Personal Identity in What's Eating Gilbert Grape
             Personal identity is much like the blueprint for mankind, like a house, it is built and shaped after its design. If not built properly the house will eventually fall apart from how it was built or by the causes of nature. In the case of someone's identity if built properly by an individual it will last and stay strong, however adversity acts like a force of human nature and can either take a positive rebuilding role on a person's identity or a negative destructing role. In the film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and from the excerpt in the novel of the same title, the director and author directly suggest personal identity as a key issue in the story.
             What's eating the good Gilbert is laid out for us, like a feast. The title from the author further suggests we consider not only what's eating Gilbert (the forces preying on him) but also what's eating at him – his ways of handling those forces. Living in Endora is like "dancing to no music". The lame tone of Gilbert's voice over creates a feeling of nothingness and the movie opening, with a track back along the road, suggests a sense of withdrawal. If Endora itself is nothingness, what is life out in the sticks, at the Grape house? Life at the Grape house is very depressing for all. Bonnie feels she has burdened her children and because of this Gilbert is forced to play the role of "dad"; Arnie's retardation makes it hard for the rest of the family to deal with him because he is so hard to look after. All of this has a major impact on Gilbert. Over the course of the film Gilbert undergoes deep change. He is at first embarrassed by his mother, speaks disparagingly of her and even, at one point, lifts a small child to the window to peek at her. Yet in the final scenes, with Bonnie on her bed, there is love, tenderness and respect in his face. He has released all hi
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