Differences From The Novel
The portrayal of Forrest in the original novel is notably different to how he was portrayed in the film. Largely, in the novel, Forrest is shown to be somewhat cynical and abrasive, while in the film, he is a more placid and naïve person. He is also described as being an autistic savant and has extraordinary talent in numerical calculation (as shown when he states the exact amount of time in years, months, days and hours that he ran across the country). Changes from the novel to the film include: the deaths of Forrest's mother, Jenny, neither of whom died in the original book, running around the country, and going to space; later crashing in New Guinea and being captured by a native tribe.
The novel also provides additional backstory on his father. It is revealed that his father was a longshoreman, who worked for United Fruit Company. He was killed when a crate of bananas being loaded off of a boat fell on top of him, crushing him to death. Forrest goes on a number of different adventures including being an astronaut, playing the harmonica in a band called the Cracked Eggs, becoming a professional wrestler ("The Dunce") and running for the United States Senate (with the campaign slogan "I Got to Pee").
Read more about this topic: Forrest Gump (character)
Famous quotes containing the words the novel and/or differences:
“Whatever is felt upon the page without being specifically named there—that, one might say, is created. It is the inexplicable presence of the thing not named, of the overtone divined by the ear but not heard by it, the verbal mood, the emotional aura of the fact or the thing or the deed, that gives high quality to the novel or the drama, as well as to poetry itself.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“The extent to which a parent is able to see a child’s world through that child’s eyes depends very much on the parent’s ability to appreciate the differences between herself and her child and to respect those differences. Your own children need you to accept them for who they are, not who you would like them to be.”
—Lawrence Balter (20th century)