Seven people on the chart and where each one comes from
The film follows Gilbert Grape, a grocery clerk in Endora, Iowa, who looks after his younger brother Arnie and the family house while his mother stays indoors. The table records what the two plot summaries listed under sources state about each person, and leaves feelings to the second chart.
| Person | Place on the chart | What the film states | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert Grape | Second son and the index person | Works at Lamson’s Grocery, repairs the house and looks after Arnie | Both |
| Arnie Grape | Younger brother, with a condition mark | Has an intellectual disability and turns eighteen. Gilbert says he was not expected to live past ten | Both, AFI for the age of ten |
| Bonnie Grape | Mother, crossed out, with a condition mark | Has not left the house in seven years, and dies the night after Arnie’s party | Both, Wikipedia for the seven years |
| Father | Father, crossed out | Died by suicide years before the story | Both, which differ on the year |
| Amy Grape | Older sister | Runs the house with Gilbert, and a year later manages a bakery in Des Moines | Both |
| Ellen Grape | Youngest child | Fifteen, and a year later plans to move to a bigger city | Both, AFI for her age |
| Larry Grape | Oldest brother, outside the household | Has moved away and never appears | Both |
Genogram Builder
Draw a family with its household and its care
Open a blank three generation sheet, rename each person for a character and add a household outline, with the key drawn for you.
- Opens without an account
- Household outlines and caretaker lines from the standard notation
- PNG and PDF export with a free account, with a watermark
The household outline shows who lives in the house in Endora
The five children hang from their parents’ marriage line from the oldest on the left to the youngest on the right. The sources call Larry the oldest brother and Amy an older sister without saying which was born first, so the order of those two is open. An X records each death, without a year, because the film gives none.
The dotted outline is a household, the people who share one home. It surrounds Bonnie and the four children who live with her and leaves out Larry, who has moved away. Bonnie’s obesity and Arnie’s disability fill the left half of their symbols, each in its own colour, as the film states them.
Caregiving is a reading, so it gets a chart of its own
A caretaker line runs from the person who gives care to the person who receives it, with the arrow at the receiver. The film never calls anyone a caretaker, so every such line is an interpretation resting on scenes. A second chart keeps that reading apart from the record of the family.
This reading draws four lines, from Gilbert and from Amy to Arnie and to Bonnie, because the AFI synopsis says that the two of them share the care of both. Ellen helps with the housework, which another reading might also draw.
Each caretaker line rests on scenes the film shows
A line is only as strong as the scenes behind it. The table pairs each line with what the film shows and with what the line leaves out.
| Line | What the film shows | What it leaves out |
|---|---|---|
| Gilbert to Arnie | Gilbert bathes Arnie, takes him on deliveries and talks him down from the water tower | That Arnie answers when Bonnie calls for him on her last night |
| Amy to Arnie | Amy plans the birthday party with Ellen and shares Arnie’s care with Gilbert | How much Ellen does |
| Gilbert to Bonnie | Gilbert repairs the house and has the floor under her propped up from the basement | That Bonnie still acts as a parent at the police station |
| Amy to Bonnie | Amy keeps the house with Gilbert, which Bonnie cannot do alone | Whether Bonnie asks for it |
The timeline runs from the father’s death to a year later
The film gives no calendar years, so its timeline is counted back from the week of the story. Where the two summaries disagree, the table gives both.
| When | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seventeen years before | The father dies by suicide in the AFI synopsis, and goes bankrupt in Wikipedia | The two differ |
| Fifteen years before | The father dies, two years after the bankruptcy | Wikipedia |
| Seven years before | Bonnie last leaves the house | Wikipedia |
| The week of the story | Becky is stranded in Endora, and Arnie is arrested on the water tower | Both |
| Arnie’s eighteenth birthday | Gilbert and Arnie make up, and Becky meets Bonnie | Both |
| The night after the party | Bonnie dies in her bedroom, and the children burn the house | Both |
| One year later | Amy works in Des Moines, and Gilbert and Arnie leave town with Becky | Both |
Classroom questions for reading the Grape family chart
The questions work with both charts on the screen. Ask about the structure first, and expect every answer about care to name a scene.
Reading the structure
- Who is the index person, and which mark shows it?
- Why is Larry outside the household outline, and what does his place say about the house?
Reading the care
- Which caretaker lines would you keep, and which scene supports each one?
- Who cares for Gilbert, and how would you draw it?
Reading the time
- How would you date the father’s death, given that the two summaries disagree?
- What has changed in the household one year later, and what has stayed the same?
Practise on a blank sheet with the people beyond the family
Extending the chart is a good first exercise. Redraw the Grape family on the blank three generation sheet, then work through the table.
| Task | What to draw | Where the film shows it |
|---|---|---|
| Add Becky | A dating line from Gilbert to Becky | A year later Gilbert and Arnie leave town with her |
| Add Betty and Ken Carver | A marriage line, an X for Ken and an affair line to Gilbert | Ken is found dead in his front yard, and Betty leaves town |
| Leave out Tucker and Bobby | Nothing on the genogram | They are Gilbert’s friends, so they belong on an ecomap |
Common questions
Why Gilbert is the index person
The film follows Gilbert. If your course asks you to centre Arnie or Bonnie, move the double outline and the structure stays the same.
Whether the chart follows the film or the novel
It follows the film only. If your course uses the 1991 novel, draw from the novel and note where the two differ.
Whether this genogram answers a class assignment
No. It draws the structure the film states and one reading of its caregiving. An assignment asks for your own reading, with the scenes that support it.
Sources and methodology
We make Genogram Builder. We used the references below for this guide. Last checked on 9 November 2026.
Draw the family you are studying on the blank sheet, then add the caregiving on a copy and name the scene behind each line. No account is needed to begin.
Open the blank three generation sheet