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58 pages 1 hour read

Peter Hedges

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1991

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Important Quotes

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“The bright side for me is difficult on mornings like these. There’s no escaping that I’m twenty-four years old, that I’ve been out of Iowa a whopping one whole time, that you could say about all I’ve done in my life to this point is baby-sit my retard brother, buy cigarettes for my mother, and sack groceries for the esteemed citizens of Endora.”


(Part 1, Chapter 1, Page 6)

Gilbert begins to illustrate one of the themes of this novel, Different Forms of Escape, as he describes himself. He feels stuck in his life despite his admirable devotion to his younger brother and to the care of his family. Gilbert’s perception of himself is highly negative, as is his description of his brother. By using a word that, even in 1989, is considered derogatory and unacceptable, Gilbert implies a level of disdain toward his brother; however, his actions suggest otherwise. Gilbert is kind to Arnie and patient with him in a way other members of his family are not. Gilbert views himself as less than he should be at his age, but from the beginning of the novel it is clear that Gilbert's important role in his family keeps him in Endora.

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“It’s been over three years since she stepped out of the house, and other than her children and a former friend here and there, no one in town has seen her. They talk about her, sure, but mostly in whispers.”


(Part 1, Chapter 2, Page 12)

Gilbert describes his mother’s hermit-like behavior, obesity, and daily routine. Revealing that Bonnie does not leave the house foreshadows a moment later in the novel when she will leave for Arnie's sake. In addition, Gilbert’s understanding that people gossip about his mother relates to his level of embarrassment and also foreshadows his fear for her reputation at the end of the novel. People gossip, and Gilbert realizes that. He does not want them to gossip about his mother even though he speaks of her with disdain, using derogatory words to describe her in his own thoughts and to his family and friends.

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“Perhaps it is this excess of integrity that keeps the crowds away from Lamson Grocery. Perhaps Mr. Lamson is like a constant reminder of our shortcomings. A man who works all day, every day, and loves each apple he uncrates, who cherishes each can of soup—a man like that surely puts us all to shame.”


(Part 1, Chapter 3, Page 17)

Gilbert reflects on the possible reasons why the people of Endora prefer Food Land over Lamson Grocery and concludes that it might be because of the strict work ethic and integrity of his boss, Mr. Lamson. Gilbert not only expresses his great admiration for Mr. Lamson but also reflects on his own character and that of the rest of the citizens of Endora. This reflection also suggests Gilbert’s unhappiness with the change that is coming to town, implying that the new grocery is run and caters to people with a lesser work ethic.

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“Buying my gas from Dave is a pleasure because of his cord or tube or whatever you call the black thing that stretches across the station. It’s supposed to go bing-bing or bong-bong or ding-ding when tires go over it. The one at Dave’s stopped working several years ago, and he won’t have it fixed because he feels as I do—that none of us need to be reminded we exist.”


(Part 1, Chapter 5, Page 25)

Throughout the novel, Gilbert goes out of his way to avoid this sound and cringes when he cannot. The idea that the sound reaffirms that he is alive provides insight into Gilbert’s sense that he is stuck. This mentality also explores the theme of escape. Gilbert wants to flee his reality, but this particular sound grounds him. Hedges uses this sound at the end of the novel to signal Bonnie’s death. It also recalls the sound of the school bell in Mrs. Brainer’s classroom on the day that Gilbert’s father died.

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“My mother is a woman of few words. The words used are choice and you can break her conversation categories into three sections.

The first and most frequent is: ‘Where’s my food?’ Or: ‘What’s for dinner?’ Or: ‘I don’t smell anything cooking, do you?’ Food.

The second goes something like this: ‘Get my cigarettes.’ ‘Who took my cigarettes?’ ‘Matches! Matches, anybody!’ Smoking.

The third category is always repeated in the same word order. She speaks it at least once a day. This is Momma at her most poignant. Her words are these: ‘I don’t ask for much. Just let me see my boy turn eighteen. That’s not too much to ask, is it?’ At my father’s funeral I saw Momma write something down on a paper napkin. I’m not sure but I think it was those words.”


