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"Good Will Hunting": Movie Review

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Published: May 14, 2021

Words: 695 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

"Good Will Hunting" Summary Essay

Works cited:.

  • Carter, T. (Director). (2005). Coach Carter [Motion Picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
  • Jain, R. (2019, June 5). Coach Carter: An Analysis of Leadership Qualities. Medium.
  • Ken Carter (basketball). (2023, April 1). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Carter_(basketball)
  • Leadership Lessons from Coach Carter. (2015, January 14). Skip Prichard. https://www.skipprichard.com/leadership-lessons-from-coach-carter/
  • The Impact of Ken Carter's Decision to Lock Out His High School Basketball Team. (2016, January 14). Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/5gqj3q/the-impact-of-ken-carters-decision-to-lock-out-his-high-school-basketball-team

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good will hunting summary essay

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Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting

  • Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
  • A touching tale of a wayward young man who struggles to find his identity, living in a world where he can solve any problem, except the one brewing deep within himself, until one day he meets his soul mate who opens his mind and his heart. — Dima & Danielle
  • A young adult by the name of Will Hunting has always been living in the slums. He spends his nights at bars and batting cages with his best friends. However, he has an amazing talent in Mathematics. When Will is almost sent to jail, a professor at MIT decides to bail him out under the condition that he works with him for math every week and that he visits a therapist. Little does he know that the therapist, Sean, will change his life in so many ways. — Eric
  • A young male who happens to be smart but keeps getting into trouble is assigned to see a psychologist. Seeing each other regularly, the psychologist guides him on a cleaner and clearer path to a good life and a good career and not getting into trouble. — RECB3
  • Will Hunting is a genius who's living a rough life in South Boston, while being employed at a prestigious college in Boston, he's discovered by a Fields Medal winning Professor who eventually tries to get Will to turn his life around with the help of Sean Maguire, as Will begins to realize that there's more to himself then he thinks there is. — Ryan Harder <[email protected]>
  • Though Will Hunting (Matt Damon) has genius-level intelligence (such as a talent for memorizing facts and an intuitive ability to prove sophisticated mathematical theorems), he works as a janitor at MIT and lives alone in a sparsely furnished apartment in an impoverished South Boston neighborhood. An abused foster child, he subconsciously blames himself for his unhappy upbringing and turns this self-loathing into a form of self-sabotage in both his professional and emotional lives. Hence, he is unable to maintain either a steady job or a steady romantic relationship. In the first week of class, Will solves a difficult graduate-level math problem that Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), a Fields Medalist and Combinatorialist, left on a chalkboard as a challenge to his students, hoping someone might solve the problem by the semester's end. Everyone at MIT wonders who solved it, and Lambeau puts another problem on the board -- one that took him and his colleagues two years to prove. Will is discovered in the act of solving the problem, and Lambeau initially thinks that Will is vandalizing the board and chases him away. When Will turns out to have solved it correctly, Lambeau tries to track Will down. Meanwhile, Will attacks a youth who had bullied him years ago in kindergarten, and he now faces imprisonment after attacking a police officer who was responding to the fight. Realizing Will might have the potential to be a great mathematician, such as the genius Evariste Galois, Lambeau goes to Will's trial and intervenes on his behalf, offering him a choice: either Will can go to jail, or he can be released into Lambeau's personal supervision, where he must study mathematics and see a psychotherapist. Will chooses the latter even though he seems to believe that he does not need therapy. Five psychologists fail to connect with Will. Out of sheer desperation, Lambeau finally calls on psychologist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), an estranged old friend and MIT classmate of his who grew up in the same neighborhood as Will. Sean differs from his five predecessors in that he is from Will's neighborhood and pushes back at Will and is eventually able to get through to Will and his hostile, sarcastic defense mechanisms. At one point, Will analyzes a watercolor painting that Sean had done himself and concludes that it reflects Sean's suppressed feelings and guilt over the premature death of his wife. Sean becomes offended and hostile and grabs Will by the throat, threatening to sink his chances for reform. Will ends the appointment and walks out; Lambeau walks in believing that Will had ruined his chances with another therapist, however, Sean sees Will as a challenge and tells Lambeau to bring him back each week. In a later session Will is particularly struck when Sean tells him how he gave up his ticket to see the Red Sox in the 1975 World Series (missing Carlton "Pudge" Fisk's famous home run in Game 6) in order to meet and spend time with a stranger in a bar, who would later become his wife. Will is encouraged to try to establish a relationship with Skylar (Minnie Driver), a young woman he met at a bar near Harvard University. This doctor-patient relationship, however, is far from one-sided. Will challenges Sean in the same way that Sean is encouraging Will to take a good, hard, objective look at himself and his life. Sean's own pathology is that he is unable and unwilling to even consider a second romantic relationship in the aftermath of his first beloved wife's premature death from cancer several years before. This may well be the primary reason why Sean agrees to take Will on as a client. Meanwhile, Lambeau pushes Will so hard to excel that Will eventually refuses to go to the job interviews that Lambeau arranged for him for positions that might prove challenging, even to his immense talents. Lambeau and Sean also squabble about Will's future. Will's accidental witnessing of this furious argument somehow acts as a catalyst for his decision to enter a deeper level of trust and sharing with Sean. He has apparently realized from this event that the situation is a little more complex than Will vs. The World. He now sees that these mentors are every bit as human, fallible, and conflicted as he is. Skylar asks Will to move to California with her, where she will begin medical school at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Will panics at the thought. Skylar then expresses support about his past, which is received as patronizing and triggers a tantrum in which Will storms out of the dorm while still in a state of undress. He shrugs off the work he's doing for Lambeau as "a joke," even though Lambeau is incapable of solving some of these theorems and admittedly envies Will. Lambeau begs Will not to throw it all away, but Will walks out on him anyway. Sean points out that Will is so adept at anticipating future failure in his romantic relationships, that he either allows them to fizzle out or deliberately bails, in order to avoid the risk of future emotional pain. When Will then provides a whimsical reply to Sean's very serious query of what he wants to do with his life, Sean simply shows him the door. When Will further tells his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck) that he wants to be a laborer for the rest of his life, Chuckie becomes brutally honest with Will: he feels it's an "insult" for Will to waste his potential as a laborer, and that his recurring wish is to knock on Will's door in the morning when he picks him up for work and find that he just isn't there, that he has left without saying goodbye. Will goes to another therapy session, where he and Sean share that they were both victims of child abuse. At first, Will is defensive and resentful at Sean's repeated reassurances that "It's not your fault," but he eventually breaks down in tearful acknowledgment. Finally, after much self-reflection, Will decides to cease being a victim of his own inner demons and to take charge of his life. When his buddies present him with a rebuilt Chevrolet Nova for his 21st birthday, he decides to go to California and reunite with Skylar, setting aside his lucrative corporate and government job offers. Will leaves a brief note for Sean explaining what he's doing, using one of Sean's own quips, "I had to go see about a girl." Sean also leaves to travel the world, though not before reconciling with Lambeau. The movie ends as Chuckie poignantly discovers, in fulfillment of his own long-standing wish, that Will has left for a better life. Will is then shown starting his life-affirming drive to California for a new beginning with Skylar and a leap into an unpredictable future.

