this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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It's been a long time since I read the book, but that's not how I remember it at all. He was gifted mathematically, but deficient in general. He caused trouble a number of times by misreading situations and not doing what was expected of him.
He was smarter than people assumed, but I got the impression he was still impaired overall. Maybe that was the movie affecting my perception of the character.
I think it's the movie, but also the way the book is written as a commentary on what intelligence is.
Forrest accepts he's an idiot because people tell him he's an idiot, even though on the inside, all of his thoughts are very logical, self-aware and clear, he just has trouble expressing his thoughts.
"Now I'm slow—I'll grant you that, but I'm probly a lot brighter than folks think, cause what goes on in my mind is a sight different than what folks see. For instance, I can think things pretty good, but when I got to try sayin or writin them, it kinda come out like jello or somethin."
Over and over throughout the book, he's taken advantage of because he is honest and helpful, but not because he's intellectually deficient.
He obviously has excellent coordination, he becomes an astronaut, he can learn and do pretty much any task, simple or complicated, often better than anyone else, which I think indicates his actual intelligence, along with his very clear, slef-aware and insightful internal monologues.
His trouble is with expressing himself and refusing to view the world cynically.
The rest of the world thinks being open and honest is a sign of low intelligence, but I think that's a commentary on the rest of the world, not on Forrest.
Hm, he still does "dumb" things though. Trying to strain a canned peach through a sweaty sock to make a drink. Getting lost in China. Not understanding the political implications of rescuing Chairman Mao. Calling the Vietnam war "a bunch of shit" while representing the US military (it'd be one thing if it was intentional, but he didn't seem to understand what the consequences would be.) Telling Jenny that Lieutenant Dan could use the bathroom without help rather than asking her for a container that's not his hat. Kidnapping Raquel Welch.
I guess a lot of those things could be explained away one way or another. Your take on the character is definitely an interesting one, but I thought of him as more of a savant type who was capable of learning specific things extremely well, but was generally unintelligent. Though more intelligent than some give him credit for.
Yea, for me all the "dumb" things he does are only dumb in the context of the culturally popular limited idea of intelligence as assumed by characters in and out of the book and the reflected behaviors of "dumb" or "smart" people.
I don't think measured intelligence is all that important.
I know too many dumb smart people and smart dumb people.
Being "smart" doesn't help Lt. Dan keep his legs or his home, Jenny from being arrested or institutionalized, Bubba from dying, or anyone else any more than Forrest's being an "idiot" stops him from becoming an astronaut, a business tycoon or an excellent soldier.
I don't know if this is the writer's original intention, but the focus on "intelligence" in Forrest gump seems like a red herring to the point of the story.
It's an interesting interpretation for sure. I could believe it more easily if he was shown to not care about the consequences of his actions rather than being ignorant of them.
Maybe you're right, except that in addition to having trouble communicating, he also has trouble reading social situations and understanding what others want from him. He is, as you say, very capable of solving problems that don't involve people.
That's a good point about his concern for consequences.
I definitely think forrest has trouble reading people and social situations, which ties into his candor, or perceived "idiocy".
Gump can usually understand and describe his own thought processes and surrounding environment clearly, even consequences, future events and what people want, like during the war when he can understand the fairly complex notion that his company will quietly last in ambush since the VC are going to come back on their search patrol if they can't find Charlie company, but what he has difficulty perceiving, and more importantly little care or use for, is when people around him have ulterior motives.
When he shows up at Jenny's anti-war rally, he didn't understand what they want or the consequences because nobody, not even Jenny, tells him why they want him to wear chains around his uniform at their rally, he questions her motives and she says
"I axed why again, but she say, "Just do it, you will find out later. You want to make me happy, doesn't you?""
And he accepts that answer.
Forrest understands abstract concepts. He understands personal humiliation, like in the wrestling ring, but has no interest in and so understanding of, figuring out the purposeful deceit or manipulation by others.
It's important to note that while Forrest is the "idiot", everyone around him speaks the same way he does, is surprised by consequences they don't foresee, are very similar to gump himself in the way their lives unfold, with the exception that they don't say what they mean.
In fact, the "smartest" people in the book are the nasa scientists, who immediately realize that gump is much better at math and healthier than most people, and exclaim "your mind is jus like a computer—only better. If we can program it with the right stuff, you will be extremely useful".
Since the scientists are judging gump's raw abilities rather than his interest in social savvy, they can see how intelligent he is, but of course want to use him for their own ends, like everyone else.