by Peter Hedges
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Big idea theme: DEPRESSION
How does depression play a role in the novel?
In the novel, Gilbert Grape is often depressed
because he feels confined by his family, small
town, and the circumstances of his romantic life.
Create a THEME STATEMENT:
In the novel, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by
Peter Hedges, the theme that depression can be
caused by the confines of a small town, the
responsibilities of family, and the dysfunctional
nature of a romantic relationship is explored.
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A symbol is an OBJECT that
symbolizes/represents idea, emotion or
concept
Lamson Grocery—What is good in the world
(for Gilbert)/The underdog, the nice guy,
tradition, care for customer
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Add to 47. In Literary terms booklet:
47. Dialogue. Characters speaking in a piece
of writing. Indicated using quotation marks
and paragraphing. Each new speaker gets a
new paragraph.
Dialogue is extremely important to character
development in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
How each character relates to one another is
communicated in how they speak to one
another