Forrest runs away from racist bullies. Jenny runs away from her father. Forrest runs toward Jenny, away from battle, across the United States, and through the football field. Jenny is constantly trying to "run away" from her abusive past.

Yep, it seems safe to say that running is a recurrent image in Forrest Gump. Even Jenny's last name—Curran—reminds us of the Latin word currere, which means "to run." (Currere—think "courier.")

For Forrest and Jenny, running is a way to overcome their limitations, but it gets more complex than that. After all, for Forrest, it works. It's a literal symbol of his ability to triumph, as he bursts out of his braces and flies down the road, just like the bird Jenny wants to be and can never become.

No matter how hard or fast Jenny runs, she can't escape. Is that because her trauma is internal? Is it because her average intelligence doesn't protect her the way Forrest's low IQ does? Or, is it because she's a woman, and she's trapped in ways totally unlike Forrest?

Whatever the answer (and we're leaning toward "all of the above," personally), the imagery of running reminds us that symbols aren't necessarily a code that you can use to unlock a movie or a book. They can be complex sets of images that can be triumphant—or despairing. Poor Jenny.