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Good Will Hunting

by KE Monahan Huntley

( Quotations used in this article are from the development script dated 12/4/96 by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. )

The film delivers an intellectually and emotionally fulfilling story. Cast with real life friends and screenplay authors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, dialogue is realistic, if sometimes too quick, accents thick, and asides perhaps too inside for the audience to catch. A nice moment intimating Damon and Affleck's long time friendship is a glance into their characters' daily routine--the fluid motion of sliding into the car, coffee in hand, and moving off. The storyweaving of all four throughlines is tight--a scene depicting the passionate argument can also contain points pertinent to the main character , influence character , and objective story throughline (e.g., Sean McGuire in his psychologist role). It is no surprise this fine first effort has, as of this review, already been awarded Best Original Screenplay from the foreign press, and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay .

Will Hunting is a punk prodigy. He is the main character ; his problems occur in the physics domain. Will is concerned with doing what it takes to get by--his activities have no inherent purpose. Abandoned and abused, Will carries a colossal chip on his shoulder--he is a do-er who strikes out with his fists, and defends himself and his friends with brilliant intellect ("My boy's wicked smart"). He has a male mental sex , particularly well represented in his symptom of cause and response of effect , yet his genius, in a sense, is holistic:

Stone deaf and he [Beethoven] saw all of that music in his head.

So, do you play the piano?

Not a lick. I look at a piano and I see black and white keys, three pedals and a box of wood. Beethoven, Mozart, they looked at it and it just made sense to them. They saw a piano and they could play.

--But you can do my O-Chem lab in under an hour, you can--

--When it came to stuff like that I could always just play.

Will works as a janitor at M.I.T. under the auspices of the Parole Employment Program. That he has solved difficult theorems on the main hallway chalkboard while swabbing floors causes Nobel Prize winner Professor Gerry Lambeau to seek him out. Lambeau finds Will at his arraignment for assaulting a cop. The objective story takes shape as the judge decides , under the following circumstances , to allow Will a stay from his jail sentence:

I've spoken to the judge and he's agreed to release you under my supervision. . . . Under two conditions. . . . That you meet with me twice a week--get into some more advanced Physics. . . . The other condition is that you see a therapist.

The story goal of progress is then established:

The judge was very clear about this, you're to meet with me and a therapist every week and I'm responsible to submit reports on these meetings. If you fail to meet any of these conditions ( optionlock ), the Judge told me you will have to serve time.

