plot question about Forrest Gump

[WeirdBrake]

I saw Forrest Gump on TV a few days ago (not for the first time). Great movie. But there's something I don't understand. Why didn't he live with Jenny after they got married? Why, for the first number of years, was he not with her when they obviously had a kid together and then taken by surprise when he "visited" her at her apartment when the kid's already 4 or 5? Did I miss some big plot device? Or does this not make sense? :confused:

[ce607]

I haven't seen the movie for a while, but I thought that the last time he actually saw Jenny was when the son was conceived, and then years went by before he could visit her and find out he was a father. Didn't they get married after he found out about the son? Or maybe I'm forgetting things ...

[wordsmith]

After Jenny got pregnant with little Forrest, she few the coop. She had been living at his mom's house with him, but they weren't married, and one day she left. Forrest didn't know she was pregnant. It wasn't until after he found her and little Forrest that they married.

It's one of my favorite movies.

[dengeist]

For some reason I remember them getting married after, when she was about to die from AIDS. Also, I had the feeling that wasn't his son, since he hadn't seen her in years. She just named him "Forrest" after him and passed him off because she knew he'd be taken care of.

Now I have to watch it again. Thanks WB!

[winneythepooh7]

I need to watch it again, too. Haven't seen it in awhile enough to remember everything.

[WeirdBrake]

After Jenny got pregnant with little Forrest, she few the coop. She had been living at his mom's house with him, but they weren't married, and one day she left. Forrest didn't know she was pregnant. It wasn't until after he found her and little Forrest that they married.

It's one of my favorite movies.

Ah, ok. Maybe I got the sequence mixed up. Of course, it still doesn't make sense that she would leave him after finding out she's pregnant rather than stay with him (though it is consistent with the troubled nature of her character).

Also, I had the feeling that wasn't his son

No, it was. She told Forrest that she had "named him after his father."

[yankeeyosh]

Also, I had the feeling that wasn't his son, since he hadn't seen her in years. She just named him "Forrest" after him and passed him off because she knew he'd be taken care of.


I think it was his son. Based on the movie, Forrest Jr. would have been concieved on July 4, 1976, so, he would have been born roughly April 77. The park bench scenes take place in 1981, and when he visits Jenny at the apartment in Savannah, the kid is about 4 (he actually looks a bit older). So that makes sense.

[wordsmith]

(though it is consistent with the troubled nature of her character).

I think that's they key...it was her nature to flee, she never felt she deserved anything good or true.

I think it was his son. Based on the movie, Forrest Jr. would have been concieved on July 4, 1976, so, he would have been born roughly April 77. The park bench scenes take place in 1981, and when he visits Jenny at the apartment in Savannah, the kid is about 4 (he actually looks a bit older). So that makes sense.

I think this is right, because in the final scene, when little Forrest is getting on the school bus, you get the sense it's his first time going to school, which would put him at having turned five.

[kimmer23]

No, it was. She told Forrest that she had "named him after his father."


i missed the part in the movie where she got a paternity test! :D :D :D

[wordsmith]

Forrest was Jenny's redemption. It makes literary/poetic sense that the baby's his.

[kimmer23]

Goodness! That's an amazingly cynical way of looking at it. Especially since I got the impression from the portrayal of Gump, Sr.'s character that he would have taken care of Jenny's kid anyway, just because Jenny was that important to him. (In real life, I totally understand where you're coming from, though.)


i was joking. i dont even think they had those tests back then.

[Winter Storm]

So you guys think the baby wasn't really his? Cause I thought it was.

Shit, now you're ruining the movie for me! I thought, how ironic that the boy was so bright (and cute!)

[kimmer23]

So you guys think the baby wasn't really his? Cause I thought it was.

Shit, now you're ruining the movie for me! I thought, how ironic that the boy was so bright (and cute!)


it did cross my mind seeing how she wasnt the most stable person, but the joke i made was just that: A JOKE.

[yankeeyosh]

I think this is right, because in the final scene, when little Forrest is getting on the school bus, you get the sense it's his first time going to school, which would put him at having turned five.

Yeah, and that would have been right after Jenny passed away, in 82...when a person born in 77 would have started kindergarten (although to get really picky, I don't know if they had statewide kindergarten in Alabama by 82. I know in Mississippi, kindergarten didn't start until 86).

[kimmer23]

Yeah, and that would have been right after Jenny passed away, in 82...when a person born in 77 would have started kindergarten (although to get really picky, I don't know if they had statewide kindergarten in Alabama by 82. I know in Mississippi, kindergarten didn't start until 86).


well i know kindergarten wanst mandatory in a lot of places, but kids still went.

[yankeeyosh]

well i know kindergarten wanst mandatory in a lot of places, but kids still went.

Not if the nearest kindergarten was 100 miles away...in the early 80s, kindergarten was still very unpopular in much of the South...they thought it as free "babysitting", although there were probably some subtle racial overtones. Mississippi was the last state to begin a kindergarten program, so to people born as late as 1980 in the state of Mississippi, a "K-12" education was likely foreign to them, unless they went to a private kindergarten.

