Forrest Gump
By Winston Groom
Pocket Books, New York, 1994
There
is a pleasure sure in being mad which none but madmen know.
‑DRYDEN
LET ME SAY THIS: BEIN A IDIOT IS NO BOX OF CHOCOLATES. People laugh,
lose patience, treat you shabby. Now they says folks sposed to be kind to the
afflicted, but let me tell you‑ it ain't always that way. Even so, I got no
complaints, cause I reckon I done live a pretty interestin life, so to speak.
I been a idiot since I was born. My IQ is near 70, which qualifies me,
so they say. Probly, tho, I'm closer to bein a imbecile or maybe even a moron,
but personally, I'd rather think of mysef as like a halfwit, or somethin‑an not no idiot‑cause when people think of a
idiot, more'n likely they be thinkin of one of them Mongolian idiots‑the
ones with they eyes too close together what look like Chinamen an drool a lot
an play with theyselfs.
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. I'll show you what I mean.
The
other day, I'm walkin down the street an this man was out workin in his yard.
He'd got hissef a bunch of shrubs to plant an he say to me, "Forrest, you
wanna earn some money?" an I says, "Uh‑huh," an so he sets me to
movin dirt. Damn near ten or twelve wheelbarrows of dirt, in the heat of the
day, truckin it all over creation. When I'm thru he reach in his pocket for a
dollar. What I shoulda done was raised Cain about the low wages, but instead, I
took the damn dollar an all I could say was "thanks" or somethin dumb‑soundin
like that, an I went on down the street, waddin an unwaddin that dollar in my
hand, feelin like a idiot.
You see what I mean?
Now I know somethin bout idiots. Probly the only thing I do know
bout, but I done read up on eni‑all the way from that Doy‑chee‑eveskie guy's
idiot, to King Lears fool, an Faulkner's idiot, Benjie, an even ole Boo Radley
in To Kill a Mockingbird‑now he was a serious idiot. The one I like best tho is ole Lennie in Of Mice an Men. Mos of them writer fellers got it straight‑cause their
idiots always smarter than people give em credit for. Hell, I'd agree with
that. Any idiot would. Hee Hee.
When I was born, my mama name me Forrest, cause of General Nathan
Bedford Forrest who fought in the Civil War. Mama always said we was kin to
General Forrest's fambly someways. An he was a great man, she say, cept'n he
started up the Ku Klux Klan after the war was over an even my grandmania say
they's a bunch of no‑goods. Which I would tend to agree with, cause down here,
the Grand Exalted Pishposh, or whatever he cans hissef, he operate a gun store
in town an once, when I was maybe twelve year ole, I were walkin by there and
lookin in the winder an he got a big hangman's noose strung up inside. When he
seen me watchin, he done thowed it around his own neck an jerk it up like he
was hanged an let his tongue stick out an all so's to scare me. I done run off
and hid in a parkin lot behin some cars til somebody call the police an they
come an take me home to my mama. So whatever else ole General Forrest done,
startin up that Klan thing was not a good idea‑any idiot could tell you that.
Nonetheless, that's how I got my name.
My mama is a real fine person. Everbody says that. My daddy, he got kilt
just after I's born, so I never known him. He worked down to the docks as a
longshoreman an one day a crane was takin a big net load of bananas off one of
thern United Fruit Company boats an somethin broke an the bananas fell down on
my daddy an squashed him flat as a pancake. One time I heard some men talkin
bout the accident‑say it was a helluva mess, half ton of all them bananas an my
daddy squished underneath. I do&t care for bananas much myself, cept for
banana puddin. I like that all right.
My mama got a little pension from the United Fruit people an she took in
boarders at our house, so we got by okay. When I was little, she kep me inside
a lot, so as the other kids wouldn't bother me. In the summer afternoons, when
it was real hot, she used to put me down in the parlor an pull the shades so it
was dark an cool an fix me a pitcher of limeade. Then she'd set there an talk to
me, jus talk on an on bout nothin in particular, like a person'll talk to a dog
or cat, but I got used to it an liked it cause her voice made me feel real safe
an nice.
At first, when I's growin up, she'd let me go out an play with everbody,
but then she foun out they's teasing me an all, an one day a boy hit me in the
back with a stick wile they was chasin me an it raised some fearsome welt.
After that, she tole me not to play with them boys anymore. I started tryin to
play with the girls but that weren't much better, cause they all run away from
me.