Meeting these conditions by the week after Will's 21st birthday (six months) indicates a timelock , however, emphasis is placed on the limited options Will has in order to make progress with his intellectual and emotional potential.

Test is the problem shared by the objective and main character 's stories. In the objective story , students prepare for examinations; rivalries between the "smart kids" and the "Southies" provoke challenges to prove oneself: "We can step outside and deal with it" and so forth. For Will, any relationship outside his own tightly knit friendships is subject to a proving ground exemplified by the number of therapists he goes through until meeting his influence character , Sean McGuire:

Why is he hiding? Why is he a janitor? Why doesn't he trust anybody? Because the first thing that ever happened to him on God's green earth was that he was abandoned by the two people [who] were supposed to love him the most!"

Sean is Lambeau's last ditch effort to find a therapist for Will. His throughline is explored, appropriately enough, in the psychology domain . The screenplay description sketches his current existence: "Although there is a confidence in his eyes . . . he lost his enthusiasm long ago. Tired of teaching, tired of life, he finds himself resigned to the tedium of teaching core classes to an indifferent student body." Lambeau calls on their past friendship for the favor of Sean counseling Will, divulging, "You're from the same neighborhood."

Will sets off the relationship story concern of preconscious in his first session with Sean. He rudely and cruelly makes assumptions about Sean's marriage, unwittingly determining ( relationship story problem ) Sean's focus , the ceaseless mourning for his wife:

Or maybe you married the wrong woman--

That's it isn't it? You married the wrong woman. She leave you?

Sean is trying to contain himself.

WILL (CONT'D)

How are the seas now, Doc?

In a flash, Sean is out of his chair, around his desk and in Will's face. He holds him by the collar.

You watch your mouth! Don't you ever patronize me! I don't care what you do! But when you open your mouth to speak to me you do so with some respect!

Will is skilled at taking one's measure, illustrated when he attacks Clark's pretentiousness and exposes hapless shrinks' affectations, but lacks real world experience to truly understand the ramifications of his actions, particularly when the actions are thoughtless ( main character critical flaw ). Sean, stung by Will's comments about his deceased wife, identifies his main character thematic conflict :

You're just a boy. You don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about. You've never been out of Boston. So if I asked you about art you could give me the skinny on every art book ever written . . . Michelangelo? You know a lot about him I bet. Life's work, criticisms, political aspirations. But you couldn't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. . . . Do you think I would presume to know the first thing about who you are because I read "Oliver Twist"?

A conversation about the progress of the therapy sessions illustrates the fixed mindset established in the relationship story throughline :

What do you mean "he didn't talk"? You sat there for an hour?

No, he just sat there and counted the seconds until the session was over. It was pretty impressive, actually.

Why would he do that?

To show me he doesn't have to talk to me if he doesn't want to.

Oh, what is this? Some kind of staring contest between two kids from the "old neighborhood"? This is ridiculous.

I can't talk first.

Will finally opens up, revealing his interest in Skylar. Sean's unique ability of knowledge compels Will to consider the notion of trust :

Well, are you going out again?

I don't know.

Haven't called her.

Jesus Christ, you are an amateur. ( Inexperience )

. . . You don't get it, she did everything right. Right now she's perfect, I don't want to ruin that.

My wife's been dead two years, Will. And when I think about her . . . those are the things I think about most. Little idiosyncrasies that only I knew about. Those made her my wife. . . . we get to choose who we're going to let into our own weird little worlds. You're not perfect. And let me save you the suspense, this girl you met isn't either. The question is, whether or not you're perfect for each other. You can know everything in the world, but the only way you're findin' that one out is by giving it a shot.

As the story continues, Lambeau asks Sean if he and Will have discussed the boy's future ( objective story benchmark ) because his (Lambeau's) "phone's been ringing off the hook with job offers. . . . Cutting edge physics, think tanks . . ." Lambeau has a fantasy ( objective story issue ) of Will as the second Einstein: "But it was one twenty-six year old Swiss Patent clerk, doing physics in his spare time, who read the mind of God. He changed the world." This conflicts with Sean's reality check ( fact ): "That's great, Gerry, if that's what he wants. But this kid's not here for nothing." He further ruminates: "Einstein. Had two marriages, both train-wrecks. The guy never saw his kids, one of whom, I think, ended up in an asylum."

Chuckie homes in on the main character benchmark of obtaining , declaring if Will fell in with Lambeau's plans, at least he'd "make some nice bank." In this same conversation, the objective story symptom of unending , and response of ending is illustrated:

What do I want a way outta here for? I want to live here for the rest of my life. I want to be your next door neighbor. I want to take our kids to little league together up Foley Field.

Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way, but in 20 years, if you're livin' next door to me, comin' over, watching the fuckin' Patriot game and still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. And that's not a threat, that's a fact ( objective story catalyst ). . . . My best friend's sittin' on a winning lottery ticket and he's too much of a pussy to cash it in. And that's bullshit 'cause I'd do anything to have what you got! And so would any of these guys. It'd be a fucking insult to us if you're still here in twenty years. Hangin' around here is a fucking waste of your time.

You don't know that. ( Test )

The passionate thematic exploration between worth and value explodes in the climatic last session between Will and Sean:

This is not your fault.

Oh, I know.

It's not your fault.

It's not your fault . . .

The therapist is finally able ( influence character issue ) to convince Will of his self- worth and subsequent value to others, setting up the relationship story solution of expectation .

The Lambeau/Sean subplot effectively serves to develop the influence character throughline , yet is also responsible for the film's most awkward moment. Sean's problem is his hunch that Lambeau and the rest of their peers think he's a failure. While he remains steadfast in his relationship with Will, Sean changes in the subplot by starting to apply his concerns to his own theories . His new resolve occurs approximately at the same time Will is making his change--momentarily distracting the audience's attention from the power of the story's successful outcome. The moment passes, however, and it is all good for Will Hunting. He finally wises up ( unique ability ) and stops the careless treatment of his impossibly high IQ, and is last seen cruising cross country "to go see about a girl."

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good will hunting summary essay

