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Assignment on Lasse Hallstrom's What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
Causal Analysis, worth 100 points (4-5 typed pages)
Background: For this assignment, we will focus on what is wrong with the life of
the main character, Gilbert Grape, in the film bearing his name. We will want not
only to explain what is wrong right now, but to trace, as far back as possible, the
causes of the causes of his problem, until we reach the earliest or deepest possible
cause, sometimes called the first or primary cause. We will peel back the layers that
contribute to his unhappiness and passiveness, until we expose and analyze the
deepest underlying cause(s). Each time we locate a cause, we will ask ourselves,
"What is the cause of that cause?"
This is a psychological movie, and its meanings continue to unfold as we think and
talk about them, so it's important to view the film as many times as possible. View it
and talk about it with friends, roommates, family. Become as familiar as you can
with the characters and their lives. Each incident, each casual exchange of dialogue
between characters becomes important. (Be sure to write about events in the film in
the present tense! For example, When Arnie climbs up the water tower. . . not
climbed.)
Task: Write a well-developed, carefully supported essay in which you answer the
question "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" Your thesis statement will answer that
question directly, and your topic sentences will break the answer down into
component parts.
Organization: Many possible ways of organizing the material in the film (and your
investigation into it) present themselves. Here are just a few that might yield
interesting results:
A. This film focuses centrally on food, hunger, and eating. The title uses the idea of
eating not in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense: something (what?) is eating
away at Gilbert, and our job is to figure out what. (Even Gilbert's last name is a
food.) The film is chocked full of images of and references to food: family dinners,
Mama's weight and size, the grocery store where Gilbert works, the competitive
chain grocery store, shopping for food, cookie- and cake-baking, ice cream eating
(several times), two birthday cakes, diner scenes, outdoor meals, picnics, etc. Each of
these references to eating provides a clue to what is wrong with Gilbert. Group them
into categories that you can work with, and analyze several per body paragraph.
Provide a topic sentence that probes into the meanings of the scenes.
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B. It's clear that Gilbert's unhappiness has its roots in his family, and so it might
prove useful to analyze his relationship with each member of his family (including
his absent father: at one point, he says, "My father built this house, and it's my job to
do the repairs." What happens to the house by the end?) Devote a paragraph to each
family member, beginning with the least significant, perhaps, and moving towards
the most significant; by coming to terms with Gilbert's family dynamics, we might
come closer to understanding what's eating him.
C. Focus primarily on Gilbert's relationship with his brother Arnie in order to
understand what's bothering Gilbert. At one point, Arnie repeats what he's heard said
about him--"I could go at any time!"--and it's funny, in part because Arnie doesn't
understand the significance of what he's saying. But what he says is true, of course,
not only for him, but for all of us. If it is true that we, too "could go at any time,"
how should we live? The film, by dramatizing Gilbert's crisis and the way he finds to
grow through it, offers an answer to that question.
D. Focus primarily on Gilbert's relationship with Becky in order to understand what's
wrong with Gilbert. How is Becky's life different from Gilbert's? What does Becky,
and her connection with travel and the road come to represent in the film? How does
Becky intervene in Gilbert's life and in his relationship with his mother and with
Arnie as well? What does Becky offer to Gilbert that he has been unable to provide
for himself? What does it mean, in the end, that Gilbert chooses to go "on the road"
with Becky and Arnie?
E. Focus on the film's symbols in order to explain its meaning, particularly regarding
Gilbert's problem(s): what does the house symbolize? the basement? how about
climbing (the tree, the water tower, the stairs)? eating? the road? the caravan? water
(the incident of Arnie's bath; Gilbert, Arnie, Becky bathing and playing in the
stream? Mr. Carver drowning in the wading pool? and fire. The film is richly
symbolic; it offers a great deal to think and write about.
Important Note: No matter which approach you choose, you must come to terms
with the change Gilbert undergoes by the end of the movie. Every paper must deal
with the ending of the film. Note how the ending repeats, with significant differences,
the beginning of the film. Comment on, explain these differences. Account for how
they came about.
Mechanics: Give your essay a good title. Analyze each quotation and/or example
fully and in considerable detail. Refer to characters by name (say Amy, or Ellen, not
just "Gilbert's sister").
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