Jenny from Forrest Gump Personality Trait Analysis
The relationship between Jenny and Forrest is initially looked at as Forrest’s savior, but Jenny also saw it as a way to escape her father when they were children, then later giving Forrest the role of safety net. He was always there when Jenny needed someone to lean on. She cares for Forrest very much and while she is kindhearted, she has also shown how selfish and self-destructing she is. By the end of her life she redeems herself by fulfilling Forrest’s dream to marry her while simultaneously leaving her son with his father to be taken care of.
We first meet Jenny when she altruistically offers Forrest the seat next to her on the bus when all the other children said “this seat’s taken.” After that Jenny and Forrest became best friends with her teaching Forrest to read and stood up to his bullies, while Forrest stayed with her and prayed when Jenny’s father would yell at her in his drunken stupor. Jenny’s father physically and sexually abused her sisters and her throughout their childhood which has a lasting effect on Jenny.
“The development of a sense of self is thought to be one of the earliest developmental tasks of the infant and young child, typically unfolding in the context of early relationships. How a child is treated (or maltreated) early in life influences his or her growing self-awareness. As a result, severe child maltreatment – including early and sustained sexual abuse – may interfere with the child’s development of a sense of self” (Briere & Elliott, 1994, p. 58).
As well as being kind and altruistic to Forrest, Jenny is also averagely intelligent – she teaches Forrest to read, courageous and supportive – she stands by Forrest when the other boys bully him and because she tell him to “run Forrest, run!” he breaks out of his leg braces and finds a talent in running, extremely fast that gets him a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. As they get older, Jenny becomes more flighty and untamed. She cannot stay committed to
We first meet Jenny when she altruistically offers Forrest the seat next to her on the bus when all the other children said “this seat’s taken.” After that Jenny and Forrest became best friends with her teaching Forrest to read and stood up to his bullies, while Forrest stayed with her and prayed when Jenny’s father would yell at her in his drunken stupor. Jenny’s father physically and sexually abused her sisters and her throughout their childhood which has a lasting effect on Jenny.
“The development of a sense of self is thought to be one of the earliest developmental tasks of the infant and young child, typically unfolding in the context of early relationships. How a child is treated (or maltreated) early in life influences his or her growing self-awareness. As a result, severe child maltreatment – including early and sustained sexual abuse – may interfere with the child’s development of a sense of self” (Briere & Elliott, 1994, p. 58).
As well as being kind and altruistic to Forrest, Jenny is also averagely intelligent – she teaches Forrest to read, courageous and supportive – she stands by Forrest when the other boys bully him and because she tell him to “run Forrest, run!” he breaks out of his leg braces and finds a talent in running, extremely fast that gets him a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. As they get older, Jenny becomes more flighty and untamed. She cannot stay committed to
References: Ball, S. A. (2005). Personality traits, problems, and disorders: Clinical applications to substance use disorders Briere, J. N., & Elliott, D. M. (1994). Immediate and long-term impacts of child sexual abuse. The Future of Children, 4(2), 54-69 Dambrun, M., & Ricard, M. (2011). Self-centeredness and selflessness: A theory of self-based psychological functioning and its consequences for happiness Kendall-Takett, K. A., Williams, L. M., & Finkelhor, D. (1993). Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies Kotov, R., Gamez, W., Schmidt, F., & Watson, D. (2010). Linking “big” personality traits to anxiety, depressive, and substance use disorders: A meta-analysis Maccoby, E. E. (2000). Parenting and its effects of children: On reading and misreading behavior genetics Price, J. L., Hilsenroth, M. J., Callahan, K. L., Petretic-Jackson, P. A., & Bonge, D. (2004). A pilot study of psychodynamic psychotherapy for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse Riggs, S. A., Cusimano, A. M., & Benson, K. M. (2011). Childhood emotional abuse and attachment processes in the dyadic adjustment of dating couples Shultz, D. P., & Shultz, S. E. (2009). Theories of personality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1988). Positive and negative affectivity and their relation to anxiety and depressive disorders Watson, D., Gamez, W., & Simms, L. J. (2005). Basic dimensions of temperament and their relation to anxiety and depression: A symptom-based perspective Zemeckis, R. (Director). (1994). Forrest Gump [film]. Paramount Pictures. --------------------------------------------