(Part 1, Chapter 6, Page 29)

Gilbert’s relationship with his mother is complicated. He sees that she is totally dependent on her children but also demanding and somewhat manipulative in her behavior. Bonnie speaks to her children only when she needs something, which is usually one of the two things Gilbert believes are killing her: food and cigarettes. The third thing she demands causes Gilbert to feel as though his mother doesn’t feel as much for him as she does for Arnie.

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“It’s nights like these that I have to get out of my house. I drive around town and dream about going places. I dream about pretty people and fast cars, and I dream I’m still me but my family is someone else. I dream I’m still me.”


(Part 1, Chapter 6, Page 33)

These lines relate to the theme of the Dysfunctional Family. Wanting his family to be "someone else" shows that Gilbert recognizes that his problems rest in the dysfunction of his family. In a way, Gilbert is blaming his family for his situation because he believes he would have a different life if his family were different.

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“It was last Wednesday that Tucker appraised the floor situation. He ordered the wood on Thursday and we picked it up Friday. Saturday was spent carefully measuring and cutting it in his dad’s workshop. Yesterday he drilled holes in the boards so today we can assemble support beams with long screws and bolts. This way there will be no hammering in the basement, no loud noises. This way Momma will never know.”


(Part 2, Chapter 15, Page 72)

Once again, Gilbert reveals his deep respect for his mother. He uses derogatory names to refer to her in conversation and has imagined her falling through the floor and no longer being a problem for the family. However, he and Tucker fix the sag to keep her from falling through the floor while protecting her from the humiliation of finding out this is necessary. Gilbert goes out of his way to protect his mother’s feelings, even though he secretly blames her for the situation that caused this issue. This reflects his complicated feelings for members of his family.

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“Janice says that there are deep, psychological reasons why Larry will only return home once a year. As a self-proclaimed expert in psychology and the only Grape to hold a college degree, Janice says that none of us will ever understand the impact that finding Dad hanging had on him. She says that just because he didn’t scream and cry and freak out doesn’t mean he wasn’t affected. On the contrary, she says, the wounds are so deep, too deep for a layman’s comprehension.”


(Part 2, Chapter 19, Page 102)

Gilbert’s disdain for Janice and her education shine through here as he subtly criticizes her for using her education only to attempt to make herself appear smarter than the rest of the family. While recounting Janice’s opinion on Larry’s psychological damage, Gilbert belittles her while pointing out her status as the only Grape with a college degree. At the same time, Gilbert reveals another piece of the tragedy that took place in the Grape home 17 years before the opening of the novel: Larry discovered their father's body.

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“When I open the police-station door for Momma, a bell rings or dings and she squeezes through. I watch as Sheriff Farrell looks up from his desk and the expression on his face turns to one of sudden death. His eyes are stuck open; it’s like they’ve filled with milk.

Momma says, ‘I’ve come for my son.’”


(Part 3, Chapter 23, Page 125)

This moment is important to the plot because Bonnie Grape leaves the house for the first time in over three years to rescue Arnie from jail. Gilbert goes along because he feels he has no choice, showing that Bonnie is still the head of the family despite her general refusal to fulfill that role. At the same time, Gilbert sees how her appearance impacts people outside their home. Sheriff Farrell once had a crush on Bonnie and hoped to marry her. His reaction when he sees her makes it clear how much she changed after her husband’s death. It is possible that Bonnie uses food not only to soothe her grief but also to hide herself from men like Sheriff Farrell, who came around in the aftermath of Albert’s death hoping for a relationship with her. Bonnie wanted one man, and that man is gone. Finally, this event is further evidence for Gilbert that Bonnie will do anything for Arnie, while Gilbert continues to feel ignored by her

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“I interrupt with the news that they’re burning down the school Saturday.

Tucker stops. He says, ‘I know this, Gilbert. They’re making a whole deal out of it. Fire trucks from Motley even.’

I look at him. I’m getting all emotional about this for no explainable reason. I say with a shaky voice, ‘They’re making it into a celebration. Can you believe it?’

