Whats

Eating
Gilbert
Grape
Rebecca Leibiger
 Plot
Gilbert Grape, who lives in a small town called Endora,
believes nothing ever happens in the small town of
Endora. The only event that the family looks forward to
is the annual pilgrimage of travel trailers that venture to
Endora to camp and go fishing nearby. The Grape family
consists of: Momma, Amy, Ellen, Gilbert, and Arnie.
Gilbert has the responsibility of taking care of Arnie, and
Momma, who has grown to huge proportions, is unable
to move from the couch. Amy and Ellen becomes self-
interested, so they are unable to help Gilbert with Arnie.
The rest of Whats Eating Gilbert Grape consists around
Gilberts struggles to keep his brother out of harms way,
and the family plans for Arnies 18th birthday as well as
Gilberts year to find a girl. When Gilbert begins to
abandon his responsibilities toward Arnie in order to
pursue Becky, Arnie gets into trouble every time. Arnies
favorite prank is to climb to the top of the citys water
tower, which brings the: police, firemen, and the entire
town to watch the spectacle. If the town is not gawking
at Arnie, then the town is gawking at Momma, who is
morbidly obese.
 Main Characters
Momma (Bonnie) Grape was described as being the town beauty before she became obese. Mrs. Grape has left her older
children, Gilbert and Amy, to manage the family and care for Arnie. Bonnie Grape has been housebound for seven years and an
object of ridicule in the town; there are small children that peer through the windows in hopes of catching a glimpse of her.
Mr. Grape committed suicide by hanging himself in the Grapes basement without warning.

Gilbert Grape acts as the male head of the Grape family as the father is dead. He is the main caretaker for Arnie, his younger
brother, who does not have the ability to care for himself as he is Autistic. Gilbert shows a deep love for Arnie but has mixed
emotions about having to care for him constantly. Through the local grocery store, Gilbert has an affair with a married woman,
Betty Carver, but he seems unenthusiastic about the affair. Gilbert becomes often frustrated and negative in his thinking, but he
is generally patient and kind in his actions, especially when Arnie is involved.
Amy Grape is the eldest daughter in the Grape family and very responsible. She and Gilbert share the majority of the household
chores and together take care of Momma. In generally, Amy is very positive and patient while playing with Arnie and keeps her
temper better than Gilbert and Ellen. Amy has taken on the motherly figure despite the fact that Momma is still alive.
Arnie Grape is 17 years old, but Arnie has a mental capacity of a very young child. He becomes excited because of his 18 th
birthday party, which is the central even of the movie. In general, Arnie is a happy child, and he shows a love for his family.
Ellen Grape is the youngest Grape child, she is 15 years old. She is constantly negative and often criticizes Gilbert for small
lapses when Arnie is in his care, despite doing very little to contribute to Arnies care herself.
Becky is accompanied by her grandmother as they arrive in town when their car towing the camper breaks down. As Becky and
Gilbert interact, Gilbert becomes romantically interested in Becky. She is kind and free-spirited, friendly and patient toward Arnie,
and Becky often encourages Gilbert to think about when he would like to have in life and pursue happiness for himself.
The Towns People

The Store Keeper

The Police
 Concepts to consider
What is the disability? (If not directly stated, what might it be and what clues lead you to
this?)
Arnie suffers from a type of developmental delay/mental disability, which is believed to be
autism and ADHD. Arnie is an individual with autism that can be often demonstrated with
unusual patterns of learning, speech, and behavior. Individuals with autism have been
found at all levels of intellectual ability. While the Grape Family is discussing Gilberts
birthday party details, Momma mentions having Vienna Sausages for an appetizer.
Momma suggests to put the Vienna Sausages in a grape jelly and ketchup sauce. Arnie
chimes in by saying, I want hot dogs mom. As the conversation continues, Arnie
presents the lack of social and emotional reciprocity, and Arnie expressed stereotyped or
repetitive use of language. An individual with autism may have the ability to demonstrate
ability in auditory memory, organization, or telling time and yet have extreme difficulty in
other learning skills, such as reading or writing. Children with autism can often engage in
repetitive stereotypical behavior, such as hand-flapping.