Mama thought it would be good for me to go to the public school cause
maybe it would hep me to be like everbody else, but after I been there a little
wile they come an told Mama I ought'n to be in there with everbody else. They
let me finish out first grade the. Sometimes I'd set there wile the teacher was
talkin an I don't know what was going on in my mind, but I'd start lookin out
the winder at the birds an squirrels an things that was climbin an settin in a big
ole oak tree outside, an then the teacher'd come over an fuss at me. Sometimes,
I'd just get this real strange thing come over me an start shoutin an all, an
then she'd make me go out an set on a bench in the haft. An the other kids,
they'd never play with me or nothin, cept'n to chase me or get me to start
hollerin so's they could laugh at me‑all cept Jenny Curran, who at least didn't
run away from me an sometimes she'd let me walk nex to her goin home after
class.
But the next year, they put me in another sort of school, an let me tell
you, it was wierd. It was like they'd gone aroun collectin all the funny
fellers they coud find an put em all together, rangin from my age an younger to
big ole boys bout sixteen or seventeen.
They was retards of all kinds an spasmos an kids that couldn't even eat
or go to the toilet by theyselfs. I was probly the best of the lot.
They was one big fat boy, musta been fourteen or so, an he was afflicted
with some kinda thing made him shake like he's in the electric chair or
somethin. Miss Margaret, our teacher, made me go in the bathroom with him when
he had to go, so's he wouldn't do nothin wierd. He done it anyway, the. I
didn't know no way of stoppin him, so I'd just lock mysef in one of the stalls
and stay there till he's thru, an walk him back to the class.
I
stayed in that school for about five or six years. It wadn't all bad the.
They'd let us paint with our fingers an make little things, but mostly, it jus
teachin us how to do stuff like tie up our shoes an not slobber food or get
wild an yell an holler an thew shit aroun. They wadn't no book learnin to speak
of‑cept to show us how to read street signs an things like the difference
between the MeWs an the Ladies' rooms. With all them serious nuts in there, it
woulda been impossible to conduct anythin more'n that anyway. Also, I think it
was for the purpose of keepin us out of everbody else's hair. Who the hell
wants a bunch of retards runnin aroun loose? Even I could understand that.
When I got to be thirteen, some pretty unusual things begun to happen.
First ofF, I started to grow. I grew six inches in six months, an my mama was
all the time havin to let out my pants. Also, I commenced to grow out. By the
time I was sixteen I was six foot six an weighed two hundrit forty‑two pounds. I
know that cause they took me in an weighed me. Said they jus couldn't believe
it.
What happen nex caused a
real change in my life. One day I'm strollin down the street on the way home from
nut school, an a car stop longside of me. This guy call me over an axed my
name. I tole him, an then he axed what school I go to, an how come he ain't
seen me aroun. When I tell him bout the nut school, he axed if I'd ever played
football. I shook my head. I guess I rnighta tole him I'd seen kids playin it,
but they'd never let me play. But like I said, I ain't too good at long
conversation, an so I jus shook my head. That was about two weeks after school
begun again.
Three days or so later, they come an got me outta the nut school. My
mania was there, an so was the guy in the car an two other people what look
like goonswho I guess was present in case I was to start somethin. They took
all the stuff outta my desk an put it in a brown paper bag an tole me to say
goodbye to Miss M~ret, an ails of a sudden she commence to start cryin an give
me a big ole hug. Then I got to say goodbye to all the other nuts, an they was
droolin an spasmoin an beatin on the desks with they fists. An then I was gone.
Mama rode up in the front seat with the guy an I set in back in between
them goons, jus like police done in them ole movies when they took you
"downtown." Cept we didn't go downtown. We went to the new highschool
they had built. When we got there they took me inside to the principal's office
an Mama an me an the guy went in wile the two goons waited in the hall. The
principal was an ole gray‑haired man with a stain on his tie an baggy pants who
look like he coulda come outta the nut school hissef. We all sat down an he
begun splainin things an axein me questions, an I just nodded my head, but what
they wanted was for me to play football. That much I figgered out on my own.
Turns out the guy in the car was the football coach, name of Fellers. An
that day I didnft go to no class or nothin, but. Coach Fellers, he took me back
to the locker room an one of the goons rounded me up a football suit with all
them pads an stuff an a real nice plastic helmet with a thing in front to keep
my face from gettin squished in. The only thing was, they couldn't find no
shoes to fit me, so's I had to use my sneakers till they could order the shoes.
Coach Fellers an the goons got me dressed up in the football suit, an
then they made me undress again, an then do it all over again, ten or twenty
times, till I could do it by mysef. One thing I had trouble with for a wile was
that jockstrap thing‑cause I couldn't see no real good reason for wearing it.
