“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” is a heartwarming film that uniquely explores the struggles of children in unfortunate circumstances, offering a deeper explanation as to why so many young adults struggle to achieve a higher education, or to even graduate from high school. After the death of his father seven years prior, Gilbert became the sole provider for his dysfunctional family of five, leaving little time or energy for himself. This leads Gilbert to start hiding his emotions like his father did, which is what makes the situation so lethal, though Gilbert’s issues aren’t touched on in the least by his family.
His mother has given up on life, his brother has a severe mental disability, and his two sisters do little to help the situation. An absent older brother is mentioned only once through Gilbert’s narration, “I got another brother, Larry, but he got away. ” The film examines the toxicity of the overwhelming responsibility that not only Gilbert, but many minors face through the use of contradictory events and realistic character dynamics. These two plot devices show the inevitable chaos of juggling so many responsibilities at such a young age.
Several events in this movie show how Gilbert’s outlook on life transforms from a self deprecating, pessimistic one to an optimistic, hopeful point of view. Firstly, ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” involves two major scenes between Betty Carver and Gilbert. Both times, Gilbert delivers Betty’s groceries to her while her husband is at work. Betty makes a sexual advance on Gilbert each time, though Gilbert seems to be uncomfortable in each situation. The first time, Gilbert tries to stop the exchange with the older woman by claiming her ice cream will melt if they don’t put the groceries away, then again when he sees her usband in the front yard.
The second time, he finds the strength to openly tell her that he doesn’t want this. Gilbert realizes that he’s allowed to put his needs above other people’s needs. The second major set of events that show Gilbert’s change are the two scenes in which he gives Arnie a bath. The first scene goes smoothly. but Gilbert needs to aid him nearly every step of the way. The second, however, does not go as smoothly. Gilbert stretches his time out unwisely and ends up putting Arnie in danger in an attempt to add Becky to the list of people Gilbert takes care of.
Gilbert foolishly leaves Arnie alone to bathe himself so he can spend the evening with Becky. When he wakes up the next morning, he finds that his autistic brother has spent the night in the ever-cooling bath water. This shows that Gilbert doesn’t know how to make time for himself because he’s never tried before. It also shows how much care Arnie needs. A teenager isn’t supposed to be taking care of a low-functioning autistic child all day, every day. It isn’t fair to Arnie or Gilbert.
The third and last event that displays the character development that Gilbert goes through occurs when he spends his last night with Becky, who leaves the next day. That night, he finally opens up to her about his father’s suicide, which is the one scar he previously refused to tell Becky about. In addition, he rejected going to the place where his father died twice before, showing that the man’s death affected not only his narcissistic sister, Ellen, his emotional sister, Amy, or his severely depressed mother, but also Gilbert, who hides his emotions away.
Gilbert explains that his father was a very solemn, quiet man that showed little emotion. Becky responds ironically with, “I used to know a guy like that. ” They then exchange smiles to prove that Gilbert isn’t like his father. Even Becky, who has barely known Gilbert for a week, knows that his home life situation has taken a toll on him. The comparison of characters also helps to represent the change Gilbert experiences. Gilbert has two love affairs throughout the movie with Betty Carver and Becky, one contradicting the other.
Becky is a free spirit who travels the country with her youthful grandmother, but Betty is the polar opposite. Betty is forceful, unkind, and manipulative. Betty and the other pernicious people in Gilbert’s life prove exactly how much Gilbert will tolerate in order to please others. When Becky comes into the picture, Gilbert instinctively feels it necessary to take care of her like he takes care of everyone else. He learns the hard way that she doesn’t need to be taken care of, which is one of the reasons he chooses her over Betty. This is why he chooses himself in the end.
Ironically, the last relationship to be mentioned of in this essay is the relationship between Gilbert and himself. Through most of the movie, Gilbert is selfless, yet harsh to those around him. He lashes out in small increments, perhaps to help him preserve his sanity. Towards the end of the movie, Gilbert apologizes to his family for being unkind to them. Gilbert gives an especially kind apology to his mother, who he’s held resentment towards since his father died. He promises, “I’m not gonna hurt you anymore, Mama. ” This demonstrates that one cannot take care of others properly until one takes care of themselves.
Once realizing this, Gilbert is able to take charge and be kinder to the people around him. This is proven when Gilbert’s mother dies. Gilbert takes time for himself to process his emotions by stepping away from the scene. He rushes to the basement of the house, which he hasn’t been in since his father’s body was found there, and processes his emotions similarly to how a two-year-old might. Gilbert kicks the posts supporting the poorly constructed house, punches the decaying walls, and throws whatever objects he can get his hands on.
When he finishes his catharsis, Gilbert goes back upstairs and calmly makes the necessary plans he probably made once before for his father’s funeral. “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” is a movie far ahead of its time. It analyzes mental illness and responsibility from a previously uncharted territory. This is important because more often than not, minors who are left with responsibility like Gilbert’s struggle with feelings of isolation. In conclusion, this movie is powerful enough that it may give someone the courage to go through the change Gilbert experienced.