Robin Williams’ therapy makes ‘Will Hunting’ good

Therapist movies tend to be well-received. “Ordinary People” won some Oscars; “The Prince of Tides” and “Regarding Henry” were popular and are good movies. Psychology seems to allow for the most positive rehabilitative stories. People with physical problems in movies tend to die (“Pride of the Yankees,” “Brian’s Song”) while those with psychological deficiencies are eminently improvable (“The Snake Pit,” “Rain Man,” etc.). Psychology stories tend to rely on more unconventional therapy and analysis, the outcome is usually the opposite of what would happen in real life, and we are OK with that, because this is a movie, and it entertains. What happens to Will Hunting is no exception. “Good Will Hunting” feels like instant therapy. It is about society’s inclination to push people who maybe aren’t ready to be pushed. And it’s for those who believe they are academic underachievers. It does not realize how much it flirts with the “person who doesn’t want to be helped” scenario. That is a powerful theme, used to devastating effect in films such as “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Taxi Driver.” Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are happier than that. Where others see reality, they see hope. And so they won’t quite go there. Strictly on the facts, one has to wonder if Will truly wants the intervention he is receiving. But the cheeriness and brightness of most of the scenes suggest early on, they’re going to get to Will Hunting, one way or another. The filmmakers were either so self-conscious of this angle — or just wanted to keep everyone hanging for as long as possible — that they didn’t even give Will the opportunity to say “thanks,” merely having Sean cut him off with “You’re welcome.” The script was famously penned by Damon and Affleck, who readily admit they received guidance during the process. Skeptics questioned whether the two could’ve written such an engaging movie so early in their careers, but in fact the script is flawed and probably has the feel of an amateur. (We’ll get to how it won an Oscar a bit later.) Is Damon himself a closet genius? He went to the public school Cambridge Rindge & Latin, got into Harvard, studied English for a year or so, then dropped out once Hollywood noticed him. Not a bad reason for quitting Harvard. So it’s doubtful this script reflects personal demons, but perhaps is based on people Damon knows. Presumably, the protagonist is Will Hunting, a 20-year-old disenfranchised genius. Sometimes, though, it tends to be a movie about his therapist, Sean Maguire. By the end, it’s not fully clear which one needed the other more, or which one has gained the most. This dual approach has been done exceptionally well (for example, the first two “Godfather” movies comparing Michael Corleone with Vito Corleone), but is tricky. “Prince of Tides” also tried this structure, and the results were dubious, the Barbra Streisand character, Lowenstein, ultimately violating every personal and professional vow on her way to becoming liberated. “Good Will Hunting” has a different problem in that Robin Williams, as the therapist, is too good, appearing with actors not (yet) at his level, and his supplemental performance tends to be more appealing than the story of the protagonist. This is why “Hunting” is not a great movie, though highly watchable. The premise of the film is flat-out impossible. The idea that one of the world’s top six mathematicians would be doing janitorial work at MIT is inconceivable. Will references Mozart and Beethoven, but these are poor analogies. Musical prodigies have been common throughout history, sometimes emerging around age 3 or 4. But even the very best mathematicians require years of training under other elite mathematicians. The idea that Will, when he’s not getting into playground scraps, can solve almost unthinkable problems at age 20 simply by reading books is ludicrous. Even so, that absurdity can be overlooked. The erratic portrayal of Will, by Damon, is a bigger problem. According to an early scene, Will has a horrendous, hidden temper. He brutally attacks a kindergarten rival for no reason, other than the fact he saw him on the street (after seeing him at a baseball game and doing nothing). But never again do we see any violence from Will, not even when he and a friend are needlessly provoked at a Harvard bar, where Will is the epitome of gentlemanly conduct. Nor does he become violent with his girlfriend, instructor or various therapists during rough moments. So we have a scene of shocking violence, unsupported by everything else in the film, ginned up to serve as the plot catalyst. To call this an unreal movie is to be kind. “Sling Blade” is a movie that comes to mind as an effective depiction of a violent person, someone who struggles to control his rage but maybe never really can. Once Will’s aggravated assault is in the books, that option’s done here; he moves on to more genteel problems, like insecurity, lack of focus and fear of rejection. Will isn’t the only character poorly defined for this movie. Professor Gerald Lambeau, played by Stellan Skarsgård, is a train wreck. The script needs Lambeau for 2 reasons, to serve as a benchmark for Will’s talent and to deliver him to Sean, but is never comfortable with him. He is clumsily portrayed as part enabler, part obstacle. Several times he indicates altruism, wanting to see Will’s talents benefit the world. Other times in his arguments he appears exploitative, seeking to impress his friends at McNeil or whatever other think tanks he wants Will to work at for $80,000 a year. He notably condescends to this admitted superior 20-year-old mathematician by regularly calling him a “boy.” He somewhat exemplifies the type of genius Sean mocks in his lakeside chat with Will, a smart male with no understanding of the value of a woman (Lambeau notoriously asks a female student to a Saturday night drink). Realistically, Lambeau does deserve most of the credit for Will’s makeover. He cared, took a chance, was patient, found Sean. In the end, he is not wanted, dismissed as easily as Will’s construction job. There’s a message here: If you care enough to help, don’t bring an ego. Lambeau sets up Will with a series of job interviews (a low point for the film, discussed below). What is strange is that a premier academic like Lambeau would want such a prized pupil to go work for a company or the government. He suggests that will provide “freedom” for Will’s academic pursuits. Is Lambeau some kind of simmering capitalist or CIA-phile? One would think most professors would want Will to teach at MIT, CalTech, University of Chicago, maybe join Fermilab, and win a Nobel Prize. The film struggles mightily to sort out these sentiments, unlike its polar opposite, “Patton,” which is also reviewed on this site. Here Lambeau is Patton, trying to drive Will to the apex of mathematics. He is not particularly appreciated. The therapist is the hero. He battles the invisible enemy that geniuses like Lambeau can’t detect. The therapist’s victory is in guiding Will past his demons to receive some kind of personal satisfaction, although it is presumably a satisfaction that would allow Will to freely pursue the path Lambeau envisions for him without beating people up along the way. “It’s not your fault” ... this is what we’re left with as the summation of Sean’s assessment, a disappointingly shallow slogan in a film with much higher goals. Maguire’s best observation is undoubtedly “Maybe you’re perfect,” an unexpected body blow to the perceptions we all seem to have, on some level, of the admirable people we meet who somehow make us uncomfortable. Is Sean also coaching himself to believe in life as a widower? The tragic death of Williams in 2014 suggests he might well have drawn on his own therapeutical experience. There is nothing noteworthy about the cinematography. Most of it is people sitting in a room, talking. The classroom shots differ from those in most elite academic movies, such as “The Paper Chase,” “Soul Man” or “Mona Lisa Smile.” Those movies succeed in putting hotshot young brains on the spot under intimidating professors. Lambeau’s MIT classrooms are informal, unthreatening. The film is overly reliant on dialogue. There are some hugs, some tears, some shouting, but to delve deep into the souls of Will and Sean, you’ve got to listen to speech after speech. A few scenes, though, do elevate the film. The first is when Maguire suddenly grabs Will, whose face, just in front of the camera, had carried a look of disdain as he dissected one of Maguire’s paintings. This scene’s importance is monumental. In real life, we know that Will, a very troubled and violent person who has met dozens of therapists in his young life and treated all with disdain, would likely tear Maguire to shreds. There would be another arrest and Lambeau and Skylar would give up. Furthermore, if one gives this scene significant thought — make that too much thought — one might reach the conclusion that Sean reacted in a very amateurish way that calls into question his credentials, that he should not be bothered by Will’s comments but relieved, because he suddenly understands how brilliant Will is and yet how wrong his description of the painting is, a realization that could’ve prevented a sleepless night. But the scene nevertheless works, because Williams is a guy you don’t want to mess with on any level, and to have a violent genius acknowledge this by backing down is an extraordinary depiction of Sean’s chops.

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Human Behavior and Psychology in “The Good Will Hunting” by Gus Van Sant Term Paper

The movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ is directed by Gus Van Sant. The script of this movie is written by co-stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The screenplay is quite thought-provoking, with a touch of irony.