[kimmer23]

Not if the nearest kindergarten was 100 miles away...in the early 80s, kindergarten was still very unpopular in much of the South...they thought it as free "babysitting", although there were probably some subtle racial overtones. Mississippi was the last state to begin a kindergarten program, so to people born as late as 1980 in the state of Mississippi, a "K-12" education was likely foreign to them, unless they went to a private kindergarten.


i am not saying that isnt true, i am just saying it wasnt mandatory and if they could go, then they went. we are getting away from the OP's actual question here.

[coll214]

wow, and I thought I was cynical!! :)

I always figured Jr. was Forrests' son, Jenny leaving once she found out she was preggers completely fit w/ how flightly her character was...

[lilyflower]

wow, and I thought I was cynical!! :)

I always figured Jr. was Forrests' son, Jenny leaving once she found out she was preggers completely fit w/ how flightly her character was...

Yup and then he ran across the country for three years so she COULDN'T really get in touch with him.

[kimmer23]

i always thought she left and then found out she was pregnant, but i guess it doesnt really matter.

[Winter Storm]

i always thought she left and then found out she was pregnant, but i guess it doesnt really matter.

That's what I thought. She slept with him, realized that she couldn't stay there with him, left and at some point found out she was pregnant and decided to raise him herself. Then at some point, got her life straight and then contacted Forrest.

But that's just my perception.

[midtwenty]

Ah, ok. Maybe I got the sequence mixed up. Of course, it still doesn't make sense that she would leave him after finding out she's pregnant rather than stay with him (though it is consistent with the troubled nature of her character).

Jenny called a cab and took off the very next morning after having been with Forrest. So at that point in time, there was no way for her to know she was pregnant since the act took place only hours before.

I felt that finding out she was pregnant was the catalyst that finally forced her to get her shit straight and her life right. Hence the nice apartment and the steady job. I like to think that she eventually would have gotten in touch with Forrest and let him know about his son, but the illness made her step up the pace since she needed to make sure he was going to be taken care of. And who better to do it than his daddy, and the only person in her whole life who treated her with love?

[kimmer23]

Jenny called a cab and took off the very next morning after having been with Forrest. So at that point in time, there was no way for her to know she was pregnant since the act took place only hours before.

I felt that finding out she was pregnant was the catalyst that finally forced her to get her shit straight and her life right. Hence the nice apartment and the steady job. I like to think that she eventually would have gotten in touch with Forrest and let him know about his son, but the illness made her step up the pace since she needed to make sure he was going to be taken care of. And who better to do it than his daddy, and the only person in her whole life who treated her with love?


i thought she left the next morning, but i wasnt sure. damn, you have a good memory on movies. you sound like alan!

[midtwenty]

i thought she left the next morning, but i wasnt sure. damn, you have a good memory on movies. you sound like alan!
:lol:
If it's a movie that I like, I've seen it more than once. If I've seen it more than once, I remember everything about it. I have a lot of useless information crammed into my brain. One of these days I'm going to shove in one too many random bits of info and forget something vital, like how to tie my shoes or how to eat with a fork. :lol:

[kimmer23]

:lol:
If it's a movie that I like, I've seen it more than once. If I've seen it more than once, I remember everything about it. I have a lot of useless information crammed into my brain. One of these days I'm going to shove in one too many random bits of info and forget something vital, like how to tie my shoes or how to eat with a fork. :lol:

its funny how we can remember movies and songs, but when it comes to school stuff its goes right out the window! :)

[meatwad]

I haven't read it, but there's a book called Gump and Co. that follows Forrest and Jr. around through the eighties and nineties. Apparantly Jr. has an IQ of like 250 or something.

[Winter Storm]

I haven't read it, but there's a book called Gump and Co. that follows Forrest and Jr. around through the eighties and nineties. Apparantly Jr. has an IQ of like 250 or something.

Speaking of books, did anyone actually read the Forrest Gump book? I thought it was terrible. Not a thing like the movie.

[wordsmith]

I haven't read it, but I have read that the character of Forrest himself is not anything like in the film.

[Winter Storm]

I haven't read it, but I have read that the character of Forrest himself is not anything like in the film.

No, it isn't.

In the book. Forrest is loud, rude and annoying. He actually cusses. And there was little mention of Jenny. Now I only got through the first few chapters but Jenny was merely a blurb in what I'd read. It was not at all interesting.

[spokes]

One of these days I'm going to shove in one too many random bits of info and forget something vital, like how to tie my shoes or how to eat with a fork.

i sometimes forget stuff like this, but then i find out i am drunk and it is ok.....

i always assumed that Jenny died of aids, but i don't think the movie really says it explicitly does it? I think I'll watch this while I am on holidays next week as I always enjoy watchig this movie.

