Whats Eating Gilbert Grape

Gilbert’s brother Arnie, who is mentally challenged, needs constant supervision, which places many ongoing responsibilities on Gilbert, as well. His mother has become a “burden” on him and he feels ashamed and humiliated by her. Although Arnie loves the heights, he can not seem to conquer the depths as he will not venture to the basement of the house. rt and Arnie watching the caravans that pass along the road.

Arnie’s water tower escapades are a source of great aggravation to the police, yet are greeted by the locals with an understanding of occasion and courteous applause when his feet are firmly planted back on the ground. His oldest sister, Amy, is a very caring woman that tries to take on many responsibilities herself and the youngest sister Ellen, who is only fifteen, has many issues with her family that she is trying to

overcome, as well. Arnie is associated with many heights in the movie as he is regularly seen dangling from the roof, climbing trees, and of course, his ritual of scaling the water tower. “I don’t want to go down there, Gilbert; Dad’s down there,” thus voicing the repressed fear that no one in the family will, or can put into words. Arnie obtains a fear of water when Gilbert abandons him in the bathtub for the night, and does not over come his apprehension until he flees to Becky after a fight he had with Gilbert.

Arnie is not your average boy; he is mentally challenged and was not expected to live to see his tenth birthday, let alone, his eighteenth, which he surpasses in the movie.

Gilbert’s adversity seems to have started when his father hung himself seventeen years ago in their basement, which in turn drove his mother to obesity and a life confined to only their home. Gilbert’s mother is not his only complication; he is having an aimless affair with a frustrated housewife, Betty Carver, whose rash sexual demands have placed much apprehension on him. Gilbert even regards to his mother as “a beached whale,” and at one point lifts a young boy to the window to experience the sight of her. Becky, a young girl that traveled into town with her grandmother and their caravan found romance with Gilbert and a certain connection with Arnie accordingly.