Similarities Between Arnie And Gilbert Grape

Arnie Grape is an energetic boy with autism; he lives with his obese mother, two sisters, and his brother Gilbert Grape. Arnie Grape was told by the doctors that he wouldn’t get to celebrate his tenth birthday but he’s about to be eighteen and got to outlive his father and mother. His autism prevents him from communicating normally with others; he talks slow and at times will repeat what other people say. For example, when his brother Gilbert Grape said “Don’t scare Gilbert” after Arnie ran away from home after Gilbert hit him hard out of frustration, Arnie imitated him and hugged him, in his way letting him know that he understood. Arnie also repetitively climbs on top of a tree in the morning when his family is having breakfast and waits till his brother Gilbert comes and finds him. Also, Arnie climbs a water tower as soon as his brother turns the other

way. Police have warned him redundantly to stop climbing the tower, or else he would have to be taken to jail but to Arnie none of this made sense, he was having fun and that’s all that mattered to him and therefore kept climbing the tower until the police had to take him down and take him to jail until his mother came, which was the first time she got out of the house in several years.
Arnie’s psychological disorder also prevents him from having display rules. At Mr. Carvers funeral, Arnie happily played at his father’s grave and then when a Burger Barn truck came with delicious burgers and shakes, Arnie became ecstatic jumping up and down yelling and laughing, interrupting the funeral. Additionally, when Gilbert said “Dad is dead”, Arnie immediately began banging on the table, laughing and continuously saying “Dad is dead. Dad is dead….” The day of Arnie’s birthday, The moment he realized his mother was dead he begged her to stop playing the game he thought she was playing with him, hide and seek but when he realized she didn’t open her eyes or spoke to him he stormed out of the house and was out of control ballistic ally crying, but then a few minutes later when Gilbert and his sisters decided that the best thing to do now that their mother was dead was to take out all of the furniture from the house and set the house to fire because they weren’t going to let her mother be a joke due to her obesity, Arnie started to smile and laugh when he saw the house being devoured by incandescent flames instead of crying or feeling sad like how his other siblings were.
Arnie is also a very honest boy; he’s always saying what he thinks.

For example, when he was with the Becky who was new to town and his brother Gilbert, he told Becky that she wasn’t invited to his birthday party not understanding what his brother was saying when he said he was being rude by telling her that. Also, Gilbert who’s always trying to teach him good manners, told Arnie to tell Becky sorry after he accidentally dropped her groceries he had offered to carry to her mobile home. However, Arnie continuously said he was not sorry for what he did, understandingly Becky said she was not sorry and that Gilbert shouldn’t worry about Arnie apologizing to her because she was okay with it. For a kid with autism, it’s very hard to adapt to sudden changes, it can even degrade the person’s quality of life. However, despite all of the adversities in Arnie’s life, he manages to adapt to his environment after the sudden death of his mother. Leaving the past behind, Arnie and Gilbert say goodbye to their sisters who decided to take a different path than them, and decide to join Becky and her mother who travel the

world.
The movie doesn’t mention what caused Arnie’s autism and according to “Causes”, nor is there a known cause for this disorder, but factors that could’ve contributed to Arnie’s disorder is a brain structure/function abnormality, such as tuberous sclerosis and congenital rubella syndrome. However, harmful substances ingested during a woman’s pregnancy can also increase the risk of autism. Whatever might have caused it Arnie can benefit from ABA therapy. According to “Autism Therapies: ABA, RDI, and Sensory Therapies”, “One approach for dealing with these issues is applied behavior analysis, or ABA, training. One of the most widely accepted autism therapies, 32 out of the 50 states in the U.S. have laws that require health insurers to cover it” (1). A person is usually in ABA training for twenty to forty hours a week. This therapy aids in developing copious skill sets while reducing the likelihood of the person’s engagement in problematic behaviors. Overall, the therapy reveals which skills the person has and which ones it can improve on, such as social and communication skills.