How/why does the disability become handicapping?

Throughout Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, Arnie follows his older brother Gilbert around, yet
Arnie sneaks off to climb the towns water tower. Due to Arnies autism, he struggles with
understanding and complying to social expectations. Arnies disability became
handicapping when he was left in the bathtub by Gilbert. He was unable to use nonverbal
behaviors (eye-to-eye gaze, facial expressions, and body postures) and gestures to
regulate social interactions.
 Terms
Exceptional: The label used to describe the range of students
who receive special education services in the school.

Disability: A limitation, such as difficulty to read or inability to

see.
Handicap: The limitations imposed by the environment of a
person with a disability or by peoples attitudes toward disability.
Infantizing: Treating persons with disabilities as incapable and
dependent (as if they are younger than they are).
Objectifying: Seeing a persons disability rather than the whole
person.
Invisibility: Keeping people who are disabled out of sight; not
talking about disabilities.
Characteristics of the
family
Configuration: A family is defined as a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.
A single parent is an uncoupled individual who shoulders most or all of the day-to-day responsibilities for raising
a child or children. Momma became the primary caregiver in the single-parent family structure that had arisen
due to the suicide of Mr. Grape. The Grape family is made up of: Momma (Bonnie) Grape, Gilbert, Amy, Arnie,
and Ellen.
SES: Socio-economic status is determined by family income, education, and employment. Since Momma is
unable to get off of the couch, she is unable to work. Gilbert works at the Lamsons Groceries to earn money for
the family, and he has taken on the fatherly role since the father committed suicide. In Endora, the towns
people rarely shop at the Lamsons Groceries because of Foodland opening and taking the majority of
customers from Lamsons Groceries. Ellen has a job at the local ice cream stand. Gilberts and Ellens jobs
would not be substantial enough to support the entire family.
Health: Momma (Bonnie) Grape was described as having been the towns beauty before she became morbidly obese. In
the film, she is a widow; Mr. Grape committed suicide by hanging himself in the familys basement without warning-an
event to which Mrs. Grape reacted by overeating, becoming morbidly obese and abdicating much of her parental
responsibility.

Emotional Well-being: Momma becomes to be a burden for her children to take care of because she is unable to
play the role of the mother. Bonnie has a fear of having her family disappear, so she grows rather anxious
when her children are unable to come home on time. Gilbert is ashamed of the societal misfits that he calls
family. Gilbert has suffered emotionally due to his family, and the responsibilities that the family has saddled
Gilbert with. Gilbert was unable to experience much of a normal childhood or teenage-hood because of his role.
Amy suffers from the reputation of her family and thus is labeled as a societal misfit. Ellen suffers from
narcissism, which can be inferred from her constant concern with herself.
Availability of caregiver: Gilbert is the main caretaker of his younger brother, Arnie, and he is the only family
member that has the patience for Arnie.
 Family Resiliency
Resiliency Characteristics: Refers to the extent to
which an individual or family will bounce back from an
adverse situation
Why do the characteristics make the family resilient or
put this family at-risk?
A resilient characteristic that puts this family at-risk is
the Grape family does not have any supportive extended
family to fall back on. Since there is no known
supportive extended family, the Grape family has to rely
on each other even more to assist with Arnie.
The Grape family has a low socio-economic status, which
puts the family at a disadvantage.
 Individual Resiliency
Characteristics:
Momma (Bonnie) Grape leaves the house to free Arnie from the police station. In Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, the
audience discovers empowerment within Bonnie Grape. While Gilbert was talking in the beginning of the film, he
mentions that Momma has not left the house in seven years. Momma shows an immense amount of care towards
Arnie, because Bonnie faces the humiliation from the towns people to rescue Arnie. Bonnie is changed by this
experience because she realizes what has become of her, and the burden she has become on her family. Momma
exhibits an active and persistent nature toward problem solving while she is debating with the sheriff to rescue
Arnie from the police station.

