The Satirical Paradox of Feminism in the novel Forrest Gump and the Fate of Feminism Campaign

Abstract Women were depicted as characters that were eager to break away from convention in many novels. However， the subject role of women was never improved during the turbulent feminism movement. Paradox between public conception and reality got stronger and stronger. The genre of the literature represents such a change. The novels that can be demonstrated， in order to support this view， is the Forrest Gump by Winston Groom.

Key words Forrest Gump， Feminism Campaign， Paradox

中圖分類號：I206 文獻標識碼：A

This novel told us a story ranging over 30 years， during which many small characters also show up to pursue feminism. Raquel Welch is a good case in point. When she comes to buy dresses without money and people surrounding do not believe her， she pulls down her upper clothes with anger to prove her identification. “Who else is got tits （breast） like these in this one-horse town？”①Her cloth is like a constraint on women， she is eager to free out. Woman’s body is always regarded to be beautiful and holy， but it would be rude to expose it oneself in public. Men have this freedom. So nakedness is a radical way for women to express that. Women at that time were crazy. Miss French， a tenant of Gump， lures him to sleep with her. It was something only men would do rather than this fair maiden in the past.

In spite of these voices， the prejudice on women is more rampant day after day. “Girl Goon and Gorilla to Lift off Today”；② “American Launching Odd Messengers toward Alien Planets”.③ These titles are published on newspapers when American government send Gump 、a lady and an ape into space to make an experiment. Woman is mentioned in the same breath with a retard man and an animal. To some extent， that shows great discrimination on woman.

Welch， a famous star， seems noble； Miss French is the representative of fair maiden； the girl on the rocket contributes so much to American space efforts. Satirically， men look down upon them. There is not a good proportion between women’s value and their gains.

The novel follows a humorous style. But it was actually a satirical story full of paradoxes and prejudices. Women characters in the novel are either too radical or too conservative.

Jenny is a representative of the radical group， while man is the principal part and guidance of her radicalness. Her behaviors of antiwar are examples. She hides herself in ideas men initiated. Gradually， male’s view becomes the judgment of her value of life； male’s statue is regarded as a standard of her own. It is far away from the original intention of feminism. Equally， women should pursue their rights as a normal “human being” rather than turning into “male” in the society. During the vigorous struggle， women did not make an introspection of themselves. They tried to gain “equal rights”； meanwhile， female’s particular natural instincts and social value had been neglected. So， as cases of many other women， the root of Jenny’s paradox lies in the opposition of her misleading measures and herself as a woman.

Gump’s mother belongs to the conservative group. She does not seem to have the intention to improve her living standard and change her poor life. There are some traditional and deep-rooted concepts in her subconscious to drive her mind. Long term oppression makes women short of ability to find a way out. They are considered to be lacking of rational knowledge not only in the family but also in public. “They can never adapt to any profession which are open to even the dullest and lowliest male legally. Or no matter how they could be fit for， professions are not allowed to them because male’s dominating interest should be reserved.”④ It is a typical phenomenon which is prevailing even in today’s society. For an instance， investigation from Times indicated that “mother” is the most beautiful word people regard as in the English language. While females， especially women with children， have more difficulties in finding a job. People consider mother to be the greatest person only in their mental world. At the same time， they abandon this adoration to women who were already a mother in many fields. It is unreasonable. Another， some feminist suggested that Women’s Day is an illogical festival， because there is not a “Men’s Day”. This unequal treatment is to protect women’s rights and interests. In fact， it stresses the weakness of women. In a word， social prejudice is another main factor to cause this paradox.

Let’s come back to the reality. During that period of America， the main forces of feminism movement are “baby-boomers” after WWⅡ. People call them “Rebellion youth” or “angry generation”. Soon after the World War II， America met the first period of baby boom that never happened before. As the progresses of American history， all these American youths born after the war made this period the most restless one in the American history. The post-war social values of America had experienced a great transformation and quakes in history as this generation began to rebel against the tradition. Feminism movement reached the peak at that time. Women have indeed got lots of rights they had never enjoyed before. As the time passed， all these rebellions at that time now are all middle-aged people. They range from American politicians to enterprising genius， from academic intellectuals to big stars in entertainments， and have become the main work and brain force of American society. For them， feminism movement would be a long-term battle. And they never give up. Destiny of women in Forrest Gump is a warning to today’s feminists： The effective way is to cooperate with the society rather than initiate anti-tradition movement radically.

Conclusion

feminism in the novel Forrest Gump reflects some paradoxical implications. The contradiction in women themselves and between female and the public conception lead to this paradox. Women roles in the novel are important but they all live in a humble position in society. They try to improve. However， they are either too conservative or too radical to adopt proper measures. Feminism movement is a great undertaking in America. And to eliminate the prejudice and misleading conception， there is a long and hopeful way to go for women.

Notes

① Winston Groom： Forrest Gump （London： black swan， 1994）， 211.

② Ibid， 118.

③ Ibid..

④ 約翰·斯圖爾特·穆勒著.婦女的屈從地位.汪溪，譯.北京：商務印書館，1996：301.