The popular children's book The Giving Tree tells the story of a tree who loves a boy so completely and selflessly that he is willing to give it all up that he has for him. Gilbert Grape is a realistic version of just that: a young man who resentfully abandons his own dreams to support those of the people around him; in powerful ways, the traits of strength, compassion, and sacrifice are seen in the novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges. Gilbert is a kind of twisted Giving Tree who is ultimately willing to sacrifice his own happiness to support his dysfunctional, bordering on insanity family. Instead of moving from the small town of Endora and building a life, he stays to support his family, which is on the verge of falling apart. Everyone around him wants something from him: his mother wants food and cigarettes, his mentally disabled brother wants him to stay forever, and his older sister Amy wants him to keep the house, literally. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Gilbert must not only keep his family from figuratively collapsing, he must find a way to keep the house from collapsing under the weight of his massive mother. His entire family depends on him and a part of him hates her for it. This is evident when Gilbert sits in his living room and thinks to himself, “I see the sagging floor, the withering house… the mold on my clothes, and I know I want to erase this place, erase these people” (Hedges 109) . Gilbert is disappearing into thin air and for this he resents everyone around him. This resentment also stems from his fear of leaving. His roots are rooted in Endora, and his past, present, and near future are all trapped there as well. Despite this, Gilbert realizes that there is no more life for him in his hometown and constantly dreams of escape. And while he resents his family for forcing him to stay, he also likes being needed and respected. He fears that if he leaves he will lose his family, not only in the sense that it may fall apart, but also that his family will resent him forever. His desire to be needed is seen when he reveals why he helped some friends: "Suddenly, I'm the best guy, and I walk away, secure in their esteem" (218). His fear of leaving is also partly due to having witnessed firsthand his family's reaction when his father hanged himself. Perhaps one of Gilbert's greatest fears is becoming his father, a man so overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a father figure that he has abandoned his family altogether. Despite his brutal honesty and cynical nature, we see that Gilbert is truly a good person. But the years of putting his family before his own happiness have left him bitter and he wants nothing more than to leave. However, there is a small problem: the well-being of the entire family depends on his permanence. Without Gilbert, his brother might not make it to eighteen, his mother might fall to the ground, and his family might just fall apart; every selfless action he takes drains him, until he is basically a shell of a human being, a man who can no longer feel emotions or form relationships with anyone. This is evident when Becky tells him, “You're out of touch, out of sync. You don't like yourself. You don't even see yourself” (254). Gilbert has actually given himself up completely for his family and is on the verge of meeting the same end as the Giving Tree. Yet what keeps him from completely losing his will is the same thing that caused him so much,.