Gilbert Grape has become quite resilient. When Gilbert is traveling around the town, he brings Arnie along with
him everywhere. Gilbert has even taken Arnie to work with him to reassure that Arnie is getting well taken care of
and is not forgotten about. For instance, Gilbert was watching a sunset with Becky, but he leaves Becky to go
home and assist Arnie with a bath then goes back to Beckys side. Also, Gilbert takes care of his mom by secretly
fixing up the household. Gilbert shows resilience when Arnie was found climbing the water tower, and Gilbert has
the ability to quickly grab the speaker phone and sings a chant to Arnie, which seizes Arnies attention. When
Arnie disappears, Gilbert has the ability to find where Arnie is and knows exactly how to grasp Arnies attention. In
difficult situations, Gilbert is quite quick and has the ability to stay calm when situations are unable to go the
correct way.

Ellen Grape is not a resilient character. She tends to make obstacles more difficult by acting out and teasing Arnie.
Ellen Grape makes a valiant effort to not help out around the house, and she attempts to trigger Arnies emotions.

Becky meets Arnie with a positive attitude. She has the ability to show no judgment and quickly shows interest in
helping Gilbert and his family. Arnie has a more positive outlook while he is around Becky, and Arnie has even
ended up at Beckys trailer when he ran away from home the night Gilbert hit him. Becky is not shy to let Arnie
stay at the trailer. She even discovers a way to get Arnie calm enough, and Becky has the ability to get Arnie to go
swimming in the pond after being afraid of the water. She does not push Arnie to complete any activities that
would make him uncomfortable. Becky has the ability to support Arnie and expresses to Arnie to come to her when
he needs help.
 Culture/Macro-
culture Values
Does culture relate to ways the characters perceive, believe, and behave
regarding the disability?
Culture relates to ways of perceiving, believing, evaluating and behaving. Cultural
framework serves as a guide to the individual.
Endora appears desolate and poor. The towns people do not appear to care that
the Grape family needs help, even though the family obviously does.

How do others perceive the person with the disability as being able/capable of
these?
The Grape familys culture is not an average American macro-culture. This family
does not hold a variety of high expectations. Their goal is to get by simply. The
Grape familys mother is completely dependent on her children, and the children
are unable to receive an abundance of outside support besides from the grocery
store. Unfortunately, Gilbert is stuck at a dead end job, and Ellen is the only other
individual with a job. Individuals would perceive Arnie as showing an appreciation
of the good life. A individuals good life would be defined as a term for the life
that one would like to live, or for happiness. Arnie lives in an old house that
constantly requires repairs. Even though Arnies living quarters are poor, Arnie is
capable of living through life with an extent of happiness. Arnie has a roof over
his head and receives meals regularly.
 Stages of
Acceptance of Family
Members
Describe what stages of acceptance each key character is at various times in the media
Denial and isolation: Not me! Denial is a conscious or unconscious refusal to accept facts, information, reality,
etc., relating to the situation concerned.
Anger: Why me? Anger can manifest in different ways/ People dealing with emotional upset can be angry with
themselves, and/or with others, especially those close to them.
Bargaining: But what if ITraditionally the bargaining stage for people facing death (or disability) can involve
attempting to bargain with whatever God the person believes in.
Depression: I dont care anymore. Also referred to as grieving. Its a sort of acceptance with emotional
attachment. During the stage, the state of feeling: sad, regret, fear, uncertainty is completely natural.
Acceptance: Ok, me; whats next? This stage definitely varies according to the persons situation. People dying
(or learning to live with their disability) can enter this stage a long time before the people around them, who must
necessarily pass through their own individual stages of dealing with the grief.

