Forrest Gump – Character Quotes

— Are you crazy, or just plain stupid?
— Stupid is as stupid does, Mrs. Blue.

They’re sending me to Vietnam… It’s this whole other country.

— Have you ever been with a girl, Forrest?
— I sit next to them in my Home Economics class all the time.

And 'cause I was a gazillionaire and I liked doing it so much, I cut that grass for free.

Mama always said there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes: where they're going, where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes.

You know, it's funny what a young man recollects, 'cause I don't remember being born. I don't recall what I got for my first Christmas, and I don't know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But I do remember the first time I heard the sweetest voice in the wide world.

I guess Lieutenant Dan figured there's some things you just can't change. He didn't want to be called crippled, just like I didn't want to be called stupid.

— Done, Drill Sergeant!
— Gump! Why did you put that weapon together so quickly, Gump?
— You told me to, Drill Sergeant.
— Jesus H. Christ, this is a new company record. If it wouldn't be a waste of such a damn fine enlisted man, I'd recommend you for OCS, Private Gump. You are gonna be a general some day, Gump. Now, disassemble your weapon and continue!

— Gump! What's your sole purpose in this Army?
— To do whatever you tell me, Drill Sergeant!
— God damn it, Gump! You're a goddamn genius! That's the most outstanding answer I've ever heard. You must have a goddamn IQ of 160! You are goddamn gifted, Private Gump!

One day, it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We'd been through every kind of rain there is: little bitty stinging rain, and big old fat rain, rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes, rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.

From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!

From that day on, we was always together. Jenny and me was like peas and carrots.

I don't know if Mama was right, or if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze. But I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.

— Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?
— I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.

I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is.

— Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you're gonna be?
— Who I'm gonna be?
— Yeah.
— Aren't I going to be me?