Jenny dies after marrying Forrest, and her illness is never clarified within the film. Jenny's true cause of death in Forrest Gump was long rumored to be associated with either HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C due to the early '80s setting and the character's lifestyle from years prior.
Why did Jenny leave Forrest after sleeping with him?
Why did Jenny leave Forrest before he went on the long run? She recognised the innocence and purity of Forrest and all his actions and due to her childhood trauma that had caused her to have a tough life she did not want to burden Forrest with the same suffering.
In the original Winston Groom novel, Jenny dies of hepatitis C, discovered in 1989. In the film, written by Eric Roth, Jenny died on March 22, 1982. It wasn't until an interview with Yahoo! News in 2019 that Roth clarified that, yes, in the film, Jenny did indeed die of AIDS.
Forrest smiles and says, "You were." Forrest has her buried under the tree where they played as children, then buys her childhood home (where her father had abused her) and has it bulldozed. Though he misses Jenny terribly, Forrest becomes a good father to Little Forrest.
Forrest Gump Producer Reveals What Jenny Died From
What virus did Jenny have in Forrest Gump?
That said, what's clear is that Jenny dies of Hepatitis C in the second book, while she dies of AIDS in the movies, even though it was only implied. Notably, Hepatitis C was discovered in 1989, which is why the doctors could do little for Jenny in the '80s.
Much like the rest of his life, Forrest is direct, honest, and unwaveringly kind in handling Jenny's death and Forrest Jr.'s upbringing. At the end of the day, Forrest is his son's real father (genealogy aside).
Most people who have watched the movie Forrest Gump can tell the titular character is not neurotypical. While both the author of the 1986 novel, Winston Groom, and Robert Zemeckis, the director of the 1994 movie, say Gump has no specific diagnosis, that hasn't stopped speculation.
Forrest tells Jenny's grave that their son is doing just fine and that he's taking good care of him. Forrest Jr. has written a letter for his mom, but he doesn't want his dad to read it. Forrest just leaves the letter at Jenny's grave.
Yes, Jim, the character Forrest Gump from the novel and 1994 film, was, according to the late author Winston Groom, diagnosed as an "Autistic Savant," which is the current updated medical nomenclature for his condition.
In the book that's the sequel to Forrest Gump, Gump and Co., author Winston Groom reveals that Jenny died of hepatitis C, a bloodborne illness which would probably have been the result of her intravenous drug use during her hippie years.
She declines saying, “You don't want to marry me.” That night, Jenny climbs into bed with Forrest. She tells him that she does indeed love him and the two make love. The following morning, she leaves in a taxi, leaving behind Forrest's Congressional Medal of Honor and prompting his 3-year run.
May 25, 1976: Forrest and Jenny Curran reunite. July 4, 1976: While watching the United States Bicentennial fireworks, Forrest asks Jenny to marry him, but she refuses. Later that night, they make love, conceiving Forrest Gump Jr.
Though he died in the novel, it could be implied in the film that he abandoned his wife and child, because he didn't want to take the responsibility of a son who was mentally challenged (although it is possible he heard about Forrest's life achievements and would be proud of him).
Although Forrest Gump wasn't a real person, there's a high possibility that he was partly inspired by veteran Sammy Lee Lewis, whose Vietnam War story is very similar to that of Gump's.
Forrest asks Jenny and Forrest Jr. to live with him, and Jenny proposes to Forrest. The two marry in the backyard. After some time of living together as a family, Jenny dies at age 32. Her illness is never explicitly stated, though screenwriter Eric Roth confirmed in a 2019 interview that she died of AIDS.
Jenny however is a representation of true America, she is flawed and ultimately broken, we see throughtout the story Forrest chases after her but he can never reach her, he doesn't see her for who she is.
Bubba was drafted into the United States Army, and was sitting on the bus heading to basic training when he first met Forrest, offering him a seat next to him. He is diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder.
The theory suggests that Jenny may not have known who the father was and decided to name him after Forrest, the most responsible and unimpeachable person she knew in her life [2]. Ultimately, Forrest accepts Jr. as his son without any questions, and he becomes his real father in terms of upbringing and care [2].
One of the few details the movie does reveal about Forrest Gump's run is that it lasts for almost three-and-a-quarter years (exact time: three years, two months, 14 days, and 16 hours) before calling it quits.
After they live together for a while, Forrest asks Jenny to marry him, but Jenny refuses, saying, "You don't want to marry me." Later that night, Jenny comes into Forrest's room, saying she does love him, and the two have sex.
The symbol doesn't come back into play until the film's very end, after he's sent his son on the bus for his first day of school. The feather represents Forrest's approach to life — it just floats through the world in whichever direction the wind takes it. A lot of what happens is up to chance — for good and for bad.