Throughout Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, the family members are categorized in all of the stages of
acceptance. The Grape family is cut away from the community due to the mothers inability to leave the
house. Arnies disability causes the family to become isolated as well because his disability is incapable of
behaving appropriately in the community. The audience learns that Ellen keeps herself isolated from being
seen with the rest of the Grape family because she is fearful of what the community will think. Gilbert
becomes more comfortable throughout Whats Eating Gilbert Grape when Becky is present. Becky is an
optimistic character, and she becomes support for Arnie. She becomes an individual that Arnie runs away to,
and an individual that Gilbert can open up to with his emotions. Throughout the film, anger is a reoccurring
stage. Gilbert becomes agitated while he is caring for his family, but he often hides his emotions. Momma
was driven to become overweight because of her depression. As the mother became bigger, she became
more depressed. In Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, there was acceptance of Arnie. The Grape siblings made
sure Arnie was developing. For Arnies 18th birthday party, the siblings made sure they all pitched in. The
Grape family went to town as a family to get Arnie out of jail.
 Relationships &
Family System
Approach
What type of relationships are present?

Why were they important?

Did anyone advocate for the character

with the disability?

What do family members provide to

each other regarding support?
 Momma (Bonnie)
Grape
Bonnie is the mother of: Gilbert, Amy, Arnie, and Ellen. In the
beginning of the film, a statement is made that Momma has not set
foot outside of the house in years. She is fearful of what the
community are going to say about her, since she is obese. Bonnie
suffers from depression. Momma has not fully accepted the fact that
Arnie has Autism. Throughout the film, the audience observes that
Momma has been infantilizing Arnie. When Arnie sits by Momma, she
says, My special boy over and over again. Momma is treating Arnie
as incapable and dependent. Bonnie is required to move from the
couch when she has to go down to the police station to bail Arnie out.
If Momma was in better shape and did not suffer from depression,
then she might have realized Arnies disability and would have gotten
him help that he needs. Also, Bonnie shouldve asked the
sheriff/deputy for help. Since the Grape family does not have the
correct resources and help, this puts the family at high risk. If the
Grape family had proper resources, then Bonnie would not have gone
over the edge.
 Mr. Grape
Mr. Grape commits suicide by hanging himself in
the familys basement without warning. The
event leads Bonnie Grape to overeating. Bonnie
Grape becomes morbidly obese and abdicating
much of her parental responsibility. Gilbert has
to take on the male head of the Grape family as
the father is dead. Amy has taken on the mother
figure of the Grape family because Bonnie Grape
has given up her motherly role due to her
husbands suicide. Ellens attitude may have a
correlation between her age or a reaction to her
fathers suicide.
 Gilbert Grape
Gilbert has taken on the father role in the Grape family. Since Gilbert
has taken on the fatherly figure, he has been feeling left out of events
that are going on within the community. He is a very resilient figure.
Even though his family has been going through hardships, he is capable
of overcoming the challenges. Gilbert does not have a healthy bond
with his mother. Throughout the film, he makes fun of her because she
is obese and is unable to move from the house. Gilbert does not have a
healthy bond with his younger sister Ellen. He is capable of having a
healthy relationship with his sister, Amy, and his brother, Arnie. Gilbert
and Amy are the main caretakers of Arnie. Even though Gilbert is
constantly watching Arnie, he makes time to repair the household.
When Arnie gets into trouble with the sheriff from climbing the water
tower, Gilbert reassures the sheriff that Arnie will not climb the water
tower again. Gilbert has an affair was a married woman, Betty Carver,
who lives in Endora. Then, Gilbert develops a friendship between Becky.
When Gilbert is with Becky, he pushes aside his responsibilities. He has
the ability to be himself around Becky.
 Amy Grape
Amy is the eldest child of the Grape family.
She has taken on the motherly role because
the mother is incapable to care for the
family. Amy has the patient to look after
Arnie occasionally, but her role has become
to look after her mother. Amy and Gilbert
have a game they play with Arnie. The
game involves Arnie hiding in a tree, and
Amy and Gilbert ask each other where Arnie
is. When they participate in the game, they
are infantilizing him. Amy is grieving
because she has the responsibility to help
everyone. She has a difficult time accepting
Arnie for a person until Gilbert slaps Arnie
across the face. After this event, Amy
becomes more accepting of Arnie.
 Arnie Grape
Arnie has Autism. Each child has the liberty to a free appropriate education. The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enacted in 1975, ensures a public education for all eligible individuals
and makes the school responsible for providing the necessary supports and services that will allow this
to happen. Also, IDEA provides that all children with disabilities are entitled to experience the least
restrictive environment in schools. If Arnie Grape was to attend school, then a strategy that could
assist him in the classroom is one-on-one aide. There are school that provide supports as well as a
one-on-one aide to work with the individual. The aide provides an abundance of teaching and coaching
opportunities to help the individual appropriately converse with peers and interact in different social
and academic situations. His big brother, Gilbert, supervises and takes care of him. Gilbert has the
responsibility of bathing and tucking Arnie in at night. The majority of the time Arnie is accompanied
by Gilbert during the day. Arnie is a Mommas boy. Whenever Arnie becomes upset, he goes and
cuddles up to his mom on the couch. Bonnie is infantilizing Arnie whenever he comes to the couch.
Arnies younger sister, Ellen, is incapable of watching Arnie because she is not responsible enough to
take on the role of caring for Arnie. With Arnies disability, his Autism puts the family with a lot of
