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Christian Small
Kendall Parris
ENC 1101
21 July 2014
Forrest Gump: Living the Good Life
Forrest Gump is a classic American film that has captivated millions of its
viewers over the course of two decades. It has the ability to portray messages of
love, hope, and forgiveness through both comedic relief and gripping emotion. Yet
through the long and eventful plot of the motion picture, its message by at large is
one of great brevity. In Forrest Gump, Forrests constant positive attitude, innocence,
and lack of desire for wealth depicts the idea that quality of life is truly determined
by ones attitude and mental outlook.
The films protagonist and most enthralling character, Forrest Gump, is
portrayed by Tom Hanks as a man of great value, despite his extremely low IQ and
inability to comprehend a higher meaning of life. Born into a world entrenched in
racism and hardship in Alabama in the 50s, Forrest defies all odds, going from a
child with no hope to a man who gave the world just that. His lack of intelligence is
made up for through his friendly disposition and constant desire for happiness.
Despite the adversity that he faces on a daily basis, Forrest is able to lead an
extremely profound and brilliant life, even through the ups and downs that trouble
him over the course of the film. There is something magical to his character that
embodies the way we as human beings should live out our lives.
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Forrest, for one, has the ability to carry a positive attitude no matter where
his life takes him throughout the entirety of the film. He is a well-mannered,
friendly, and optimistic man who ceases to let a negative event affect his path in life.
Through his narration, Forrest continuously informs the audience, Life is like a box
of chocolates. You never know what youre gonna get (Zemeckis, 1994). This
attitude allows him to keep an open mind and allows him to live out both a
successful and fulfilling life by not getting down when times get tough.
Throughout the course of the movie, Forrest comes face to face with death
and its crippling abilities. He experiences the death of his friend, Bubba, amongst
others while serving in the military. He loses his mother when he least expects it, to
cancer. And as if it couldnt get any worse, Forrest loses his best friend since his
childhood, and the love of his life his wife, Jenny to AIDS, just as his life as a
father was beginning.
Each time Forrest loses a loved one, he moves on with his head held high like
the strong man he is. Forrest doesnt let stress from these situations negatively
affect him. He always maintains a positive attitude, which allows him to live the
good quality life that so many people desire. According to research at the University
of Michigan, the impact of life events such as death of a loved one can cause stress,
and these damaging life events are considered chronic stressors (Abbey &
Andrews 3). Additionally, it has been determined that stress as a whole would
relate negatively to life quality (4).
There is never a time where Forrest expresses any signs of stress following a
death within the film. Sure, he shows sadness and remorse following the losses of
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three of the most prominent people in his life. Through all, however, Forrest is able
to maintain his well being through the most difficult periods of his existence. He
does so by keeping an open mind about what life has to offer him in the future. This
relates to his ideology about how life is a box of chocolates. Because he doesnt
know whats going to get, he remains optimistic and hopes for the best. Thus,
Forrest is able to carry out an exceptionally fruitful and gratifying life despite tragic
events like the loss of a loved one.
Forrest also experiences hardship through combat he partakes in while in
the military. During an ambush on his company while in Vietnam, Forrest is forced
into a dangerous situation where he has to take action in order to avoid his own
death. Forrest stays calm and tries to keep a positive mindset amidst hell. Against all
odds, he is able to save himself as well as four others in his platoon, one of them
being his Lieutenant, Lieutenant Dan Taylor.
Forrest saves Lieutenant Dan, despite his order to leave him there to die with
his other men. After the five of the men including Forrest are rescued, Lieutenant
is so severely wounded that he is forced to have both of his legs amputated. It seems
as though he will forever be infuriated with Forrest because he went against his
direct orders and carried him out of the woods where he was supposed to die with
his company. He is initially shown as an extremely depressed man, one who is
lacking a connection with God, when Forrest reconnects with him once again in New
York City. As the movie goes on, however, Lieutenant learns to forgive Forrest and
becomes thankful for the life that he has, instead of being ungrateful for what he
doesnt. The two go on to become excellent friends, as Lieutenant Dan eventually
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becomes his partner in their shrimping business and attends Forrests wedding at
the end of the movie.
Because of Forrest, Lieutenant Dan is able to find a new spiritual meaning to
his life. Forrests act of bravery and his optimistic mindset in a time when hes faced
with death allows himself to find someone who he can rely on as his friend. From
their positive relationship with one another, it is determined that Forrests quality
of life thus improved having Lieutenant Dan alive and as an active part of his life.
Lieutenant Dans additional progressive impact on Forrest will be further discussed
later within the essay.