Good Will Hunting is a movie that is emotionally and intellectually stirring, with straight, honest, but engaging dialogues. This movie centers on Will Hunting, who is a foster child, and has been abused during his childhood. He grew up in orphanages in South Boston. Emotionally he is unstable, angry, and confrontational. He is a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Will Hunting has a photographic memory. He is self taught in the fields of arts and history. He is inherently an expert at mathematics.

Current situation

Will solves a graduate-level mathematics problem from algebra which Professor Gerald Lambeau, a Fields Medalist, and an erudite, leaves on a board to be solved by his students. When it was anonymously solved by Will Hunting, Lambeau asked from the class who had solved it, to which no student took responsibility. Then, Lambeau posed a more difficult problem; he saw janitor Will Hunting solving it. Lambeau is dumb founded that he found the correct answer to it.

On the other hand, Will attacks a youth who had messed up with him during his kindergarten days. He even attacked a policeman. Meanwhile, Lambeau comes to his rescue because he finds Will quite intelligent. He gives him two options: either to face imprisonment or to study mathematics and see a therapist. Will finds the second option more convenient.

Five expert therapists left Will one after another because he behaved with them with contempt until he met Sean Maguire, who had been an old friend of Lambeau’s. He and Will had grown up in the same neighborhood. He finally overcomes his sarcastic replies and defense systems. Sean somehow convinced Will that he missed an important show just to meet a stranger to whom he got married. This indirectly seeded his mind with thoughts of Skylar, a young woman, he met at a bar.

At another point, Sean Maguire convinces him that it was not his fault that he has been a victim of child abuse, and that he is not responsible for his misery. Finally, he accepts these facts and overcomes his defense systems, bursting into tears.

The second important person with him is his best friend Chukie, who he tells that he would love to be a laborer for the rest of his life. But Chukie feels that it is not becoming of Will to waste his talent, he thinks that Will is full of hidden talents. He imagined him to reach a higher position with his latent abilities.

Difficulty in Social and Psychological Functioning

Will Hunting has passed through very tough times. He has been through orphan houses. He has not experienced the relations of love and mutual trust and care. His environment during the initial days of his upbringing had been the worst. He was abused during his childhood. He came to believe that he was responsible for his faults. He felt guilty about it all the time (Greene, R. Roberta, 2002). He had formed such a firm opinion that he doubted his inner talents and felt that he was good at labor, and would continue to do it for life. He had read street books, so he developed a fear, thinking how his knowledge could compare to that of well-read students. Later in life, he had been in contact with four people who tried to bring him out of his state of fear and baseless defense mechanisms. Sean Maguire teaches him to believe in himself. He indirectly gives Will a clue that sometimes strange people can have a lifelong affiliation, after which he falls in love with Skylar. He has to overcome his fear of being lonely and left out to develop trust, care, and love that people extend towards him.

Theories that apply

  • Personality Theory by Sigmund Freud – The elements of personality as depicted by Sigmund Freud is three in number, namely, id, ego, and superego. We will examine the personality traits of Will according to this theory. The three systems mentioned above represent biological, psychological, and social forces.
  • Id – The newborn is stimulated by his biological urges such as hunger, thirst, need for warmth, and need for sleep. These all are inborn in the human personality. These are called id. Id functions on the principle of pleasure. It aims at pleasure. It seeks immediate gratification of his needs. When a baby is hungry he wants food right away. If it is not available he may suckle on his fingers. Acting on the principle of id, an individual only responds to impulses, regardless of circumstances.
  • Ego – As the biological needs of a person continue for life, so is id; in other words, it is an essential attribute of our personality. But what happens with time is that id becomes modified, keeping in view changing circumstances. That is, a child adopts to take a world view in his mind. Simply put, he identifies reality. The reality principle asks the child to suspend his biological needs until the right time. It includes remembering, learning, perceiving, and reasoning. It emerges out of id. The ego will make the person act or refrain from acting in a certain way which he has learned through his worldview (Goldstein, E., 2004).
  • Superego – In reacting to his environment, a child finally learns values, social standards from his parents, peers, and other settings in which he has been. These aspects of personality are called superego.

Superego has two components both of which are of relevance to our study of Will. One is ‘conscience’; it usually discourages a person to act in a certain way in society because it is thought of as undesirable. As such conscience develops under scorn, and threats of punishments. For example, a parent may say to his child, “You are bad”. If a child acquires this trait in his personality, he will behave much like his parent.

The other component of the superego is the “ego ideal”, which is the behavior encouraged by elders. It develops through rewards received, and appreciation gained. Statements such as ‘good work’ and ‘excellent job’ serve as an example of this variety.

Together, this conscience and ego ideal shape the whole personality of an individual and determine what he should do and what he should avoid. The development of personality is ensured when there is advancement in ego and superego concerning id. The ego develops in response to the problem-based learning of animate and inanimate objects, whereas the superego develops only when a person comes into contact with human beings.

