Relationships

One of the primary themes that runs throughout the novel is relationships. The novel reveals that even the individuals that make up a family have different relationships among the family members. For example, Gilbert and Amy work well together as a team in taking care of Arnie, Ellen and Momma. Janice and Larry, on the other hand, are rather detached from the family and only send money and showing up once or twice a year to visit.

There is a reference to the cliché that there is a fine line between love and hate when you evaluate the relationship between Gilbert and the relationships he has with his own family and other residents of the town. In reality, Gilbert holds a lot of contempt inside of him for each of his relatives. He feels as if he has sacrificed the most in his life in order to stay...