by Peter Hedges

 Big idea theme: DEPRESSION  How does depression play a role in the novel?  In the novel, Gilbert Grape is often depressed because he feels confined by his family, small town, and the circumstances of his romantic life.  Create a THEME STATEMENT:  In the novel, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges, the theme that depression can be caused by the confines of a small town, the responsibilities of family, and the dysfunctional nature of a romantic relationship is explored.

 A symbol is an OBJECT that symbolizes/represents idea, emotion or concept  Lamson Grocery—What is good in the world (for Gilbert)/The underdog, the nice guy, tradition, care for customer

 Add to 47. In Literary terms booklet:  47. Dialogue. Characters speaking in a piece of writing. Indicated using quotation marks and paragraphing. Each new speaker gets a new paragraph.  Dialogue is extremely important to character development in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape  How each character relates to one another is communicated in how they speak to one another