‘I can’t be expending energy for old, tired buildings. My focus is on the future. The Burger Barn future. Are you trying to upset me? Are you trying to ruin my day? Cause it won’t work.’

And I consider this man my best friend.”


(Part 3, Chapter 26, Page 140)

The differences between Gilbert and other young men his own age are showcased here. While Tucker looks forward to the future and hopes that the modern fast-food restaurant Burger Barn will create a good future for him, Gilbert is stuck in the past. He mourns the loss of the school building where he spent 13 years that he didn’t necessarily enjoy. In fact, he later reveals that Mrs. Brainer and her classroom played a significant role in the tragedy that turned the Grape family upside down 17 years ago. However, despite the dark memories it holds, Gilbert has an emotional attachment to the school, just as he does to the rest of Endora. Gilbert is upset that a part of Endora’s history is being burned down with ceremony, rather than being preserved. Although Gilbert dreams of escape, he struggles with change.

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“I had this sick feeling and made plans to run home during recess. But I had to pee so I squeezed my legs so hard. It was 8 minutes till recess when I wet my pants. L. Dodge told Mrs. Brainer. I cleaned it up while others went outside. Autopsy determined that about the same time my Dad was hanging himself, I was peeing in my seat.”


(Part 3, Chapter 29, Page 155)

At the school, Gilbert writes about the day his father died. This was hinted at earlier in the novel when Travis told the story of Lance Dodge wetting his pants, but Gilbert reminded him that it was himself who had the accident. Connecting this truth with the fact that he planned to go home to check on his father that day shows the guilt that Gilbert lives with. He believes that if he had been allowed to go home, he might have saved his father.

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“I can’t last much longer. This movie on TV, the ground opened up and swallowed people. I keep waiting for the ground to open up and swallow me.”


(Part 4, Chapter 33, Page 178)

Amy expresses frustration with Arnie’s upcoming party and their mother’s expectations. The impact of the Grape family’s situation has been seen only through Gilbert’s eyes until this moment. Amy, too, expresses a desire to escape from the pressure of caring for the family by using the metaphor of a movie plot. She feels that she is being consumed by her endless responsibilities.

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“'One day you might understand what it means to create. To know the feeling of looking in a person’s eyes and know that you are the reason for those eyes.’ Momma thinks for a second. ‘I’m going to say something I know I’m not supposed to say. I see you and I know that I’m a god. Or a goddess. Godlike! And this house is my kingdom. Yes, Gilbert. This chair is my throne. And you, Gilbert, are my knight in shimmering armor.’”


(Part 4, Chapter 34, Page 187)

Bonnie explains to Gilbert why she stays up all night by saying it is to protect what she has created. Her sense of possession of her children and her pride in them as her creations further explore the methods by which she manipulates them. Bonnie knows she has power because of her role as mother, and she uses it to keep her children from leaving her. She is the center of the family, even though she no longer does anything to contribute to the household. This idea of being the head of the kingdom, of being godlike, allows her to feel as though she is owed something, but she also depicts Gilbert as her hero and savior.

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“I look out the window and see from the shape of Amy’s back that she’s in about the same condition as our lawn furniture. You can tell the idyllic nature of a family by the upkeep of its picnic table. Ours is its own indictment. We are splintered and peeling. We rot.”


(Part 4, Chapter 35, Page 190)

Arnie disappears after accusing Gilbert and Amy of leaving him in the bathtub to drown. Amy is upset with herself, Ellen is refusing to help them, and Gilbert refuses to accept blame for the situation. The family is struggling to survive, and the poor condition of their lawn furniture reflects its dilapidated state.

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“As I leave the Carver property, I mutter to myself, ‘You don’t hit people. A guy just shouldn’t hit people.’

I begin the two-mile walk home.

I write this note to Mr. Carver in my mind which concludes with a thought that goes something like this: At least some fathers have the courage to not live this life.”


(Part 4, Chapter 38, Page 202)

After Mr. Carver drags Gilbert to his home in an effort to force his children to like the trampoline he bought them, he becomes violent with the boys. Gilbert thinks that his own father showed greater character by choosing to leave his children behind than Mr. Carver demonstrates by staying with his. This is the only time that Gilbert seems to acknowledge that his father’s death may have been his way of trying to protect the family from the darkness that was haunting him.

