Character Of Forrest Gump example essay topic

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you " re gonna get". Forrest Gump is the portrayal of a man that has been alienated from society, not because he is unintelligent or dimwitted, but rather because he is not restricted by the conventional ideals which are embedded within his culture; thus, challenging the and principals that most people are accustomed to. The contrast that Robert Zemeckis, director of the film, is attempting to convey through the character of Forrest Gump is how most people are too smart for there own good; and thus, try to escape the realities and actualities of life. While other characters in the story are suppressed by society's conflicts, Forrest remains blinded to all; hence, he is able to live in the moment, rather then evading what is real. Forrest's unique selflessness and compelled nature to do what is right, as opposed to what is easy, are what our society incorrectly labels stupidity or futility.

Zemeckis is obviously pointing out that an individual has no control over his or her own destiny and in order to live a noble life, must accept life as it is. I think it is very appropriate that Zemeckis begins his movie with the scene in which he does. Approaching Forrest's worn out and dirty shoes with a fluid camera shot of a feather floating on the breeze foregrounds the entire movie. It is an obvious symbol for Forrest and the way he just casually makes his way through the worst of times without being harmed.

The feather is many years old and has been through so much, yet it still remains clean and pure; exactly like Gump. Moreover, the coloring of the feather is very significant. It is white with black marks, giving off a inkling that there might be a union of bad experiences with innocence. Zemeckis challenges the viewer to examine why Gump is able to remain so pure, and at the same time surpassing the restrictions of society and its controversies. Gump is able, throughout his entire life to remain as we all are as children. To Gump, it doesn't make sense to break a promise, or give only ninety percent.

Such an irony is carried throughout the entire film. Gump, thought by most to be incapable of succeeding, does great things, and moreover; he helps those who would, in our society, be thought more likely to be helping him. The viewers, through Gump's misunderstandings of life, are able to get a glimpse at an entirely different way of viewing life. The movie reintroduces two ideas that have been lost among society, optimism and altruism.

The film undeniably points out that those who are in need of help are the people who try to hard to control their own destiny. This film is the story of a man's journey through life and his innocent reflections on what living is all about. However entangled he became with the aspects of his life; he is able to survive through his simplicity. This innocence, which comes from a limited understanding of the world around him, gives Gump a uniquely positive perspective of life. Despite the overwhelming conflicts that existed during the time period in which Forrest lived, he continues to seek the best of all worlds in the worst of all possible times. Some might argue that this movie was merely a mocking of the past with no true sentiments.

However incorrectly this movie did portray the past, it did not do so without some bigger purpose. The film is evidently connected to society's tremendous national yearning for innocence. Moreover, the movie criticizes society for their inability to deal with complicated issues individually, especially when it sheds an unflattering truth. This is strongly conveyed in one specific scene in which Forrest is standing on a podium in Washington D.C., just coming back from the Vietnam War, and addresses the thousands of people in the audience.

Interestingly, he gives an entire speech and no one hears any of it, yet they all applaud. While the entire audience is celebrating for no reason, it is Forest, the so called moron, who is actually making a good point; yet no one can hear him. It is evident that Zemeckis is making a point that people are ignoring the truth and not listening to what is going on. Society is more pleased living under the suppressions and misrepresentations of our culture, as opposed to coping with the truth and what comes along with it. Forest Gump is a person that many would label a contemporary holy fool which means that he possesses an extreme innocence that enables him to do great things. His mental in capabilities have their obvious disadvantages, but what is more worthy of discussion are the, not so obvious, advantages.

His idealistic and optimistic view of the world and his innocence blind him to the evil in people, and consequently; he is able to find the best in each person he encounters. Robert Zemeckis directed the film in such a way to emphasize the notion that simple is better which ties with his main theme of destiny. Zemeckis also implies, through large contradictions in Gump's personality, that Gump's character is an impossibility in real life. Gump is able to surmount all of society's restrictions. Even when he was a little boy people were trying to straighten him out with leg braces, but sure enough, he broke out of those. This pivotal moment in the movie marks the beginning of an absolutely great and optimistic lifestyle.

However, Gump is not completely void of restrictions. He respects authority because of his mother, whom he adored and loved very much. A little later in his life, Gump joined the army and does very well. He does well, not because he is stronger or brighter, but because he listens and does what he is told, which most people today struggle with. One example is when Gump's drill sergeant asked Gump why he put the gun together so fast and he replies that it was because he was told to.

No regular person would give such a simple answer but his innocence to the corruption that everyone else lives by enables him to do so. This is just one of those contradictions that Zemeckis used to emphasize the greatness, yet unattainable, traits that Gump possesses. I believe that Zemeckis is is trying to point out that in an ideal society it would be possible to possess characteristics, such as Gump's ability to surmount restriction and also listen to authority, together The main motif of the movie can be viewed in the extreme irony that Zemeckis adds to the film. The idea is that Gump, although physically and mentally challenged, is able to help the so called normal people of the world. Gump saves the lives of many soldiers in the Vietnam War and he both physically and spiritually helps Jenny and Lieutenant Dan.

