Outline of Chapters 7-10 of Forrest Gump

Outline by Laurie Epps

We're beginning our countdown of when the Fall semester begins at Anderson University. This fall, one of the many English classes is Fiction to Film (also known as ENG 365).

For prospective students, I've created an overview of the books that will be covered in the class. However, it is not a requirement that you are a student to follow along. I've started with Forrest Gump since it seemed like the most approachable of the texts.

This column will evolve over time. Now it serves as an introduction to the course, when school begins next month I will post my notes from the class. Next year, January 2014, it will spin off to a column all it's own with my own literary comparison's of books that become movies.  Please let me know what you think.



Chapter 7

• Forrest is put in a hospital in Danang p. 61
• Forrest meets Lt. Dan in the hospital
• Lt. Dan was blown up inside a tank
• Lt. Dan was a history teacher before he was drafted, and shares his philosophy of life with Forrest (pp. 61-62)
• Forrest begins to play ping pong (p. 63)
• Forrest wanders into Danang in the mornings to get some shrimp. He befriends a shrimp farmer named Mr. Chi who shares some shrimp with him. For the gesture, Forrest gives him one of the Hershey bars from his momma. (pp. 63-640
• Forrest is going to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor and is to be flown back to the United States to meet the President. (p.65)
• Lt. Dan is shipped out and Forrest is worried about him (p. 65)
• Forrest receives two letters from home:
• One from his mam, saying the house he grew up in, burned to the ground 
• The other from Jenny Curran speaking out against the war, saying to send her best to Bubba, and that she is a folk singer for a band called "the Cracked Eggs" near Harvard University. (pp. 66-67)
• Tries to pack his bags to go to the United States but all of his stuff is in Pleiku. Col. Gooch pretty much promises whatever he wants when he gets there (p. 67)
• Forrest receives a letter from Lt. Dan claiming he isn't an idiot, and he thinks that Forrest has a good heart. Basically, letting him know he's ok. (p. 68)
• Forrest gets a new pretty suit to meet the President from Col. Gooch (p. 69)

Chapter 8

• Colonel Gooch and Forrest head back to the states. In CA, a tomato was thrown at Col. Gooch's head protesting the war. That sent Forrest off running, and he hid in the bathroom. (pp. 70-71)
• Col. Gooch and Forrest board a second plane bound for D.C. Colonel Gooch assures Forrest that they will be treated better on the east coast because they are more civilized and shit-- wrong again (p. 72)
• President Johnson shows Gump his battle scar, and Forrest drops his pants and shows him his scar as well. Of course, Col. Gooch is not happy about Forrest's behavior. (pp. 73-74)
• Forrest was asked to tour and recruit guys for the military and Forrest blows that. (pp. 74-75)
• Forrest enters a ping-pong tournament and is asked to go to Washington again. Who is watching, but Lt. Dan. Then Forrest notices they took Lt. Dan's legs off. The two men start hanging out together. They talk about philosophy, and Forrest shows him Einstein's use of relativity. (pp. 76-77)
• Forrest is asked to be in a ping-pong tournament in China while shoveling coal at Ft. Dix

Chapter 9

• Forrest goest to Peking for the ping-pong tournament (p. 79)
• Forrest spills all over his shirt, so they tell him to change and meet them at the restaurant. Forrest proceeds to get lost and has a bit of an adventure. They end up arresting Forrest and think that he's a spy. (pp. 80-81)
• They buy Forrest a red balloon and pin a note to his chest as to who he is (p. 81)
• Forrest saves the Chairman Mao from drowning (pp. 82-83)
• Forrest is revered as a hero and they threw a parade in his honor. Forrest's heroism improves relations with the United States (p. 83)
• When they get back to the States, Forrest can't decide what to do. Should he go and see his mama? Should go and start to do something with his life? (Start in the shrimpin' business?) Should he go see Jenny Curran up at Harvard? -- Forrest buys a bus ticket to go to Boston to see his beloved Jenny. (pp. 85-86)

Chapter 10

• Forrest gets to Boston and finds the club where Jenny performs (pp. 87-88)
• Forrest waits for hours for her set to come up in the club. He leaves for a breath of fresh air, and naturally there was a line when he couldn't go back. (pp. 88-89)
• Tired of standing, Forrest ducks into the alley and plays his harmonica for the rats. Jenny opens the back door to see who is there, and the two are reunited.  (pp. 88-89)
• Forrest learns of all her different adventures and boyfriends while they were apart including a Harvard professor. (pp. 89-91)
• Jenny invites Forrest to come home with her and stay there with her and her boyfriend Rudolph. (pp. 91-92)
• They spend their days and nights talking like old times and Rudolph just meditates.  One day, the pair of friends run into her Harvard professor boyfriend--- who is also married. (pp. 92-93)
• Rudolph splits, Jenny complains to Forrest about men. (p. 93)
• Jenny gets naked and takes advantage of Forrest and they become "friends with benefits". (pp. 94-95)

Laurie Epps is a senior at Anderson University majoring in Creative Writing. Already Laurie is most published as a feature article writer, essayist, and poet. A seeker of beauty and world traveler, Laurie hopes to grow into a career in travel writing illuminating the many stories that make us human despite our differences. Currently, Laurie also has a Monday Morning Book Club column dedicated to writers everywhere, and a Thoughtful Thursday column dedicated to the fine art of poetry.