Well, they tried splainin it to me, an then one of the goons says to thQ other
that I'm a "dummy" or somethin like that, an I guess he thought I wouldn't
understand him, but I did, on account of I pay special attention to that kind of
shit. Not that it hurt my feelins. Hell, I been called a sight worse than that.
But I took notice of it, nonetheless.
After a wile a bunch of kids started comin into the locker room an takin
out they football stufF and gettin into it. Then we all went outside an Coach
Fellers got everbody together an he stood me up in front of them an introduced
me. He was sayin a bunch of shit that I wadn't followin real close cause I was
haf scared. to death, on account of nobody had ever introduced me before to a
bunch of strangers. But afterward some of the others come up an shook my hand
an say they is glad I am here an all. Then Coach Fellers blowed a whistle, what
like to make me leap outta my skin an everbody started jurnpin around to get
exercise.
It's a kind of long story what all happened nex, but anyway, I begun to
play football. Coach Fellers an one of the goons hepped me out special since I
didn't know how to play. We had this thing where you sposed to block people an
they were tryin to splain it all, but when we tried it a bunch of times
everbody seemed to be gettin disgusted cause I couldn't remember what I was
sposed to do.
Then they tried this other thing they call the defense, where they put
three guys in front of me an I am sposed to get thru them an grap the guy with
the football. The first part was easier, cause I could just shove the other
guys' heads down, but they were unhappy with the way I grapped the guy with the
ball, an finally they made me go an tackle a big oak tree about fifteen or
twenty times‑to get the feel of it, I spose. But after a wile, when they
figgered I had learnt somethin from the oak tree, they put me back with the
three guys an the ball carrier an then got mad I didn't jump on him real
vicious‑like after I moved the others out of the way. I took a lot of abuse
that afternoon, but when we quit practicin I went in to see Coach Fellers an
tole him I didn't want to jump on the ball guy cause I was afraid of hurtin
him. Coach, he say that it wouldn't hurt him, cause he was in his football suit
an was protected. The truth is, I wasn't so much afraid of hurtin him as I was
that he'd get mad at me an they'd start chasin me again if I wadn't real nice
to everbody. To make a long story short, it took me a wile to get the hang of
it all.
Meantime I got to go to class. In the nut school, we really didn't have
that much to do, but here they was far more serious about things. Somehow, they
had worked it out so's I had three homeroom classes where you jus set there an
did whatever you wanted, an then three other classes where there was a lady who
was teachin me how to read. Jus the two of us. She was real nice an pretty and
more'n once or twice I had nasty thoughts about her. Miss Henderson was her name.
About the only class I liked was lunch, but I guess you couldn't call
that a class. At the nut school, my mama would fix me a sambwich an a cookie an
a piece of fruit‑cept no bananas‑an I'd take it to school with me. But in this
school they was a cafeteria with nine or ten different things to eat an I'd
have trouble makin up my mind what I wanted. I think somebody must of said
somethin, cause after a week or so Coach Fellers come up to me an say to just
go ahead an cat all I wanted cause it been '4taken care of." Hot damn!
Guess who should be in my homeroorn class but Jenny Curran. She come up
to me in the hall an say she remember me from first grade. She was all growed
up now, with pretty black hair an she was long‑legged an had a beautiful face,
an they was other things too, I dare not mention.
The football was not goin exactly to the likin of Coach Fellers. He
seemed displeased a lot an was always shoutin at people. He shouted at me too.
They tried to figger out some way for me to just stay put an keep other folks
from grappin our guy carryin the ball, but that didn't work cept when they ran
the ball right up the middle of the line. Coach was not too happy with my
tacklin neither, an let me tell you, I spent a lot of time at that oak tree.
But I just couldn't get to where I would thow mysef at the ball guy like they
wanted me to do. Somethin kep me from it.
Then one day a event happen that changed all that too. In the cafeteria
I had started gettin my food and goin over to set nex to Jenny Curran. I
wouldn't say nothin, but she was jus. bout the only person in the school I knew
hallways, an it felt good setting there with her. Most of the time she didn't
pay me no attention, an talked with other people. At first I'd been settin with
some of the football players, but they acted like I was invisible or somethin.
At least Jenny Curran acted like I was there. But after a wile of this, I
started to notice this other guy was there a tot too, an he starts makin
wisecracks bout me. Sayin shit like "Howfs Dumbo?' an all. And this gene
on for a week or two, an I was sayin nothin, but finally I says‑I can't hardly
believe I said it even now‑but I says, % ain't no Dumbo," an the guy jus
looked at me an starts laughin. An Jenny Curran, she say to the guy to keep
quiet, but he takes a carton of milk an pours it in my lap an I jump up an run
out cause it scares me.
