Forrest Gump Essay

A Millionaire Forrest Gump is a successful, mentally slow man in the film Forrest Gump. Despite many people’s opinions of him, Forrest is more prosperous than most. He is a football star, a medal-honored veteran, a successful businessman, and a father. Facing prejudice, he has his mother, his lover, and his best friend who treat him well and encourage him. Despite all of Forrest’s challenges, he lives a fulfilling life with those around him. Despite Forrest’s mental retardation, his speech is not severely affected by it. Forrest speaks with pauses, and he has to think before he speaks, otherwise, his speech is barely impaired. He has difficulties with pragmatics discussed in Dr. Gabel’s lecture. By adulthood, pragmatics should be developed to understand meaning behind words. The people around Forrest have to explain or change their words for him to comprehend what they mean. Forrest says “Mama always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them” such as the quote “My mama always …show more content…
Many people relieve stress by exercising, but Forrest runs until he cannot and he is no longer strongly emotional. Jenny runs from her problems, but Forrest runs because that is the only way he knows how to handle his problems. When Jenny leaves Forrest, he starts to run and does not stop for over three years. Although in most situations this is not a healthy, effective way of dealing with problems, it works well for Forrest. He continues to care for his physical needs on his three-year run. Forrest just runs because that is how he deals with his problems. He does not emotionally shut down when he runs as seen when interacting with the bumper-sticker man and t-shirt designer. Forrest may be one of the only people with his situation that can handle his emotions and problems this way. Running for three years is not an efficient way to cope, but in the time period the movie is set in, it is the best way for