Despite his ability to develop good relationships with others, an adult with an
IQ of 75, Forrest is a very innocent man. Certain concepts in life just dont ever
register with him because simply, he cant comprehend them. As described in an
essay by Wally Bowen, Gump is incapable of critically assessing the world outside
himself and acting on that critique (Bowen). He isnt able to understand what to do
when somebody acts aggressively towards him. He doesnt understand the idea of
sports, like football, and he doesnt understand the significance of prestigious
occasions he encounters that are potentially once in a lifetime chances. In Forrests
case, his inability to comprehend these ideas grants him opportunities to pursue
new paths, while ultimately fueling a portion of his success in life.
In an early scene in the film as a child, bullies torment and abuse Forrest
because of leg braces that he had on to help correct his crooked spine. The bullies
throw rocks at Forrest, and call him names. Forrest doesnt react or retaliate against
the kids, because he doesnt really understand what to do or why theyre doing this
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to him. Jenny, who was with Forrest at the time, tells him to run away. Willingly, he
tries to run away from the kids, but his leg braces restrict him from getting
anywhere. Forrest eventually breaks through his braces and begins to run. He is
able to sprint away from the bullies, while in the process learning of his God-given
talent of running.
Forrests innocence plays a significant role in his discovery of running. His
sheer inexperience in the world and inability to comprehend danger leads him to
listen to the orders of his best friend. Because of this, Forrest learns of his most
exceptional ability. Running makes Forrests life more enjoyable. He seeks out
running as a way of peace and as a way of escaping from his complicated world.
Running also leads to other rich opportunities and life-changing events that Forrest
wouldnt have experienced had he not discovered his talent.
Forrest inadvertently exposes his running ability to local football coaches at
his high school, and they are all immediately blown away by his speed. He goes on to
excel as a kick returner in high school, and eventually earns an athletic scholarship
to the University of Alabama, where he once again shines on the field (Zemeckis,
1994). The thing is, Forrest doesnt really understand what hes doing when hes
playing football. As a matter of fact, he doesnt comprehend the game of football at
all. His teammates always give him the ball, and just tell him to run. Unknowingly, he
always does. Regardless of his lack of knowledge about football, Forrest is named an
All-American, declaring him the top player at his position for all of college football.
Forrests success comes in part to the fact that he doesnt get what hes doing
right. Had Forrest not run through the middle of a high school football practice and
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impressed the coaches, Forrest wouldnt have been given the opportunity to play
football. Had he actually understood the concept of football, thus relying on his own
instincts instead of complying to the orders from teammates during the games,
theres a solid chance that he may not have been as successful at the sport.
Because he was named an All-American, Forrest is able to make a visit to The
White House, to meet President John F. Kennedy. While he is there, Forrest doesnt
quite understand the novelty of the experience. He takes the trip for granted, for the
most part. However, Forrest is very enthralled with the idea that he can drink as
much Dr. Pepper as he desires. He misses the very point about his trip, saying that
the best thing about visiting the President is the food, and that even though he
wasnt hungry, he was very thirsty (Zemeckis). Forrest figures that because of this,
he mustve had himself fifteen Dr. Peppers (Zemeckis). While he might not fully
grasp the significance of a visit to the White House to meet the President of the
United States, Forrest does enjoy his time there.
Forrests philosophy, whether he means it to be his or not, revolves around
doing what makes you happy. In the situation with his visit to meet the President, he
cares most about the Dr. Peppers, because its to his bewilderment that he can drink
as many as he wants. This delights Forrest. Being the happy-go-lucky character that
he is, he is able to experience the White House in a manner that only he could.
At one point in the film, after Jenny leaves Forrest the day after their affair,
he decides to go for a run to get his mind off things. He takes off, and eventually
Forrest starts running intercontinentally. He reaches the coast of Santa Monica,
California, turns around, and reaches the shores of what is presumed to be Maine.
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This coast-to-coast adventure that Forrest embarks on begins to generate nation-
wide attention. People begin to seek out some sort of higher meaning as to why
Forrest is running in the first place. Forrest simply informs them that it was for no
reason at all, saying, I just felt like running (Zemeckis).
Forrests three-year running quest grabbed national attention, but for merely
no reason at all. Forrests innocent self just felt like running, because its something
that made him happy. Reverting back to his philosophy, running made Forrest
happy, and it improved his quality of life as a result.
Forrest Gumps relationship with his friend, Bubba, involved a promise to
start a shrimping business together. The two of them agreed that after their tenure
in Vietnam with the military, they would purchase a shrimp boat and become
shrimpers. Bubbas death couldve changed Forrests mind about the shrimping
business, and to the average person that promise would no longer have to be
fulfilled. But even after Bubbas passing, Forrest wanted to honor that promise to his
best friend.
The thing is, Forrest had no idea as to what the shrimping industry involved.
