Starting this ‘Monologues” series with the monologue of Gilbert Grape in the opening of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).
My brother Arnie’s about to turn 18.
My family’s planning a big party for him.
Watching a campers is our yearly ritual.
you’re doing the right thing just passing through.
Endora.
Endora’s where we are.
Describing Endora is like dancing to no music.
It’s a town where nothing much happens…
And nothing much ever will.
Lamson’s Grocery is where I work.
And miles out of town on the interstate,
there’s Foodland…
where everyone else shops.
This is where I live with my family.
My dad built The house…
and it’s my job to keep up repairs.
Doctor said we’d be lucky if Arnie lived to be ten.
well, ten came and went.
now the doctors are saying…
ANY TIME NOW
Arnie can go at any time.
Some days you want him to live…
some days you don’t.
My older sister Amy’s more like a mother.
She used to manage the elementary school cafeteria over in Motley…
until it burned down last year.
My other sister, Ellen, just turned 15.
She’s got her braces off,
and for days now she’s been walking around going, “Ooh. Aahh”.
Like she can’t believe the feel of teeth.
I got another brother, Larry, but he got away.
And then there’s Mama, who in her days…
was the prettiest girl in these parts.
ever since our dad hung out to dry 17 years ago…
Mama’s had her hands full.
You see, with mama there’s no nice way to break it to you.
She hasn’t left the house in over seven years.
I’m Gilbert.
Gilbert Grape.
⚫OBSERVATIONS:
Monologues have poetic forms. We can see stanzas in monologues as they have in poetry. In the first stanza of four lines while Gilbert talks about his brother Arnie, After the first two lines of the stanza, situational dialogues like "Arnie. come on" overlap the lines from his monologue. Then later after the last two lines creators intentionally takes a pause and feed the dialogues from the current situation. Like this –
GILBERT God, Arnie. You're getting so big. Pretty soon... I ain't gonna be able to carry you no more. ARNIE No. You know, you're getting littler, gilbert. GILBERT Yeah. ARNIE You're getting littler. You're shrinking. You're shriknking Gilbert. You're shrinking. Shrinking, shrinking, shrinking! ⦿
After that, before starting the second stanza we hear the noise of the bonnet and heated engine of the camper car. Then the second stanza about Endora started.
The same pattern repeats in the fifth stanza. Arnie’s spontaneous voice while playing is used thematically like Gilbert’s "Arnie, come on" in the first one.
Later, the pattern continues… In between the fifth and sixth stanzas, same as we see before the start of the second one, the creator cautiously adds the talking in between Arnie and Gilbert. Like this-
[Arnie crying after he killed insect in the yard] GILBERT What is it, buddy? ARNIE I killed him. I killed him, Gilbert. I killed him. GILBERT I know, buddy. I know. ⦿
Before the sixth stanza, we hear the sound of a frying omelette and a heated pan and fire from the kitchen. Same as we have previously heard before the second stanza, the sound of the heated engine and bonnet of the camper car. There are also similarities and patterning in Arnie and Gilbert’s dialogues.
Poets use rhyming words to create a symphony in poetry. We see here matching sound examples in both situations, the sound of the heated car engine and the heat from the kitchen, then the car’s bonnet and the frying pan. Uses of these sounds as auditorial rhyme.
All of these choices were deliberately made by the director to enhance the juxtaposition. And Johnny Depp’s soothing voice gives a different kind of aesthetic to the entire scene. As a result of this, we see this expression.
⦿
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