What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

CHARACTERS

PLOT

DISORDER-Autism

Gilbert & Arnie

Gilbert & Becky

Gilbert Grape: main character who tries to balance caring for Arnie and having his own life

1) Deficits in using communication for social purposes, such as greeting and sharing information, in a manner that is appropriate for the social context.

3) The onset of the symptoms is in the early developmental period (but deficits may not become fully manifest until social communication demands exceed limited capacities).

• Becky and her grandmother get stranded in Endora for a week after their trailer breaks down
• Gilbert ends up falling in love with Becky
• Becky develops a close bond with Arnie as well as falling in love with Gilbert

• Gilbert struggles taking care of his family, which includes his two sisters, morbidly obese mother, and autistic brother Arnie
• Gilbert tries to find time for his personal life, but it gets in the way of caring for Arnie, which causes his family to criticize him
• Gilbert has to help his mother prepare for Arnie's 18th birthday party

• Arnie's case was so severe that he was not expected to live past the age of 12
• This explains why his mother made such a big deal out of him turning 18

-Arnie has trouble saying things appropriate for the social context, and does not change the subject if those around him are uncomfortable

Arnie Grape: Severely autistic brother of Gilbert who always seems to get into trouble

Works Cited

Bonnie Grape: Mother of the Grape family who needs to be cared for since she became morbidly obese & depressed after her husband's suicide

http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria

Gilbert & Personal Life

Ellen & Amy Grape: Gilbert's sisters who help care for Bonnie & Arnie, tend to ridicule Gilbert

2) The deficits result in functional limitations in effective communication, social participation, social relationships, academic achievement, or occupational performance, individually or in combination.

4) Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g, strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interest).

• Arnie has no acquaintances his age, and therefore spends most of the time with his family or on his front porch
• Arnie's autism prohibits him from proper schooling and holding a job

• Arnie was fixated on climbing the water tower
• Thought of it as a joke even though he was in danger
• Gilbert was the only one who could get him down

• Gilbert supports his family by working for the local convenience store, which is slowly going out of business
• He was having an affair with a married woman named Betty, but was always paranoid that her husband knew about it
• Their affair ended after Betty's husband died of cardiac arrest

Becky: Gilbert's love interest, free-spirited and kind, teaches Gilbert to appreciate the little things

Betty & Ken: Betty was having an affair with Gilbert until Ken suddenly died. Everyone thought she murdered him so she moved away to find a better life.