Forrest Gump is an iconic movie but you will be shocked to find out that the movie left out a lot of crazy scenes. Keep reading to see why you should read the novel by Winston Groom and why certain scenes were left out.
Forrest Gump: Book Summary
As the first pages unwind, we meet Forrest Gump. He is the narrator of the novel and that leads to a lot of grammatical errors. Forrest then goes into his life story from his childhood to the present. And we meet Jenny Curran who plays a big part in Forrest’s life.
When Forrest hits sixteen, he is 6’6″ and playing high school football. That gets him looks from a big college that wants him to play for them. It’s either that or going to the army. As Forrest navigates his football career, his love for Jenny gets him in trouble and they go different ways.
Life in college is hard for Forrest as he is mentally challenged and has a hard time fitting in on the team. But the coach finds a role for Forrest after an incident on campus. Besides football, Forrest discovers he is talented in other areas such as math and playing the harmonica.
Fast forward and we see Forrest join the army, wins a ping pong tournament and work for NASA to name a few things. As life progresses for Forrest, he tries to discover the meaning of life and his life as he strives toward happiness.
Commentary
As someone who loved the movie, the novel was a great read. There are a lot of differences and I can see why. Some stuff is just too controversial. And the movie left out a lot of Forrest’s adventures. What I really loved about the book is that you get to really understand Forrest much clearer.
The movie left out a lot of Forrest’s talents and achievements and still did a great job. If you really want to know Forrest, reading the novel is the best way. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read in a while. There are no dull moments and the humor and commentary by Winston Groom is brilliant.
Conclusion
Forrest has stayed relevant throughout the years because of the great acting by Tom Hanks. But I believe its also because we want Forrest to win. He deserves it and things do not go his way more often than not. That is something a lot of people can relate to. Forrest is the everyday man and he might not be the brightest person in the room. But his personality and child-like manner makes him the most likable and the one we will always be cheering on.
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