Although the book Of Mice and Men and the movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" have two different plots, the themes are very similar. The theme of both stories portrays the struggle of a relationship between a caregiver and a disabled individual whom is receiving the care. In addition to the struggling relationship experienced by a caregiver and a disabled individual, the theme of both stories expresses the struggle of life in general. In both stories, the struggle of life can be seen through several aspects. Both George and Gilbert experience adverse psychosocial effects because of the disabled person they are caring for.

One of the major, and possibly the most apparent, psychosocial effects Gilbert and George experienced was a lack of social freedom. Caring for another human being is a full time job which leaves little time to "play". Unlike Arnie, who is always looking for something or someone to play with, Gilbert is tied down by the responsibilities that accompany caring for his fatherless family. Gilbert cannot spend time with his friends when he expected to play the role of the father as well as Arnie's full-time caregiver. With the tasks that accompany th

Gilbert is also faced with the brutal truth of never being able to improve his social status because he too, has to bring Arnie with him to his place of employment. Due to the town's small size and close-knit relationships, Gilbert's boss allows him to bring Arnie to work. If Gilbert were to live in a larger town where he had a more sophisticated job, he would be unable to give Arnie the attention he requires. This means Gilbert would have to pay an outside source to care for Arnie, which in turn, would take away the extra money he is making. The possibility of Gilbert getting a more sophisticated job is fairly slim since Gilbert does not have any of the spare time or money needed to attend college, nor does he have the opportunity to explore his own interests or abilities.

Gilbert is also at risk for experiencing complicated grief, but unlike before, it is another disabled person that puts him in this position. Gilbert cares for two disabled people, his mother who is morbidly obese and his mentally disabled brother, Arnie. This time Gilbert's mother represents the disabled person instead Arnie. Towards the end of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, the disabled person, Gilbert's mother, also dies. The chance Gilbert's siblings will experience complicated grief is possible as well because Gilbert may have supported her financially, but they all had to help care for her. The risk of experiencing complicated grief would be even greater because the caretakers were directly related to the disabled person and their relationship with the person spanned throughout their entire lifetime. The way in which Gilbert's mother died is also traumatizing to the caretakers, as it was when George was forced to shoot Lennie. Gilbert's mother collapsed on a bed to rest after climbing a flight of stairs. During the time she was believed to be resting, her heart failed and she died. Her location was not ideal considering her weight, and the police informed Gilbert that it would take a crane to get her out. Gilbert was furious because he did not want his mother to be a joke to the town anymore and subconsciously they all did not want to experience the embarrassment. As a last resort, they b

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Approximate Word count = 1468
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)