Summary
Bonnie, too embarrassed to leave her house, watches the outdoor party from the living room. She asks to speak to Gilbert, and at first she is frustrated by his negligence. However, she begins to be vulnerable, and she laments her children’s unconventional lives. She calls herself a burden and explains that she has brought shame upon her family. As Bonnie starts to cry, she holds Gilbert in her arms and begs for him not to disappear. She explains her pride at his leadership and initiative. She even calls him her “knight in shimmering armor.” Gilbert, who has previously felt aversion to his mother, accepts her tenderness and love. He allows Bonnie’s embrace and reassures his mother that all of his siblings love and support her.
At the party, Tucker tells Gilbert that their house is on the brink of collapsing. However, Gilbert is distracted by the sight of Becky’s RV approaching his home. Although he has previously refused Becky’s request to meet his mother, Gilbert finally allows the two to be introduced to one another. While Bonnie is also reluctant, she eventually agrees to welcome Becky into her home. Despite initial awkwardness, the two are cordial and appear to enjoy one another’s company. When the party is over, Bonnie ascends the stairs—her first time doing so in seven years.
Amy and Ellen help Bonnie into her bed, and Gilbert brings her water. The next morning, Arnie excitingly runs into Bonnie’s room. However, when he tries to wake her, he finds that she is unresponsive. Although he first thinks she is playing a prank on him, Arnie soon realizes that Bonnie has died. All four children enter Bonnie’s bedroom and grieve together.
The coroners come to visit the house, and they determine that, due to Bonnie’s weight, they will need to use a crane to lift her out of the house. Ellen and Gilbert, concerned with the possibility of a crowd gathering to watch the fiasco, begin to think of alternative burial options. As he descends into the basement for the first time in years, Gilbert begins breaking the supportive beams and destroying everything he sees. Gilbert vows to not let his mother “die a joke.”
All of the Grape children begin removing important items from the home and placing them in the yard. With gasoline and a single match, Gilbert sets the house on fire. The scene then cuts to Arnie and Gilbert in a field. Through Gilbert’s voice-over narration, we learn that one year has passed, and Arnie is about to turn nineteen.
Amy has left Endora to manage a bakery in Des Moines, Iowa. Ellen is anticipating switching schools. Arnie and Gilbert know that they now have the ability to move, but they have not yet acted on it. As in the film’s opening scene, Arnie and Gilbert are anticipating the arrival of the RVs. However, this time, they are awaiting Becky. Becky and her grandmother welcome Gilbert and Arnie into their car, and they all rejoice as they are once again reunited.
Analysis
As the story progresses, we notice that Becky is a particularly important character due to the individual relationships she separately cultivates with Gilbert and Arnie. In this way, Becky becomes a catalyst for both Gilbert and Arnie’s own realizations and maturation. When comparing the relationships between Becky and Gilbert and Becky and Arnie, we are able to understand how Gilbert and Arnie operate as foils to each other. While Gilbert is often restricted by his unwillingness to confront his own vulnerability and emotions, Arnie’s condition makes him oblivious to fear. In this way, Arnie shows Becky how much she means to him in a way that Gilbert cannot. Through Arnie’s loving and fearless personality, Gilbert is able to grow closer with Becky and confront his fears. Although Arnie is dependent on Gilbert, it becomes clear that Gilbert can learn and grow from following Arnie’s lead.
Becky’s eventual invitation to Arnie’s birthday party serves as a testament to the impact she has had on both of the brother’s lives. When Gilbert decides to introduce Becky to his mother, we see that he has fully let Becky into the “darkest” corners of his life. Although Bonnie is at first resistant to Becky’s friendliness, she is able to open up to her arrival and welcome a guest in her house. Meanwhile, we understand that Bonnie’s decision to remain in her home during Arnie’s party indicates her overwhelming feeling of self-hatred. Bonnie’s warmness to Becky further exemplifies the importance of Becky’s presence for the entire Grape family. Becky is able to cheer Bonnie up in one of her lowest moments.
Bonnie’s death contributes to the motif of sudden deaths that shake the Endora community. The manner in which she dies is heavily symbolic. Bonnie’s final ascent up the stairs can symbolically mirror her ascent to heaven. Additionally, it is significant that she passes away on the eve of Arnie’s eighteenth birthday. In the United States, children legally become adults, responsible for themselves, when they turn eighteen. Although Bonnie has abdicated from the traditional role of mother in the past seven years, she lives long enough to see Arnie through his childhood and ensure that he can be cared for by others.
The decision to provide the viewer with a glimpse into the following year allows the audience to find closure in the Grapes' story—we are able to see how things have changed, and how they have remained constant, following the life-altering events of the year before. Although Amy and Ellen have changed their daily routines, Arnie and Gilbert engage in the same behavior as they did in the film’s opening scene—waiting for the annual RV caravan. However, the trajectory of the story allows us to analyze the closing scene differently from the opening scene. At this point in the story, we understand that Arnie and Gilbert have agency over their lives. Their decision to watch the caravans and anticipate Becky’s arrival do not signify a sense of passivity or monotony. Rather, we understand that when faced with adversity, the Grape brothers have found excitement, pleasure, and stability in Endora. In this way, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape can be classified as a coming-of-age film. Gilbert and Arnie have grown significantly—both have learned to look within themselves to change how they interact with their community and with one another.
