includes physical strength, toughness, athleticism, and discipline and crystalizes this image by showing all the ways that Greg, a self-proclaimed “wimp,” fails to measure up. The text therefore suggests that holding men to such a standard and expecting them to conform will cause them pain and trouble. Greg explores three avenues to idealized masculinity by playing a sport, joining Boy Scouts, and confronting a possible future in military school.
When Greg and his brothers accidentally cause a scene in church, Frank punishes Greg by signing him up for soccer. The incident in church speaks directly to Frank’s insecurity about Greg’s demeanor; Greg has to wear a fuzzy pink sweater as a skirt to cover the chocolate stains, which highlights his less-than-masculine physical appearance. His attempts to weasel his way out of church point to a lack of respect for rules and authority, and his choice to goad his little brother and cause a scene shows a lack of discipline. Frank admires how his boss’s kids are “crazy sports fanatics” (25), unlike Greg, Rodrick, and Manny, and sees sports as a way to correct some of Greg’s perceived flaws. However, Greg struggles to measure up on the soccer field, lacking the fitness and strength to be a good athlete. Sports also highlight Greg’s laziness and lack of discipline, as he loses a game for his team while distractedly picking dandelions. Rather than helping him improve, joining soccer ends up merely highlighting the ways that Greg fails to live up to patriarchal, masculine ideals.
Greg tries a new tactic to impress his dad by joining a Boy Scout troop. Boy Scouts offers a slightly different portrait of masculinity, focusing on regimented skills acquisition and survival skills. Greg views Boy Scouts as a means to gain “some respect” from his schoolmates (165), emphasizing the performative nature of these masculine ideals. Both Greg and his dad are primarily interested in how these activities will change how they are perceived, as opposed to how they will lead to lasting growth and change. However, rather than genuinely participating in Boy Scouts, Greg takes every possible shortcut, faking his way through a merit badge with the help of a lax scoutmaster. Greg’s experience with the troop ends up again highlighting how he fails to cultivate any discipline or skill.
Ultimately, Greg faces the possibility of being sent to military school. Military school represents a more extreme version of the masculine ideals set up in the rest of the novel, emphasizing physical strength, strict discipline, and the ability to straighten out a troublemaker like the former neighborhood terror, Lenwood Heath. Though Greg narrowly avoids getting sent to military school, the threat alone makes him take more risks and try new activities, even if he doesn’t completely apply himself.
The Trials of Growing Up
Like the other installations in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and many other middle grade novels, The Last Straw explores the trials associated with adolescence and the messy process of growing up.
Greg often struggles to establish himself as mature and distance himself from behaviors that he sees as childish or embarrassing. This struggle plays out with his best friend, Rowley, who seems less interested in presenting himself as mature. At Rowley’s sleepover, Greg tries to differentiate himself from the younger kids, pointing out how he is interested in “girls,” while they are “more interested in ‘Sesame Street’” (128). Greg and Rowley exist in a transitional space between childhood and adolescence, where kids develop at different rates and clash over disparities in interests and goals. This is central to the text’s message that children and adolescents are experiencing a difficult developmental period and need compassion, understanding, and a little bit of discipline.
Greg also encounters some of these issues over maturity at home as he clashes with his brothers. With Manny, who is much younger than Greg and clearly a child, Greg resents the babying that Manny receives. Greg paradoxically wants to be treated like an older kid while also wanting the same kind of special treatment that his toddler brother receives. Rodrick presents a different kind of paradox. Though Rodrick is a teenager and represents the more mature age group that Greg wants to occupy, Greg articulates that he does not want to emulate him and his slouching, troublesome teenage friends. Rodrick frequently uses his superior size and strength to bully Greg and keep him out of his space. Just as Greg wants to differentiate himself from Rowley’s younger friends, Rodrick wants to differentiate himself from his younger brother.
Greg’s interest in being seen as “mature” points to his larger fixation on social status and reputation. Greg thinks about his identity in relation to others at school, evaluating himself by his popularity and appeal to girls. He often considers whether he looks “cool” in a given situation and tries to figure out how to separate himself from “the rest of the goobers” who want to impress the girl he likes (43). By calling his classmates “goobers,” Greg tries to elevate himself by putting them down, hinting at the insecurity that hides beneath his bravado.
Greg and Rowley serve as stark contrasts in how they approach social status. While Greg worries about his reputation, Rowley seems perfectly content to be who he is, participating in his younger friendships and admitting his interests in music that Greg considers embarrassing. Despite all of Greg’s efforts, it becomes clear via yearbook signatures that Holly prefers Rowley and that all of Greg’s attempts to impress her have fallen flat. Kinney dramatizes a familiar coming-of-age maxim, showing how it pays off to “be yourself.”
Humor as a Tool
One of the primary themes that weave through The Last Straw is humor and the way that it can be used as a social tool. Greg uses humor to improve his social standing, navigate conflict, and mask his personal insecurities. Kinney suggests that humor can be an excellent social adhesive when used well but also that it can get in the way of necessary conversations.
Early in the novel, Greg identifies humor as the way to make himself stand out among his peers, gain popularity, and, more specifically, impress Holly. Humor occupies a unique position as something distinct from athletic ability and physical attractiveness. Greg feels confident in his sense of humor and believes, if misguidedly, that it will win him favor. Greg works up a comedy routine with Rowley, recounting a crude rhyme about “eatin’ chocolate” after “a doggie dropped it” (44). In the illustration, Kinney shows how the other boys laugh at the joke, even if Holly, the intended audience, does not. Greg appears to see the joke as successful, indicating that he is more interested in the status boost he gets among his male peers than in actually impressing any girls. The group delivery of the joke allows him to participate in a humorous activity with Rowley, showing how Greg uses humor to connect with his friends and peers.
Greg also turns to humor to bring levity to unpleasant or unwanted situations. In one instance, Greg tries to choreograph a group joke during soccer practice, suggesting that they run with their rear ends facing forward when the coach tells them to “get [their] butts” out on the field (121). Greg sees the shared joke as a way to bond with his fellow teammates and alleviate some of the misery of running laps. Greg also sees his joke as a small way to push back on the coach’s authority by undercutting the seriousness of his commands.
More generally, Greg uses humor as a coping mechanism, recasting embarrassing situations in a playful, humorous light. A prime example of this is the climactic mishap at the Snellas’ party, where Greg’s pants fall off, revealing his Wonder Woman underwear. Greg alleviates some of the embarrassment by allowing his dad to believe that he did it on purpose to perform a funny feat for their America’s Funniest Families video audition. While Greg knows that none of this is true, he sees the utility in recasting the event as a planned joke and recognizes how it both alleviates his personal embarrassment and causes his dad to respect him more.
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By Jeff Kinney
