Internal Conflict In Forrest Gump

Superior Essays
Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) emphasizes the importance of morals and love, while exhibiting historical context. One of the major themes is finding one’s destiny. Forrest (Tom Hanks) is venturing to find his destiny, but also influenced by other people’s destinies (Zemeckis, 1994). Forrest’s most compelling action is his ability to tell Jenny’s (Robin Wright) story, which adds to his characterization. He is compelling by internal and external conflicts. Since the film was narrated, the structure was mostly linear. Symbolism is evident through events and certain characters. While focusing on characters and ideas, Forrest Gump establishes a compelling story with an abundance of motifs. While waiting at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia, Forrest …show more content…
His biggest internal conflict is his longing for Jenny. In the middle of the film, his life shows a great deal of success, but all he thinks about is Jenny (Zemeckis, 1994). Though his story relies mostly on Jenny, it is an internal conflict because he doesn’t know how to find her. We are aware of this conflict because of Forrest’s narration occurring during his successes, especially with the shrimping business. He always says that he misses Jenny, and is extremely happy when reunited with her (Zemeckis, 1994). Internal conflicts center on an interior, psychological conflict within the central character (Boggs & Petrie, 59). Forrest’s external conflicts slightly fluctuate throughout the film. In the beginning, his legs make him the subject of the school bullies. This is resolved when Jenny tells him to run away, and Forrest discovers he has a gift for running. He is then receives a college scholarship (Zemeckis, 1994). There are also three major deaths in the film: Bubba, Mama, and Jenny. All of then sadden Forrest, but he finds a way to resolve them. He keeps his promise of fulfilling Bubba’s shrimping dream, which becomes lucrative. Once Forrest’s mom dies, he leaves the shrimping company to Lieutenant Dan and is able to show his kindness by donating money to the church, a hospital, and Bubba’s family. After Jenny dies, Forrest cares after Forrest Jr. (Haley Joel Osment). He did this because he loves Jenny (Zemeckis, …show more content…
The strangers he is telling the story to also change to execute longevity. They are not the same people listening in the beginning as they were in the end (Zemeckis, 1994). According to Boggs and Petrie, the voice-overs provide clear, verbal essence in this film. Forrest, as a character, will often repeat what Forrest, as a narrator, just said to highlight his slowness (278). The stylistic aspect of the story structure is how it is done being told once Forrest runs to Jenny’s apartment instead of waiting for the bus. His story lasted up until that point (Zemeckis, 1994). It doesn’t occur to most viewers that Forrest is waiting for a bus to go see Jenny (Travers, 15 November 2015). The cinematography is straightforward. The visuals are enhanced with truthful historical footage. The videos of Elvis, the Moon Landing and the Presidents being shot show precision. Though the celebrities (the Presidents, John Lennon) were added in post-production, their presence adds accuracy to the story and time periods (IMDb.com, 15 November

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