The question that must be posed is why the director is letting Gump have the capability of saving these people. The answer is that he wants the audience to understand the idea of the lost innocence in the world and that when one can get it he can do great things such as running all those miles across country, joining the army and becoming a war hero. In addition, he starts the Bubba Gump Shrimp Corporation and is an excellent father. How often in life does someone choose to do the right thing when it is not the easiest thing?

Because Gump is not smart enough to grasp the idea of doing the wrong thing, he is very successful. Throughout the picture, Forrest is surrounded by people who are striving for personal dreams and ambitions, trying to find something bigger than them to give meaning to their lives. A military lieutenant wants to follow his family line of dead war heroes by dying in the war himself, fellow soldier dreams of starting a shrimp business after the war; and Jenny dreams of being famous and touching people's lives. Not so coincidentally, all are incapable of finding their dreams and end in despair of the meaninglessness of it all. Meanwhile, our simple hero has no concept of anything bigger than his life.

He achieves the so-called successes that everyone else strives for and cannot attain but doesn't even recognize his accomplishments and doesn't even care. I believe that this makes him a noble character and one that the director feels all of the audience should, at some level attain to be. Gump is also unique in that he doesn't strive to be someone he is not. He accepts his life as it comes to him. Not many people can live in the here and now, without worrying about the future; however Gump is able to, unlike Jenny and Dan, who wish to be someone else and escape to someplace else. A great example of this in the movie is Gump's cross country run.

Not one person can understand that he had no specific reason to do it. People however, tried to follow him but each and everyone came to realize that it wasn't for them. The director was probably trying to point out that not everyone should be trying to do the same things. They should be unique and work towards their own individual goals.

The most entertaining part of the movie is probably the most influential to the viewers in getting across the main theme. There is comic relief in the constant coincidences that arise with Gump. He meets the president and shows him his butt. He tells another president he has to pee. But these things are not just for comic relief. They add an idea that you don't have to be a star or a dead war hero to have an influence on society.

This movie captivates an idea that doesn't really exist. Gump, however admirable and funny, is an impossible character. He possesses the ultimate innocence in which story mirrors that of Adam and Eve; except in this story Gump never eats the apple and lives free of evil. He represents both the ideal character and an ideal world.

Gump is a man that was dumb enough to be smart, thus he didn't understand the little ins and outs of our culture. He never took advantage of a person or their situation. Lastly, he always put others before himself. He was able to get around the barriers of society and do great things on his own.

This is sharply contrasted with Gump's girlfriend Jenny whose advice, to him, was to run as fast as he could from his problems. Gump, not knowing better, takes her advice and starts a run across country. The entire run is symbolic of how our society is more likely to escape its problems then to deal with them. It is at the end of this run that he comes to his greatest realization; that running away only gets you to another place to run from. To me, this is the most meaningful lesson taught by the movie.

Attempting to evade your problems will most probably lead to the same, if not greater conflicts. Some might argue that the run was symbolic of freedom and inspiration but if that is the case I don't disagree. However, it is obvious that as much as all those people were running towards something, they were running away from something even more. Jenny too comes to this actualization, but only after she had suffered the consequences. It wasn't until she was close to death from H.I.V. that she realized the truth. The truth was that Forrest wasn't so stupid, in fact he was smarter then everyone else.

There is one scene that truly conveys Jenny's new found respect for Forrest's way of living. When Forrest first meets his son, he hopes that he didn't get his genes and is relieved to know that his son is one of the brightest in his class. However Jenny's reply to Forrest was that he is more like him then he would ever really know and that is why it is so perfect that their son have the name Forrest Gump. Lieutenant Dan also comes to this same conclusion. He learns, after not dying which he wished to do in war, that he must accept life for what it is, whether it is a storm or living with no legs.

Eventually, he learns to have a good life and, ironically, meets a Vietnamese woman that he loves and will marry. There is one quote from the movie that sums up this entire theme, "stupid is as stupid does". Only after examining the actions an individual have taken through out their lives can someone judge that person as being stupid or not. The character of Forrest Gump portrays this very idea.

The best part about the movie is the way in which Zemeckis' themes are conveyed. He is able to reveal the underlying motifs through comedy and laughter. I think that this adds to the emotional connection that the audience builds with Gump as a character. When the movie finally ends, the viewer appreciates Forrest Gump for who he is, despite knowing that he is an extremely fictional character. The last scene is of the experienced feather, once again, floating around in the breeze. The movie ends with a feeling of continuity.

The innocent feather continues to float and so will that lost innocence. Even though Forrest Gump appears as such a simpleton, he is very complex. He had a way of looking at people, incidents, history, animals, and nature in ways that no one had ever quite seen the world before. The movie is so influential because Forrest is a little of everyone, or at least a little of what everyone wishes they can be.

What I took away from this movie, as does most of the audience, is that life is a mystery that, until revealed in its entirety, doesn't make much sense. However, it is not something to be scared from or run from, but rather something to be interested in and to be accepted. The audience accepts Gump as a character, but more importantly, they accept his way of life, just like Lieutenant Dan and Jenny did. Robert Zemeckis is well known for his concoctions of pop culture references, period nostalgia, comedy, and romance that captured the hearts of the film going public. He, in ways that not many others can do, is able to convey his ideas about life in a humorous manner that lets the audience accept it. That is why the movie was so successful and why it was the recipient of such high awards..