He didnt comprehend the amount of risk buying a shrimp boat could be, what his
competition in terms of shrimp markets were, etcetera. Forrest innocently and
blindly enters the shrimping industry out of honor for his friend. He imagines the
whole concept of shrimping would be enjoyable, and figures since it will make both
he and Bubba happy, he should buy the shrimp boat.
Forrest lives life how he wants, and he doesnt let money get in the way of it.
He doesnt have much desire for wealth and what it has to offer, and he never lets it
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control him or move him off his path in any way. When Forrest inherits money, or
has the opportunity to do so, he is always content. Never is he overjoyed by the idea
of being wealthy or by the value of money itself. He uses money as a way to survive,
not to live. It is because of Forrests perspective on wealth and his personal values
that allow him to lead such a successful life.
During his time in the military, Forrest learns to play ping-pong. He excels at
the sport, and is even sent overseas to China to play a friendly match in an attempt
to ease tensions between the Chinese and Americans. His marketability with sport
skyrockets, and as a result, he is presented with an endorsement deal of $25
thousand should he use a different ping-pong paddle when he plays.
Forrests mother tells him about the deal, and that the money would be very
useful to them. However, Forrest is hesitant to accept the money because he loves
using his paddle, and because he believes it works just fine. He reluctantly gives in
to the endorsement deal, only because he wanted to see his mother happy.
Here, we are shown the idea that money isnt everything to Forrest. The
money is not a factor to him in this situation, and in a perfect world, Forrest
probably wouldnt have accepted it had his mother not persuaded him. Ideally, hed
like to play with his own paddle and completely disregard the new paddle the
company wanted him to play with. However, because he knew how much it would
mean to his mother, he gives in. Forrest never lets money factor into his life
decisions, and in return it allows him to live as a much happier and successful man.
From a portion of the money that he inherited from the endorsement deal,
Forrest, along with Lieutenant Dan, invests in a shrimp boat as part of his plan to
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honor their friend Bubba. Initially, the profit from the boat is minimal, but Forrest
doesnt really mind. After a storm wipes out the rest of the shrimp boats in the area,
Forrest and Lieutenant Dan make an enormous amount of money because they are
the only shrimp boat remaining in their particular location.
With some of the shrimp money, Lieutenant Dan invests into what Forrest
calls a fruit company, which actually winds up being the highly touted and
extremely successful company of Apple Computer. Forrest makes it rich, and is set
for the rest of his life. In respect to the whole situation, however, Forrest is merely
satisfied with the news. After the call from Lieutenant Dan about the investment,
Forrest says, Thats good. One less thing (Zemeckis). At the time, Forrest had
stopped working on the shrimp boat with Lieutenant Dan, and instead he was
cutting grass for the town of Greenbow, Alabama. Forrest decides that because he
was a gozillionaire and liked doing it so much, he cut that grass for free
(Zemeckis).
Forrest even took some of the money that hed inherited from the investment
and put it to use to help improve the lives of others, since it didnt mean much to
him. Forrest gave a whole bunch of it to the Foursquare Gospel Church andto the
Bayou La Batre Fishing Hospital (Zemeckis). As if this wasnt enough, Forrest went
on to give Bubbas mom the share that Bubba wouldve earned, even though
Lieutenant Dan told him he was nuts for doing so. Once again, were presented with
the idea that Forrest doesnt care for money, but more for what makes him happiest.
Forrest is pleased by giving the money away, and because of his generosity, hes able
to improve the lives of others in the process.
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Forrest Gump is an inspiration to society as to how we as human beings
should live our lives. His lack of intelligence is made up for through his perseverance
and loving persona, and his lack of desire for wealth presents the idea that money
isnt everything. Forrest is able to live out a prosperous life even through the most
difficult situations. The actions of Forrest Gump prove that both a good quality of life
and happiness [are] acquired through the process of accepting and experiencing
the challenges that life presents to oneself (Iverson 2). Forrest Gump overcomes
these challenges that are presented to him because of his ability to keep a positive
mindset through all that life throws at him. He truly is able to live the good life
despite being at a disadvantage to the rest of society from the get go.













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Works Cited
Antonia Abbey and Frank M. Andrews. Modeling The Psychological Determinants
Of Life Quality. University of Michigan Online Library. University of Michigan.
9 June 1984. Web. 20 July 2014.
Becca Iverson. The Exploration of Dialect to Show Ideals in Character. University
of Pennsylvania. 25 April 1997. Web. 20 July 2014.
Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. By Eric Roth. Perf. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright,
Gary Sinise, Sally Field, and Mykelti Williamson. Paramount Pictures, 1994.
DVD.
Wally Bowen. Essay: Forrest Gump. H-Net Discussion Networks. Michigan State
University, 22 Aug. 1994. Web. 20 July 2014.