In addition to the above-mentioned theories, others are oral, anal, and phallic development. According to this theory, if breast milk is sufficiently available, an infant will likely be optimistic and trusting, and if the same is not available, the infant may develop a pessimistic view of life and lack of trust. Furthermore, Sigmund Freud argues that if anal training was not properly started then the infant may prefer messiness and disorder, over cleanliness.

At this juncture, the mention of the Freudian theory of consciousness, and its importance is necessary. Mental life as described by Sigmund Freud consists of three levels of awareness. The first level is the conscious level, at which the person is aware of what is going on in his environment. Below this is the area for feelings and thoughts, which are not available at any time but maybe recalled. Then there is the unconscious. This area of our brain is deep-seated. Freud believes that this area of our mind is sitting on the driver’s seat. He believes much of our behavior is formed because of this area. Unconscious is not easy to tap but it can be discovered by using special techniques of psychoanalysis, such as free association.

It is believed that traumatic experiences are deeply buried in the unconscious. To avoid pain with their expression these are repressed and buried.

As is evident, Will Hunting has passed through severe orphan houses training. It is possible that he has not been completely satisfied with his basic needs of ‘id’. In orphan houses, individuals being many are not properly taken care of. Additionally, there is the absence of warmth of a mother there. As he has been brought up in such an atmosphere where there was no proper care, his superego had learned values that were best fitted there. He became a person of low esteem and no self-worth.

It is quite possible that oral and anal phases have not been done properly, which could be the cause of sarcastic use of language, absence of trust, care, and love. Messiness of his living place may be due to an improper anal stage (Freud, S., 1938).

Cognitive Theory and Rational Emotive Therapy

This theory deals with the acquisition of thought and knowledge; and a reflection of these in our actions and feelings. So it is a holistic function of thoughts, memories, feelings, and our reaction to the environment as a result of which we all have unique expressions depending upon how we perceived our world view.

Cognitive theory is not a single theory but a combination of many, each presenting certain aspects of human personality and behavior. For example, the effects of id, ego, and superego in Freudian concepts, and the shaping of our behavior in relation to the environment. They believe that the human mind is like a computer, and his environment is like information. The information gained is processed in the mind and then individuals react to it. In essence, theories of Gestalt psychology by Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka, and Jean Piaget incorporated the development of moral values over some time.

Environmental influences on a person are many and varied. It is interesting to see how an individual who is made of certain biological traits and has certain psychology, reacts to the environment in which he is placed. Environmental theorists claim that human behavior is a product of two-way interactions between an individual and the environment he is faced with. This provides him with an external environment according to cognitive theorists. He thereby attaches personal meaning to the behavior of others, circumstances, and events (Berzoff et al, 1991). This leads to the formation of a uniquely real environment for him. This reality may be different from that of others, such that it may either create hopelessness or optimism and forward-looking behavior. When an individual learns from this environment, there is some ‘poor fit’ between him and his environment. In other words, the individual cannot completely grasp the message of his environment, and there can be misconceptions. These misconceptions and gaps in personality can be filled up by the active involvement of a helper who seeks to rectify some of the concepts that the individual has learned through interaction with his environment. Therefore, certain specific therapies may be implicated to change his perspective about his environment to make them more compatible socially. One such therapy is rational-emotive therapy which focuses on irrational thoughts which contribute to a person’s self-defeating behavior and emotional distress (Applegate, 1990).

Basic assumptions of cognitive theory state that the growth spectrum is a continuous one. There is cognitive growth in every individual. It is because of a person’s physical maturation and interaction with his environment at a specific age. A person’s intelligence, problem-solving, and decision making vary with age, due to different treatments of environment upon us and our specific reaction to it. Any individual only specifically reacts to the environment. He focuses selectively on events (Vourlekis, B., 1999).

In the movie, it is quite clear that Will Hunting has a distorted view of reality, which is hampering his matching in society. It is due to the environment he has lived in decision-making and was brought up in. He blames himself for all his miseries and behaves in a self-defeating way, such that he prefers to be labor throughout life. He does not understand that he can be elevated to a high rank which many people covet their entire lives but never reach there. For this reason, Lambeau, who has seen Will, admits in these words to Sean Maguire that he should change his irrational behavior if he could. He tells Sean, “This kid’s special, Sean. I’ve never seen anything like him.”

After Sean is convinced, he engages in multiple therapy sessions with Will. Here we will discuss some important points of rational emotive therapy, which Sean involves in with Will Hunting; we shall also see any reaction of Will towards these developments and visible change of behavior. At first, Sean is unsuccessful to break into his reality constructs of Will. But at one point where Sean tells him, he missed a game show, which he had waited for night to get the tickets, to meet a stranger girl whom he had just seen there. This is the first breakthrough that Sean gains in Will’s personality. Will says in response, “So wait a minute. The Red Sox haven’t won a World Series since 1918, you slept out for tickets, games gonna start in twenty minutes, in walks a girl you have never seen before, and you give your ticket away?”.

