The True Forrest Gump: The Book vs. the Movie

“Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you’re going to get” (Hanks). Many times when books are changed into movies they are done incorrectly. Forrest Gump is one of these examples. Forrest Gump, the novel, was written in 1986 by the author Winston Groom. The movie Forrest Gump was created by Paramount Pictures in 1994. Tom Hanks stars as the main character Forrest Gump. The movie portrayed Forrest Gump in a different way and as sometimes more innocent than his character in the book. This is shown in three different ways: Jenny and Forrest’s relationship, Characters’ drug use, and in the book Forrest is involved in more activities and adventures.

While there are many differences between the two, there are still some key similarities that are important to mention. One of the key similarities is that a lot of the main or important characters are still involved. The book features characters such as Jenny, Lt. Dan, Mama, and Bubba. All of these characters are portrayed as major parts in the movie. The New York Times talked about this fact in their film review of the movie in the article “Tom Hanks as an Interloper in History.” Janet Maslin, the reviewer, states that, “(Forrest) was disabled as a young boy but goaded by his loving Mama (Sally Fields) to make the best of his abilities” (Maslin 2). The reason why the movie kept these characters was because they play a major part in Forrest’s life. Maslin explained this with his relationship with his mother. In both the book and the movie, characters like Mama effect the growth and development of Forrest. They also play a major role of the lifestyle he lives and the achievements he has. Such as the friendship Forrest has with Lt. Dan and what Forrest learns or expe...

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...ce is the adventures that he goes on and how they change the character he could have been. Whether or not the movie changed the plot from the book to the movie, this movie still goes down as a favorite in my book. But, I still think that the other plot points would have been very good additions to what Forrest could have done. I know I have already seen Tom Hanks as an astronaut, but “The Dunce” would have great to watch.

Works Cited

Groom, Winston. Forrest Gump. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1986.

Groom, Winston. Gump & Co. Rockland, MA: Wheeler Pub, 1995.

Hanks, Tom. perf. Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Paramount Pictures., 1994. VHS.

Hugo, Giles. “Sometimes There Just Ain’t Enough Stones.” The-write-stuff. The Write Stuff, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014

Maslin, Janet. “Tom Hanks as an Interloper in History.” Nytimes. New York Times, 6 July 1994.Web. 23 Jan. 2014.