Gilbert Case
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Gilbert: a noble and loyal son, and brother. Hes the only one in the family with a job, and protects his family (especially Arnie). His only excitement in Endora is his relationship with the married woman, Betty; one of whom has 2 children. He needs to be the responsible one of the family, and is the sole caretaker of his mentally challenged brother. He puts up with a lot of things: home life, Arnie, his job, and his affair with Betty. Once he meets the traveller Becky, he has an insight to a better and more exciting life. Leaving his life now only causes Gilbert to rebel against his routine of solely looking after his family. On two occasions he leaves Arnie, and this scares Mumma (“wheres your head Gilbert?”). Gilbert may be compassionate and caring toward his family, but he is negative behind their backs. He calls his own mother a whale, and his town a hole (“their doing the right thing, just passing by”/ “Endora is like dancing with no music”). All this tension and stress in Gilberts life builds up and he snaps the night before Arnies 18th birthday.
Arnie: is Mummas “sunshine”, and because he is mentally challenged, he needs to be constantly watched. His fascination for freedom within the town of Endora is climbing the local water tower. However, each time he does this, he enforces the idea of the Grape family being the entertainment for the boring town. His relationship with Gilbert is special; because Gilbert is the only other male in the house (Father committed suicide in the basement).