Reflection paper of the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape Essay

Reflection paper of the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape - Essay Example Arnie is not your average boy; he is mentally challenged and was not expected to live to see his tenth birthday, let alone his eighteenth, which he surpasses in the film. Arnie is associated with many heights in the film as he is regularly seen dangling from the roof, climbing trees, and of course, his ritual of scaling the water tower. Although Arnie loves the heights, he can not seem to conquer the depths, as he will simply not venture to the basement of the house. â€Å"I don’t want to go down there, Gilbert; Dad’s down there,† thus voicing the repressed fear that no one in the family will, or can put into words. Arnie’s water tower escapades are a source of great aggravation to the police, yet are greeted by the locals with an understanding of occasion and courteous applause when his feet are firmly planted back on the ground. Arnie obtains a fear of water when Gilbert abandons him in the bathtub for the night, and does not over come his apprehension until he flees to Becky after a fight he had with Gilbert. The portrayal of Arnie and his disability in the film is somewhat placid. Although to the viewer he may seem somewhat comically over acted with his gestures, the town’s people appear to accept him into their town as one of them – thus incorporating a sense of understanding of the concept of disability in the film. Due to the environment of Arnie’s residence with his family, this can be seen to affect him in many ways. Firstly, he does in fact appear to have strong underlying relationships with each of the characters in the film.