In 1976, he quit journalism and began writing novels full-time, publishing three in close succession: Better Times than These (1978), As Summers Die (1980), and Only (1984). In 1969 Winston Groom married his first wife, Ruth Noble. Groom followed this advice, and in New York, he moved in the city’s literary circles, encountering among others fellow Alabamian Truman Capote. While at the Star, Groom met southern author Willie Morris, who encouraged him to go to New York to pursue his writing career.
Upon his discharge, Groom settled in Washington, D.C., and began working as a reporter for The Washington Star, covering police and court matters and later writing a column. During his military service, Groom achieved the rank of captain. Army (1965-1967), mostly with the Fourth Infantry Division, completing a tour of duty in Vietnam (1966-1967), an experience that had a profound effect on both his fiction and nonfiction. While working as the editor of a literary magazine at UA, Groom decided against his ambition of becoming a lawyer and instead decided to become a writer.Ī member of ROTC at the university, Groom served in the U.S. He attended University Military School in Mobile and then entered the University of Alabama (UA), where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. A number of Groom’s novels draw on his experiences in Vietnam, and in his later years, he turned to writing historical nonfiction.īorn in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 1944, Groom grew up in Alabama. She falls prey to every social movement and fad of the times unlike Forrest, whose unwavering strength and sense of right and wrong protect him from being caught up in social slides, Jenny’s genuflections reflect her lack of firm values and inner confidence.Long-time Mobilian Winston Groom (1944-2020) is best known for his novel Forrest Gump, a work in the tradition of southern fiction that became a cultural phenomenon after it was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name. An abused child, Jenny’s life path is a desperate wander to find solid ground. While Forrest’s foray’s into the dens of the big and powerful are cheekily amusing, the film ambles along over a deeper, darker layer: Forrest’s love for his childhood girlfriend, Jenny (Robin Wright). Unassuming Forrest, with his golly-gee enthusiasm and inbred decency, encounters the likes of Elvis, George Wallace, presidents Kennedy through Nixon, Dick Cavett, John Lennon and Abbie Hoffman as he graduates from ‘ Bama, fights in Vietnam, competes in international ping-pong, founds a shrimping company, engages in philanthropy and jogs cross-country.Ĭontrasting Forrest’s unassuming innocence with the upheavals and rancor of the times, the film is a wisely goofy commentary on the stupidity of smartness. Eric Roth’s screenplay, adapted from Winston Groom’s novel, nimbly intertwines Forrest’s life with the seminal social events and players of the past several decades. 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi': THR's 1983 ReviewĪn uplifting saga about one young boy’s earnest and good-natured attempts to overcome his disabilities, Forrest Gump is also a cheeky social satire of the past 40 years of U.S.
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