Cabin Fever

Learning the hard work involved in earning money is a significant part of growing up, and Greg’s mother ensures that he learns this key lesson during the holiday season. Greg is used to relying on his parents for money, but this year, they are no longer willing to hand out money that he has not earned. As a result, Greg shovels snow for the neighbors and even considers selling his favorite graphic novel to pay for Christmas presents. Significantly, the graphic novel turns out to be worthless, and this setback teaches Greg that searching for “easy money” is never an effective solution to his problems. Yet despite these practical lessons, Greg continues asking for money to fund his Net Kritterz game, failing to understand that his parents do not want to waste their money on something that provides little to no reward. Greg also costs his parents large amounts of money by making mistakes such as ruining the paint job on his dad’s new sports car or accidentally turning the neighbor’s driveway into ice. Greg also discovers that even hobbies like creating a newspaper cost money, and as a result, he and Rowley have to work hard to find a sponsor so that they can afford the ink to print their issues. Ultimately, Greg discovers that earning money isn’t as simple as it seems, and he is forced to realize that simply asking for handouts is not going to help him become successful in life.