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“Momma is making a muted scream sound now. My mother is going to die. Right now. We all know it, we all sense it. And there is nothing we can do.”


(Part 4, Chapter 41, Page 222)

Bonnie chokes on her dinner, and no one can perform the Heimlich maneuver because she’s too big. Gilbert is afraid, and this moment foreshadows Bonnie’s death at a later point in the novel, another moment when Gilbert and Amy will be powerless to intervene. Bonnie’s near-death experience in this scene is brought on by the food with which she is obsessed. The reality of her situation is made clear in this incident, which foreshadows her children's response to her eventual death.

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“This family is nowhere to be found in my smile, nor the girl from Michigan. My decision to leave, to escape—my new life—is the reason for my toothy grin.”


(Part 5, Chapter 44, Page 241)

Although Gilbert dreams of leaving Endora and his family, he never takes steps to do so. In the beginning of the novel, he blames a lack of money. Later, he blames Mrs. Carver for refusing to take him with her to St. Louis. This time, in the immediate aftermath of Lance Dodge's being given the opportunity to anchor the ten o’clock news, he seems determined to go. Lance represents everything Gilbert could have been but isn’t. Gilbert feels a resentment for Lance that no one seems to understand. This becomes his motive for leaving home, but Arnie’s approaching birthday delays his plans, implying that Gilbert will likely never leave Endora and his family.

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“'He’s driving out of town, right? And he sees Arnie digging for worms. Arnie runs over to him to give him the worms, and he said he couldn’t even recognize him under all that dirt. The nerve—the nerve of that man.’ Amy goes out in our backyard. She pounds the picnic table with her fists and screams, ‘Fuck you! Fuck you!’

I’ve never been so happy to hear anyone swear.”


(Part 5, Chapter 48, Page 261)

Amy describes Larry’s reaction to seeing Arnie, who has not had a bath in days. She validates Gilbert’s anger toward Larry for coming home only on Arnie’s birthday and contributing to the family only financially. Amy and Gilbert care for Arnie on a daily basis; therefore, it is insulting for Larry to call them and complain about something he is not willing to help with. Not only does Amy’s reaction validate Gilbert’s feelings, it also shows that he is not alone in resenting the Grapes who managed to escape the household's day-to-day life.

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“'Okay,’ I say. I look at her, glaring her way. ‘I hate you. Deeply. Completely. I. Hate. You.’

Momma’s eyes seem to swell. She looks at me hard and long. She thought she was going to enjoy my hate, but it has broken her. I can’t watch, so I barrel out of the house.

It takes three hours of driving on county roads, two cans of beer, and a pack of cigarettes for me to try and forget that conversation. I fail.”


(Part 5, Chapter 49, Page 265)

After his mother goads him into it, Gilbert expresses hatred for his mother. However, his words are belied by his inability to get over the pain of seeing how badly his words hurt her. Despite everything, he loves his mother and craves her affection and acceptance, but Gilbert hates the situation she placed herself in. Past experiences made it clear that Bonnie’s health is precarious, and the reality of her death is unavoidable. At the same time, Gilbert is convinced that his mother cares for only food, cigarettes, and Arnie. In truth, Bonnie loves all her children, which is illustrated by her reaction to Gilbert’s words. She might believe he hates her, but she wants him to love her as much as he craves affection from her. It’s a complicated relationship that is made more difficult by the tragedy neither has dealt with and the grief and guilt that continue to overshadow their relationship.

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“He pushes his empty cart down Aisle Ten. I watch him look from side to side, floating along slowly, studying product after product. His simple flannel shirt, his noble brown shoes move away from me, reducing Mr. Lamson in size but not in stature.

‘Wonderful surprises’ echoes in my head.”


(Part 5, Chapter 51, Page 270)

Gilbert runs into Mr. Lamson inside Food Land. The older man, clearly amazed and humbled by the selection available at the larger grocery store, is forced to accept what has been apparent for a while: His small grocery store cannot survive its competition with this more modern store. Gilbert tried to protect the Lamsons from this reality and grieves that Mr. Lamson’s optimism was misplaced in this circumstance.