demands on their shoulders. Arnies family shouldve received some kind of early intervention when
they discovered Arnie had a disability. If the Grape family wouldve had the proper resources, then
Arnie couldve received an education. The sheriff/deputy didnt appreciate the fact that Arnie would
make a game out of climbing the water tower whenever Gilbert was unable to supervise him. The
sheriff/deputy continued to give Arnie and Gilbert chances. Unfortunately, the sheriff/deputy gave up
on the chances, and he arrested Arnie for climbing the water tower. The sheriff wanted to keep Arnie
out of sight from the towns people, and the sheriff was unwilling to talk about and understand Arnies
disability; therefore, the sheriff was making keeping Arnie invisible. Since Arnie was under the 18, the
sheriff should have gotten support for the family due to Arnies disability. The towns people did not
show acceptance towards Arnies disability.
 Ellen Grape
Ellen is the youngest Grape family member. She is
ungrateful about her current living situation because she is
trapped in Endora with no resources around. Ellen is
discouraged because she does not receive enough attention
from her family. The Grape is either focused on Arnie or their
mother. Ellen refuses to have interaction between her older
brother, Arnie. When Ellen does have interaction with Arnie,
she picks fights with Arnie. Ellen does not show enough
maturity to be capable of watching or taking care of Arnie. If
Ellen had useful resources, then she would have the correct
information to understand how to take care of Arnie properly.
Then Ellen could potential help with Arnie. Within the Grape
family household, there is no stability because the family
doesnt have the correct resources to help them out.
 Becky
Becky is capable of accepting
Arnie. She has a good bond
with Arnie and Gilbert. When
Arnie runs away from the
Grape household, he ends up
at Beckys trailer. As Arnie is
accompanied by Becky,
Becky attempts to get Arnie
into the pond. Even though
Arnie was fearful of the
water, Becky assists Arnie to
overcome his fear.
 The Store Keepers
The store keepers are evidence of two
people that are accepting and willing to
help out the Grape family to make the
familys life easier. An example to show the
store keepers being accepting is that the
owners of the grocery store where Gilbert
works, allows Arnie to sit at the grocery
store while Gilbert works. They supported
the Grape family by giving Gilbert groceries
for the entire Grape family.
 The Towns People
The towns people had an unhealthy relationship between the
Grape family because the towns people were unsupportive
regarding Arnie. Endora kept a blind eye to the Grape family
even though the family couldve used the towns people
assistance in caring for Arnie. The towns people were
unimportant regarding Arnies wellbeing. When Arnie took trips
into town with his older brother, Gilbert, the town did not
advocate for Arnie. The towns people were incapable of
advocating for Arnie because they did not understand Arnies
disability. Endora seems to be annoyed by the Grape family, and
the problems that Arnie causes and judges the Grape family for
not having proper parents to take care of them. When Arnie is
discovered on top of the towns water tower, the towns people
gather together and gawk as Gilbert attempts to get Arnie to
climb down. In the film, the audience can hear, here we go
again from a man, who is spectating the event.
 The Police
The police presented an unsupportive relationship toward the
Grape family because the police were unable to set aside
time to understand Arnies disability. In regards to the Grape
family, the police were unimportant because the police
placed Arnie in jail for climbing the water tower one too
many times. If the police took the time to learn about Arnies
disability, then they couldve taken a more sensible approach
towards Arnie whenever he would climb the water tower, or
the police couldve set up preventions so Arnie wouldnt have
been able to climb the water tower. Throughout the film, the
police did not advocate for Arnie because they didnt
understand how and why Arnie acted the way he did. The
police did not provide any support to the Grape family
besides releasing Arnie from his holding cell.
Characteristics
of the
disability
Nature of the exceptionality: Arnies disability,
which is a moderate-severe developmental
disability, would be considered moderate-
severe to the nature. Arnie is an individual
with Autism, which is defined as a lifelong
developmental disability that is best
described as a collection of behavioral
symptoms.
Degree of the exceptionality: Children with
severe Autism may be unable to live
independently. Arnie, who is verbal, has great
difficulty using words to communicate. Arnie
exhibits repetitive or atypical behaviors that are
hallmark or Autism.
Demands of the exceptionality: Arnies Autism
puts an abundance amount of stress on the
Grape family.
 Early Intervention
Was it applied to the character? Since Arnies momma was
unable to seek out early intervention for Arnie, I predict Arnies
momma was between the depression and acceptance stage.
Perhaps, Bonnie had an acceptance state of mind with an
emotional attachment. Personally, I believe that Arnies
behaviors were his attempt to communicate with his family
members.
If not, what are the predicted outcomes if it had been? Children with
Autism should receive intensive intervention at an early age. Early
intervention for young children with ASD can be grouped into two
types of evidence-based practices discussed by Boyd, Odom,
Humphreys, and Sam (2010). The first type is called focused
interventions-these are specific instructional strategies or
interventions and include behavioral and naturalistic interventions.
The other type of interventions, comprehensive treatment models,
consist of theoretically based, multifaceted programs.
 Conclusion
How does the media end? Gilberts mother, who is morbidly obese, decides to make a
change in her life by actually leaving the couch, in her bed she dies. Momma never wanted
to be a joke and if the police were to remove her from the bed, then Gilberts mother would
have had to be moved by a crane. The children decided to spare their mother that
embarrassment, and they burned the decrepit house down. Amy and Ellen moved to a
different town with greater opportunities. Arnie and Gilbert went to tour the United States
with Becky and her grandmother.

