The true meaning behind Forrest Gump The final scene has been debated since the film’s 1994 release for several reasons. As the film that helped define Tom Hanks’ career and won him an Oscar, Forest Gump has earned its place as one of the most popular comedy-drama films with its endearing characters and clever use of real-life historical figures edited alongside Forrest Gump to paint a portrait of modern America. However, Robert Zemeckis Forest Gump ends on a somewhat ambiguous note and the film’s audience is left with some questions.
At the end of Forest GumpForrest Gump waits for the school bus with his son on the side of the road. As the bus approaches, Forrest notices a Curious George book in his son’s backpack and examines as Forrest Jr. states “Grandma used to read to you.” Forrest tells his son to get on the school bus, saying he will wait for him there when he is finished and that he loves him. In the final scene, next to Forrest’s feet, a white feather (that fell out of the book) flies into the sky.
Why Forrest Gump ends with Forrest’s son getting on the bus to school
Forrest Gump’s Intelligence Wasn’t Hereditary
The film ends with Forrest Gump’s son getting on the bus to school because it is a direct reference to Forrest’s own life. After her extraordinary journey through US history, Jenny’s death in Forest Gump leads him to take care of his son. When Forrest was a boy, it was stated that Forrest’s IQ was very low and so his mother had to fight for his education. Ending the film by showing that his son is able to go to school, in a way, heals Forrest’s past struggles with education and gives hope for a better future.
The fact that Forrest Gump’s son manages to obtain a formal education marks the beginning of a “normal” life for him. Instead of being bullied for his looks or intelligence, Forrest’s son can experience the things his father missed out on because he was different. Furthermore, before Forrest lets his son go to school, he also tells him that he wants his son to know that he loves him. Forrest cares a lot about his son, and reflects the way Forrest Gump’s mother ensured he was cared for in the same place on his first day of school.
What does the blowing white feather mean in the final scene of Forrest Gump
The feather represents the theme of destiny
The flying white feather is a particularly prominent scene in Forrest Gump ending because it is a direct reflection of the beginning of the film. The opening scene of Forest Gump sees a feather float to the ground in front of Forrestwho is sitting on a bench, and Forrest places him inside the Curious George book in your suitcase for safekeeping. A bus passes by and drops off the first person in Forrest to talk about his life. The feather that appears in the same book and flies after the bus takes off reflects this.
“I don’t know if each of us has a destiny, or if we’re all floating accidentally, like on a breeze, but I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both things are happening at the same time.”
– Forrest to Jenny’s Grave
While the true meaning behind the white feather can be debated, it could likely represent a lesson Forrest Gump learned after Jenny’s death; that fate is sometimes circumstantial. Forrest never planned anything he did during the film and often did things on a whim. Forrest Gump spent much of his life “floating around accidentally”very similar to the featherbut the feather appeared again, almost as if it were destined to be there. This alludes to Forrest Gump’s story finally coming to an end, as his destiny was to end up here, in the final scene, as a father.
Why Forrest Gump’s final scene is the perfect ending to Forrest’s story
Forrest finally found peace in his life
Forrest Gump The final scene is the perfect ending to Forrest’s story because it finally shows him in a place where he is content with what he has. Forrest Gump has seemingly moved through time, jumping from one event in American history to another, from the Vietnam War to the National Ping-Pong Championship. Therefore, by showing Forrest all alone on the sunny road of his childhood home, it shows that Forrest is finally at peace with where he is and doesn’t feel the need to talk or do anything other than wait for his son. to come home from school.
The way that Forrest Gump the ending mirrors the beginning also displays a cyclical pattern that alludes to the theme of destiny. Instead of the feather falling and Forrest keeping it inside Curious Georgethe ending shows him rising freely into the air. Instead of the bus dropping off a random citizen for Forrest to talk to at a seemingly arbitrary bench, the school bus takes his son away with the same driver next to his childhood home. Forest Gumpof the ending adds value to the rewatch, as the pen and themes are recycled again in a comforting way.