A day or so later, that guy come up to me in the hall an says he's gonna
"get" me. All day I was afraid terribily, an later that afternoon,
when I was leaving to go to the gym, there he is, with a bunch of his friends.
I tried to go the other way, but he come up to me an start pushin me on the
shoulders. An he's sayin all kinds of bad things, callin me a "stupo"
an all, an then he hit me in the stomach. It didn't hurt so much, but I was
startin to cry and I turned an begun to run, an heard him behind me an the
others was runnin after me too. I jus run as fast as I could toward the gym,
across the practice football field an suddenly I seen Coach Fellers, settin up
in the bleachers watchin me. The guys who was chasin me stop and go away, an
Coach Fellers, he has got this real peculiar look on his face, an tell me to
get suited up right away. A wile later, he come in the locker room with these
plays drawn on a piece of paper‑three of them‑an say for me to memorize them
best I can.
That afternoon at the football practice, he line everbody up in two
teams an suddenly the quarterback give me the ball an I'm sposed to run outside
the right end of the line to the goalpost. When they all start chasin me, I run
fast as I can‑it was seven or eight of them before they could drag me down.
Coach Fellers is mighty happy; jumpin up and down an yellin an slappin everbody
on the back. We'd run a lot of races before, to see how fast we could run, but
I get a lot faster when I'm bein chased, I guess. What idiot wouldn't?
Anyway, I become a lot more popular after that, an the other guys on the
team started bein nicer to me. We had our first game an I was scared to death,
but they give me the ball an I run over the goal line two or three times an
people never been kinder to me after that. That highschool certainly begun to
change things in my life. It even got to where I liked to run with the football, cept it was mostly that they made
me run aroun the sides cause I still couldn't get to where I liked to just run
over people like you do in the middle. One of the goons comments that I am the
largest highschool halfback in the
entire world. I do not think he mean it as a compliment.
Otherwise, I was learnin to read a lot better with Miss Henderson. She
give me Tom Sawyer an two
other books I can't remember, an I took them home an read em all, but then she
give me a test where I don't do so hot. But I sure enjoyed them books.
After a wile, I went back to settin nex to Jenny Curran in the
cafeteria, an there weren't no more trouble for a long time, but then one day
in the springtime I was walkin home from school and who should appear but the
boy that poured that milk in my lap an chased me that day. He got hissef a
stick an start callin me things like "moron" and "stupo."
Some other people was watchin an then along comes Jenny Curran, an I'm
bout to take off againbut then, for no reason I know, I jus didn't do it. That
feller take his stick an poke me in the stomach with it, an I says to mysef,
the hell with this, an I grapped a holt to his arm an with my other hand I
knock him upside the head an that was the end of that, more or less.
That night my mama get a phone call from the boy's parents, say if I lay
a ban on their son again they is goin to call the authorities an have me
"put away." I tried to splain it to my mama an she say she
understand, but I could tell she was worried. She tell me that since I am so huge
now, I got to watch mysef, cause I might hurt somebody. An I nodded an promised
her I wouldn't hurt nobody else. That night when I lyin in bed I heard her
cryin to hersef in her room.
But
what that did for me, knockin that boy upside the head, put a definate new
light on my football playin. Next day, I axed Coach Fellers to let me run the
ball straight on and he say okay, an I run over maybe four or five guys till
I'm in the clear an they all had to start chasin me again. That year I made the
All State Football team. I couldn't hardly believe it. My mama give me two pair
of socks an a new shirt on my birthday. An she done saved up an bought me a new
suit that I wore to get the All State Football award. First suit I ever had.
Mama tied my tie for me an off I went.
2
THE ALL STATE FOOTBALL BANQUET WAS TO BE HELT IN A little town called
Flomaton, what Coach Fellers described as a "switch up the railroad
tracks." We was put on a bus‑they was five or six of us from this area who
won the prize‑an we was trucked up there. It was a hour or two before we
arrived, an the bus didn't have no toilet, an I had drank two slurpees fore we
lef, so when we get to Flomaton, I really got to go bad.
The thing was helt at the Flornaton Highsehool auditorium, an when we
git inside, me and some of the others find the toilet. Somehow, tho, when I go
to unzip my pants, the zipper is stuck in my shirttail an won't come down.
After a bit of this, a nice little guy from a rival school goes out and finds
Coach Fellers an he come in with the two goons an they be tryin to get my pants
open. One of the goons say the only way to git it down is jus rip it apart. At
this, Coach Fellers put
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14 to the final page 248 are omitted)