What's Eating Gilbert Grape Satire

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a dramatic film with points of comedy created in 1993. This film takes place in the serene and rural, but fading, town of Endora, Iowa. Gilbert Grape, a twenty-four year old store clerk, is assumed with the obligation of monetarily providing for his family and caring for his developmentally disabled brother Arnie. Gilbert has two sisters, Emily and Amy, the aforementioned Arnie, age seventeen, and his morbidly obese mother Bonnie, a widower of seventeen years. Gilbert’s father who committed suicide following Arnie’s birth, which initiated Bonnie’s battle with depression and gorging. Bonnie spends a great deal of her time sitting on the couch viewing television, eating, and uttering the responsibilities of each Grape child. As a result of Bonnie’s obesity, Gilbert is given the duty of restoring the financially impoverished Grape home. Through all of these burdens, Gilbert understands that his future is impeded and feels his life lacks direction, albeit his love for his brother Arnie is unquestioned.
Gilbert’s life deviates when Becky, a unique young woman, enters his life. Becky

Gilbert’s frustrations mount during this time as Arnie has a habit of running off to climb the town water tower, eventually leading to Arnie’s arrest. Gilbert’s resentment and shame towards his mother, and life in general, is evident through the picture; however, as the film nears an end Gilbert communicates to his mother that he is not ashamed of her and loves her deeply. Upon the end of the birthday party, Bonnie walks upstairs for the first time since her husband’s death, to rest. Bonnie passes away in her sleep and the surviving Grapes decide to burn the house down instead of lifting Bonnie out of the house by crane and dealing with the criticisms of the townspeople. The film ends with Gilbert and Arnie leaving Endora, with Becky and her