We should also acknowledge that, not only did she wait until she was dying to tell Forrest about their son, there’s also every possibility in the world that she was lying about him being the father in the first place.
As far as we are shown, they only had sex one time. Meanwhile she had recently arrived afteryears of a destructive and careless lifestyle including sexual promiscuity. And after they had sex, she left the next morning. It’s not impossible, but the odds that her pregnancy resulted from her one night with Forrest, rather than her sexual partners before (or after) she showed up at the plantation, are pretty low. Especially given Forrest Jr. did not inherit any of Forrest’s mental handicaps (an is in fact of higher than average intelligence).
The odds that she was dying, didn’t have any clue who the actual bio-dad was, and so lied to and used her handicapped, lonely, yet wealthy childhood friend as a means to secure her child’s future regardless of his paternity, though, is way higher. None of that is confirmed, obviously, but… it doesn’t look great.
Especially given Forrest Jr. Did not inherit any of Forrest’s mental handicaps
Did they ever specify any conditions he had? I see zero evidence that it was hereditary. Just because something “doesn’t look great” doesn’t mean it is true. It’s not supposed to look good. It’s supposed to look bad. The film is not trying to absolve Jenny in that moment.
Seemed to be a general learning disability. A parent with a learning disability is more likely to have a child with a learning disability. It’s not necessarily hereditary, and I’m not saying someone with a learning disability can’t have a gifted child. But given the whole set of circumstances, it just compounds the likelihood that Forrest is not Forrest Jr.'s biological father. It’s not impossible that he is, but it’s far from a certainty.
We should also acknowledge that, not only did she wait until she was dying to tell Forrest about their son, there’s also every possibility in the world that she was lying about him being the father in the first place.
As far as we are shown, they only had sex one time. Meanwhile she had recently arrived afteryears of a destructive and careless lifestyle including sexual promiscuity. And after they had sex, she left the next morning. It’s not impossible, but the odds that her pregnancy resulted from her one night with Forrest, rather than her sexual partners before (or after) she showed up at the plantation, are pretty low. Especially given Forrest Jr. did not inherit any of Forrest’s mental handicaps (an is in fact of higher than average intelligence).
The odds that she was dying, didn’t have any clue who the actual bio-dad was, and so lied to and used her handicapped, lonely, yet wealthy childhood friend as a means to secure her child’s future regardless of his paternity, though, is way higher. None of that is confirmed, obviously, but… it doesn’t look great.
Did they ever specify any conditions he had? I see zero evidence that it was hereditary. Just because something “doesn’t look great” doesn’t mean it is true. It’s not supposed to look good. It’s supposed to look bad. The film is not trying to absolve Jenny in that moment.
Seemed to be a general learning disability. A parent with a learning disability is more likely to have a child with a learning disability. It’s not necessarily hereditary, and I’m not saying someone with a learning disability can’t have a gifted child. But given the whole set of circumstances, it just compounds the likelihood that Forrest is not Forrest Jr.'s biological father. It’s not impossible that he is, but it’s far from a certainty.