As an aside it is interesting to think how Tom Hanks has evolved as an actor - his first couple of movies were questionable low budget cheap laugh films (i.e. Bachelor PArty)

[kimmer23]

i always assumed that Jenny died of aids, but i don't think the movie really says it explicitly does it? I think I'll watch this while I am on holidays next week as I always enjoy watchig this movie.

actually dont a lot of people die from "complications" related to AIDS? like they die of pneumonia or they have to go through dialysis.

[Winter Storm]

actually dont a lot of people die from "complications" related to AIDS? like they die of pneumonia or they have to go through dialysis.

Right. You don't actually die of AIDS but the complications and illnesses that are acquired from the compromised immune system that AIDS leaves you with.

But I think everyone assumed that Jenny died from those complications.

[yankeeyosh]

i always assumed that Jenny died of aids, but i don't think the movie really says it explicitly does it? I think I'll watch this while I am on holidays next week as I always enjoy watchig this movie.


It doesn't explicitly say the disease, but AIDS was still an unknown disease in 82. It wasn't until 83 that it was named. However, people have contracted it since 78 or so.

[kimmer23]

then if she did die of AIDS, hopefully she got it after she had Forrest, Jr.

[yankeeyosh]

then if she did die of AIDS, hopefully she got it after she had Forrest, Jr.

Probably...AIDS has only been confirmed back to 78, so Forrest, Jr. wouldn't have had it.

[kimmer23]

Probably...AIDS has only been confirmed back to 78, so Forrest, Jr. wouldn't have had it.

i was going to say that it sounds like she still had a reckless life after Jr was born, but really all it takes it sleeping with one person (monogamous or not) to catch something. and like you said, at that time no one knew they had to protect themselves from HIV.

its funny we are disecting this movie 10 yrs later!

[dengeist]

Don't forget she was a drug addict too, which is what the whole "Freebird" scene was about with her on the ledge of the building. She could've moved on to harder stuff after that scene.

[spokes]

yeah i also thought it was interesting how the minutae of the movie and the timeline is being disected........

perhaps WB started this thread as some type of physchologial test........

[midtwenty]

i always assumed that Jenny died of aids, but i don't think the movie really says it explicitly does it? I think I'll watch this while I am on holidays next week as I always enjoy watchig this movie.

Specifically what is said, during the playground scene when Jenny and Forrest are watching Junior play, is that she tells him she's "sick" and that "it's some kind of virus; the doctors don't know what it is." Due to her drug use and illicit lifestyle previously seen, it's strongly implied that she has contracted AIDS though never said outright. That's when Forrest invites them to stay with him and says he'll take care of her if she's sick, and she then asks him to marry her.

Then we find out Lt. Dan got new legs!
;)

[lilyflower]

Then we find out Lt. Dan got new legs!
;)

Not just new legs, MAGIC legs :)

[spokes]

mid20 it would appeaqr that you are some type of walking movie database......

[kimmer23]

mid20 it would appeaqr that you are some type of walking movie database......

i think she just watched this movie yesterday! :D

[midtwenty]

mid20 it would appeaqr that you are some type of walking movie database......
Sadly, no. The amount of moives I haven't seen would shock and appall you. I just have a good memory, that's all.
Saw it yesterday? I wish! Having a four-month-old really cuts into my sittin' around time. ;)

Yes, MAGIC legs. Made of titanium alloy. :lol:

[pisces2473]

Not if the nearest kindergarten was 100 miles away...in the early 80s, kindergarten was still very unpopular in much of the South...they thought it as free "babysitting", although there were probably some subtle racial overtones. Mississippi was the last state to begin a kindergarten program, so to people born as late as 1980 in the state of Mississippi, a "K-12" education was likely foreign to them, unless they went to a private kindergarten.
No wonder Mississippi has the highest rate of illiterate people in it...and is the poorest state in the nation.

[pisces2473]

:lol:
If it's a movie that I like, I've seen it more than once. If I've seen it more than once, I remember everything about it. I have a lot of useless information crammed into my brain. One of these days I'm going to shove in one too many random bits of info and forget something vital, like how to tie my shoes or how to eat with a fork. :lol:
That's how I am! But I'm weird with remembering people's names and facts about them...it scares people sometimes...

[pisces2473]

Specifically what is said, during the playground scene when Jenny and Forrest are watching Junior play, is that she tells him she's "sick" and that "it's some kind of virus; the doctors don't know what it is." Due to her drug use and illicit lifestyle previously seen, it's strongly implied that she has contracted AIDS though never said outright. That's when Forrest invites them to stay with him and says he'll take care of her if she's sick, and she then asks him to marry her.

Then we find out Lt. Dan got new legs!
;)
Plus, not all babies born to HIV moms get HIV themselves. Some of them luck out.

[kimmer23]

That's how I am! But I'm weird with remembering people's names and facts about them...it scares people sometimes...


i think she's a stalker! hehe! :D :D :D