Forrest Gump (novel)

Forrest Gump is a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. The title character retells adventures ranging from shrimp boating and ping pong championships, to thinking about his childhood love, as he bumbles his way through American history, with everything from the Vietnam War to college football becoming part of the story.

Gump is portrayed as viewing the world simply and truthfully. He does not know what he wants to do in life, but despite his low

The novel was adapted as a film of the same name and was released in 1994 by Paramount Pictures. Forrest was played by Tom Hanks and the movie won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and numerous other awards.

Plot

Forrest Gump, named after Confederate cavalry officer and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest, narrates the story of his life. The author uses misspellings and grammatical errors to indicate the character's Southern accent, education, and cognitive disabilities. While living in Mobile, Alabama, Forrest meets Jenny Curran in first grade and walks her home. They become the best of friends.

By the time Forrest is sixteen years old, he is 6' 6" (1.98 m), 242 pounds (110 kg), and plays high school football. Miss Henderson, with whom Forrest is infatuated, gives him reading lessons. He reads Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and two other books that he does not remember. While he enjoys the books, he does not do well on tests.

He gains popularity as a football player, making the All State team. When Forrest is called to the principal's office, he meets noted university coach Bear Bryant, who asks if he'd considered playing college football. After high school, Forrest takes a test at a local army recruitment center, and is told he is "Temporarily Deferred".

Forrest and Jenny meet again at the University of Alabama and play together in a folk music band at the student union, covering songs by such singers as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary. After one semester, Forrest flunks out of the university. He and his friend Bubba are drafted into the Army, but Bubba dies in the Vietnam War. Forrest is wounded and meets Lieutenant Dan, who has lost his legs, in the infirmary. Dan tells Forrest that he feels Forrest is destined for something great.

While recuperating, Forrest develops a talent for

Forrest and Sue eventually make it to Bubba's hometown, and with advice from Bubba's father, start a shrimping operation. This becomes so successful that he becomes a millionaire and manages to hire most of the people he'd previously encountered in his life to work for him. He is roped into running for the U.S. Senate, but is forced to drop out when the media uncovers his checkered past. Eventually, he and Sue move to Savannah, Georgia, where Forrest performs as a one-man band. He finds Dan again, and runs into Jenny, who has a son, whom she reveals to be Forrest's. Forrest decides not to be a presence in his son's life, as Jenny is now married. He, Sue, and Dan move to New Orleans.

Critical reception

In a 1986 book review by Kirkus Reviews, the anonymous reviewer described the book as a "stumbling, droopy-drawered attempt at a picaresque novel". The conclusion was "A heavy-handed, one-joke sort of novel which is, finally, a cheat".^[5] Publishers Weekly recognized the "on-target humor here", but said that the author "has written better books than this".^[6]

The novel initially sold an estimated 30,000 copies.^[3] After the 1994 film adaptation was released, starring Tom Hanks, the novel sold over a million copies.^[7]

Film adaptations

The novel was adapted as a

The screenplay differs from the book in some elements. It does not identify Forrest as a person with

In 2019 an Indian film, Laal Singh Chaddha, starring Aamir Khan, was announced as an adaptation of Forrest Gump. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic its release was delayed a few times, until 11 August 2022.^[8][9]

References

External links

• Forrest Gump at Open Library