Forrest Gump Film Analysis Essay Example

Forrest Gump, directed by Henry Martín Robert Zemeckis, tells the story of Forrest Gump, an unintelligent but sincere man, as he journeys through life during the late 1900s. With his mother’s explanation that “life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you are gonna get” in mind, Forrest is able to surmount obstacles and live a remarkably no-hit life, despite his low intelligence quotient and the resultant discrimination (Forrest Gump). Guided by his light nature and optimistic outlook on life, he witnesses and influences some of the most unforgettable events of the century. Forrest inspires Elvis Presley, joins the all-American football team, meets President Kennedy, wins the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Vietnam war, defeats the Chinese national ping pong team, meets President Johnson, speaks at an anti-war rally at the Washington Monument, influences John Lennon, meets Richard Nixon, divulges the break-in at Watergate, starts and maintains the renowned Bubba-Gump Shrimp Company, becomes a preliminary investor in Apple technology, obtains fame and reverence by running across America for over three years, and marries his life-long love, Jenny.

Forrest’s success does not come without any struggle, however, and his story advocates that although obstacles are an inevitable part of life, there is undoubtedly something to be learned from all of them, but having a plan and a clear vision of the future is not necessarily the best way to overcome them. An epic is a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition. For instance, he came into the club and saw Jenny, and he saw a guy grabbing her all over which he didn’t like so he walked up on stage and grabbed her then he walked off.

There are multiple examples of epics in this film some examples of epic in the film Forrest Gump is where he protected Jenny, He fought in the Vietnam War and became a local football legend at the University of Alabama. For instance, he came into the club and saw Jenny, and he saw a guy grabbing her all over which he didn’t like so he walked up on stage and grabbed her then he walked off. That shows courage and strength and that he cares for Jenny deeply. 

Another characteristic of an epic is when Forrest Gump fought in the Vietnam War. For instance, when Forrest was fighting in the war, he saw many of his team members die but when they were retreating after a bomb hit Forrest soon realized Bubba was still in the forest after the bomb. He soon ran to go to save him, and that’s where he died, in Gump’s arms. There’s only one line to this scene, but it is powerful. Gump says: “Bubba was my best good friend. Even I know that ain’t something you can notice just around the corner.” As tears came to his eyes, which shows that he cared deeply about bubba. 

The last characteristic of an epic is when Forrest run and did not stop for anything. For instance, when Forrest was being chased by bullies he ran away from them and ran across the football field and the football coaches saw him running quite fast and they said: “who is that kid, He can run fast.” They asked him to join the football team, so he did which came to a surprise by how dumb they thought he was. But he won games because of his speed which since he won so many games that he got recognition by universities and colleges because they wanted him to go to their schools and play for their school. 

In conclusion, As it is stated in the thesis and hook that Forrest was the hero of the film. It also talked about how his adventures represented an epic. For example the first paragraph said that he protected Jenny from some drunk dude who was rubbing up against her and everything then in the second paragraph it talked about how he fought in the Vietnam War which takes a lot of Courage since he almost sacrificed his life for his friend which takes guts he also took off running and he didn't stop he kept on running everywhere he traveled around half of the globe then he got tired at some point and walked back home. He spent days running which many people saw him so they joined him. By the time he got tired, he had over a million people running with him; he was all over the news and everything.