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Vy Lam

Mr. Olszyk

Religion 4- Block C

15 March 2017

A Gods Inspiration

The movie that I choose to write about is Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump is a good

demonstration of someone who trusts totally in God. God takes care of his life from his birth to

his adulthood. At first the character seems to be an unlucky boy whose IQ is below normal;

however, in some way he is lucky in all aspects of his life. He gets a loving mother who always

supports him on whatever choice he makes, a best friend who always is a good listener to all of

his stories, a lieutenant who is respectful and always join him. All decisions that Forrest Gump

makes in life seems to be absurd and silly, but it turns out to be awesome ideas. This is because

he always does what God and his mother teach him to do. He is lucky because he is kind-hearted.

At the beginning of the movie, Forrest Gump seems to be a weak boy who is

always being picked on by his peers. No one likes him. They often call him stupid and idiot.

Only Jenny is the only one friend he ever gets. She cheers him up, talks to him, befriends him.

She is his motivation. She is the one to tell him to run fast. This later becomes his motto.

Probably because of this huge motivation she gives him, he is influenced by her and cant get his

mind off her. Even though Forrest is considered a mentally retarded guy, he knows what the most

valuable thing to know- love. When Jenny tells Forrest that he doesnt know what love is, Forrest

answers Im not a smart man. But I know what love is (Forrest Gump). What advantage is

there to be a normal person and does not even know what love is? Jenny is a witty woman; she is

trying to act cleverer than Forrest before him. Nevertheless, she is the one who does not know
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and does not realize that Forrest is her love. Forrest, in the other hand, know right from the

beginning that Jenny is his love.

Another big influencer is Forrests mother. She is a big role model for him. He

thinks she always has a way of explanation that I can understand (Forrest Gump). She

sacrifices all she has to provide for him the best. From her, he learns a lot of things he has no

idea. Mrs. Gump never thinks her son is a disabled one, but rather a gift from God that she

considers the most precious in her life. She is being a role model for Forrest to follow her

direction and do what he thinks is right. She teaches Forrest that life was like a box of

chocolate. You never know what youre gonna get (Forrest Gump). This lesson is engraved in

Forrests mind and it has greatly influenced his actions and his mindset. Mrs. Gump is also the

one who influences Forrest with Gods idea. She says you have to do the best with what God

gave you (Forrest Gump).

The main theme of the movie Forrest Gump is surrounding a low IQ boy- Forrest

Gump and his life from his youth to his adulthood. The author wants us to believe that we are no

difference from each other even though we might be judged as different from other peoples

eyes. Mrs. Gump teaches Forrest to believe that you are no different than others, always

remember that (Forrest Gump). From then, Forrest Gump never complains or feels sad about

being bullied or when other people looked down on him. He always wants the best for everyone.

That is probably why his life considers to be lucky all the way through. He has been a war hero,

a national celebrity, a professional Ping-Pong player, and a millionaire- just for doing what his

mother and Jenny have told him to do. He never thinks it is his kindness that hes doing that; he

thinks who should be rewarded his luckiness is his mother and Jenny- who inspires him to do all
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those kindness act. Forrest Gump has proved us that he is no different than anybody else. He can

achieve all that a normal person could achieve, if not better than others.

Forrest Gump is not only a movie about life inspiration, but also a movie about

the faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout the movie, Forrest never forgets to live up to Gods words.

He has come through many people who have lost the faith in God. They keep asking why God

lets miserable thing happen to them. However, Forrest never doubts that God is punishing him by

making him a little bit slower then everybody else. Forrest is being a role model for the people

around him, especially Lieutenant Dan. The respectful Lieutenant believes he is destined to die

in battle just because all of his family die in battle for the country. He even curses Forrest for

saving him while in battle. He thinks dying is even better than living without legs. Dan once asks

Forrest do you know the feeling of not being able to use your own legs? (Forrest Gump) while

he is depressing about being alive. Expecting the answer no from Forrest, he is surprised to

hear that Forrest answers yes. In fact, Forrest has been living with the leg braces to help him

straightened out. Yet he never thinks he is destined to not being able to walk. He tries to walk

everyday. Until Jenny gives him a push- a motivated push when she yells to Forrest run Forrest,

run! (Forrest Gump).

Forrest helps other people around him to believe that God always loves them no

matter what. Through his enthusiasm in helping others, the people around him find a

representative image of God through him. Lieutenant Dan is a man who believes in God at first,

but he insists on believing that he is destined to die in battle. When Forrest tries to rescue him

from the firing site, he curses Forrest for rescuing him. From then Lieutenant Dan lives a careless

lives since he thinks he lost all of the reasons to live. He hates God because God lets him live

without his legs that he is most proud about. Lieutenant Dan never thanks Forrest for saving his
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life, and he insists on doing so for a long while. Forrest, on the other hand, trusts that he is just

doing the right thing to follow his mothers teaching and Gods word. One Lieutenant Dan asks

Forrest if he have found Jesus yet (Forrest Gump); Forrest just simply answers I didnt know

I was supposed to be looking for him, sir (Forrest Gump). Yes, Forrest is saying that God is

always there with him, and he doesnt have to look for God. If Lieutenant Dan looks a little bit

deeper, he will find that God is there, and there is no need to look for God. Even when Forrest

and Lieutenant Dan reconcile and do business together, Lieutenant Dan still not believes that

Gods plan for him is different than to die in battle. However, seeing Forrest going to Church

every Sunday encourages him to some time join Forrest to going to Church. Forrest is being a

good role model Christian to Lieutenant Dan. After a long time neglecting God, Lieutenant Dan

eventually reconciles with God and accepts that God doesnt want him to die battle, but rather to

live and find a meaning in life.

The movie is very compelling in terms of life lesson. It smoothly leads the viewer

into the story by a feather, and leads to the end by that same feather. The movie tries to embrace

the idea that youll never know where life takes you (Forrest Gump). Forrest never knows that

he will run marathon across the country, never knows that he will go to war in Vietnam, never

knows he will be able to go to college. Life is a large mutation, every choice we make will lead

us to different result.

Forrest Gump is positively influence by people around him like his mother, Jenny,

Bubba, and Lieutenant Dan. On the other hand, he also influences them in a good way. He is a

good demonstration of hope, inspiration, and happiness. In conclusion, Forrest Gump always

thrives to live up his moms expectation for him, you have to do the best with what God gave
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you (Forrest Gump). He is proving that everyone in this world has a mission even though they

were born with equal advantage. And Forrest Gumps mission is to inspire others.

Works Cited

Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Paramount Pictures,

1994. Online.