What did you learn regarding how families react to disabilities from viewing Whats Eating
Gilbert Grape? Whats Eating Gilbert Grape has the ability to impact people in a multitude of
different ways. While the films script may tug on some heartstrings, there is a powerful
portrayal of the characters, who make the film. Whats Eating Gilbert Grape assists the
audience to understand how a family must care for a child with disability. This film assists
the audience on opening their hearts to those, who are going through tough times. There
are several topics in the film, and there are different ways of representing each topic. The
topics include: the need for parents to take care of their children, and parents need to fulfill
their responsibilities, so their children are not required to take care of the parents; young
individuals need to be able to find a way to fully develop their own lives, and the young
individuals still need to meet their responsibilities; in the presence of a conflict,
compromises must be developed; change can come in an individuals life, and the change
may not be entirely for the better; individuals may have a more enjoyable life when they
make adjustments.
 Bibliography of
References
Home | Autism Speaks. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22,2016, from https://www.autismspeaks.org/

Hunt, N., & Marshall, K. (n.d.). Exceptional Children and Youth (5th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Stages of Acceptance Bakersfield College. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://
www2.bakerfieldcollege.edu/jkirst/spst48/stages_of_acceptance.pdf

Sadowski, K. (2015). Helpful Strategies for Autism in Preschool Classrooms North Shore Pediatric Therapy.
Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://nspt4kids.com/therapy/helpful-strategies-for-autism-in- preschool-
classrooms/