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“All my life it’s been: ‘You don’t hit Arnie. Nobody hurts Arnie.’ And in one night, all of that is burned away, and it was easy and quick.

I am beyond hate for myself.”


(Part 5, Chapter 52, Page 277)

Once again, Gilbert finds himself hurting someone he loves. He hits Arnie repeatedly while attempting to force him into the bathtub. Gilbert is typically the patient one who treats Arnie with kindness and concern. In this instance, he gives in to the pressure placed on him to care for Arnie, his frustration exploding after Arnie gets into the cake that Gilbert had to purchase from Food Land despite his loathing for the place. An accumulation of hurts, frustrations, and memories lead Gilbert to take his pain out on Arnie.

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“'Gilbert, every day I prayed to God who I hate. I prayed for one thing. Keep my Arnie alive long enough for me to see this day…’

‘I know.’

‘Let me finish. I prayed to that bitter bastard of a God, I said, "Let me see my boy turn eighteen and I’ll forgive you." Now, I’ve done my forgiving. And now, I’m ready for some cake.’ She pushes through the door and I move out of her way so as not to get squashed. She is breathing heavily, the back of her tentlike dress dripping in sweat, her feet in a pair of Larry’s slippers. She shuffles to the back door and looks out at the party, which is in full swing. Momma won’t go out in public but the people sense her watching. They know she’s here. Even though they can’t see her, they know Bonnie Grape approves.”


(Part 6, Chapter 54, Page 287)

Bonnie made a deal with God, even though she no longer believes in Him. Yet, God gave her what she wanted, and she forgives him, as she promised she would. At the same time, however, she refuses to go out and join the party. Bonnie went all the way to the sheriff’s office to rescue Arnie, but she refuses to join the party she prayed for and hoped to live to see for the past 17 years. This shows the depth of Bonnie’s understanding of the public’s response to the way she looks and reflects the depth of her shame about her appearance. 

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“She completes the final steps. She makes it to the top and into her room which she hasn’t seen in months, if not years. Momma lies down on the bed and before we can get her cigarette lit, she falls asleep.”


(Part 6, Chapter 56, Page 298)

On Arnie’s birthday, Bonnie chooses to sleep in her bedroom for the first time in years. She does not reveal the reason for this choice, but it reflects the optimism that spreads throughout the Grape household.

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“Momma’s on her back in her bed and she’s looking for us. One of her big hands stretches our way, the other shakes the school bell above her. Binga-binga. Dinga-Dinga.”


(Part 7, Chapter 58, Page 307)

Hedges uses the sound of a bell multiple times in the plot as a noise Gilbert goes out of his way to avoid. Using this sound as Bonnie struggles to breathe at the end of the novel evokes the tragedy of Albert’s death 17 years ago when Gilbert had his accident in Mrs. Brainer’s classroom. In this way, Hedges connects Bonnie’s death to that of her husband, touching on the theme of Suicide’s Impact on Loved Ones.

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“'SHE IS NO JOKE! THEY’LL LAUGH AT HER AND POKE AT HER AND JUDGE HER! DO NOT LET THEM DO THAT!’

‘Okay, Gilbert, shhhh. Shhhhh.’

‘SHE DESERVES BETTER! SHE DESERVES…’ I try to breathe. Amy tries to hug me, but I flinch. ‘MOMMA IS BEAUTIFUL AND NOBODY IS GOING TO LAUGH!...NO LAUGH!...’”


(Part 7, Chapter 59, Pages 315-316)

Although Gilbert spends much of the book referring to his mother with derogatory terms due to her size and even tells her he hates her at one point, his love for her pours out in the aftermath of her death. Gilbert is aware of the shame his mother felt in public and refuses to subject her to that shame in death. As Bonnie spent the last three years of her life hiding in her home, Gilbert decides she should be allowed the dignity of not being removed from her home via extreme means. In this gesture, Gilbert reveals how much he truly loved his mother and wants to respect her wishes.

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