At one point, Sean tells Will the importance of being in relation, to overcome unforeseen fears that may arise due to break up, “That’s what I’m saying, Will. You’ll never have that kind of relationship in a world where you’re afraid to take the first step because all you’re seeing are the negative things that might happen ten miles down the road.”

Finally, Sean makes Will realize that it was not his fault; therefore he had no reason to be guilty about himself. He tells Will his story thus: “My dad used to make us walk down to the park and collect the sticks he was going to beat us with. Breaking the worst of the beatings were between me and my brother. We would practice on each other trying to find sticks that would break”.

After some time, Will tells him that he was also beaten and abused he says, “He used to just put a belt, a stick and a wrench on the kitchen table and say “choose” when Will admits that he was beaten; Sean Maguire capitalizes on it and insistently tries on Will to express by his mouth that it was not his fault but it was the circumstances that he had been in. Here, from these few lines we can realize how Will bursts into tears upon conceding that it was not his fault:

SEAN (cont’d)

This is not your fault.

(nonchalant)

Oh, I know.

It’s not your fault.

(dead serious)

Don’t fuck with me.

(comes around desk,

sits in front of Will)

(tears start)

It’s not…

(crying hard)

I know, I know…

(Good Will Hunting script).

This narrative clearly indicates that Will’s views about his reality concepts had changed. Rational-emotive therapy can bring about behavior change. It presents in vivid by a therapist about his patient. What is unconsciously driving his thoughts, without the realization of a patient that he has changed, is a misfit view of reality? A therapist’s role is to make his patient think differently about his environment, in a way, which is more suitable, to his environment, to change the defeatist view that blocks his communication with people, resulting in at the end of relationships.

Genetic hereditary theory

When a person is born, he brings with him many hereditary qualities, which are transformed into one form or the other, with time. Whatever he comes with into this world has to influence by his genes, taken from his parents, the mother, and the father. The hereditary factor is that, which shows coinciding qualities of a person with those of the parents. Genes are automatically transferred to the offspring, and the qualities of parents and children match.

Among the various psychological aspects that the human possesses, are certain factors that distinguish him from others. Every individual has his or her quality to boast of, and no two persons are the same. But some individuals have special character traits in them, due to the environment they have been brought up in, or with the kind of upbringing, they have undergone. The same is the case with Will here, that his behavior is different and distinguishable due to his environment in childhood. But the environment is not solely responsible for human behavior. The heredity factor, and adoption of genes from the parents, also affect the behavior that is carried out by an individual.

Each individual can learn things and accept or adopt things from their surroundings or the environment in which he is placed. Will adopted his strange behavior patterns and irritable behavior due to the conditions he was kept in while being brought up. His parents beat him up, but they still lay inside him, some form of hidden talent, which the professor wanted to be explored, and made use of it. So the question is, where did that capability come from, to answer the toughest of questions, and perform outstandingly on the one hand, but on the other, he was so unconfident and uncertain about his future endeavors, that he thought he could do nothing worthwhile and would stick to being a laborer for life.

The famous English scientists Francis Galton came up with the nature-nurture debate, which speaks of the relationship between nature, and the effects of the nurturing of individuals, which are the results of the human being’s personality. It says, that whatever genes the individual brings into the world with him, are linked to the environment he grows in. the two factors are greatly dependent on one another, the nature side states that intelligence is based on the hereditary factor, and the nurture side emphasizes on the environment affecting the intelligence and mental capacity of the individual (Neuroscience of Intelligence).

Studies have shown that the IQ or intelligence quotient of an individual is dependent upon heredity factors. Scientists have shown the influence of genetics on the IQ of individuals, and the heritability factor amounts to about 50% for IQ (Kaufman, A., 1999). However, genetics and environmental factors overlap one another, and are interdependent, as aforementioned.

Coming back to the nature and nurture factors of heredity, the natural genes a person is born with are solely said to be responsible for the intelligence that a person possesses, as well as the behavior that is a result of this intelligence (Neuroscience of Intelligence).

Will, in the movie, is seen to be distinct from his character and had some sort of a genetic influence apart from the terrible abusive environment he was brought up in. On the other hand, Francis states that the mental aptitude of an individual is markedly influenced by the atmosphere that has been created for him to nurture. Both of these aspects are right to their extents, but it cannot be stated that only nature or only the environment is independently influential.

Thus it is clear from the genetic theories that relate to intelligence, that genes and heredity plus the environment play a role in the intelligence acquired by an individual. Will had a unique intelligence which was noted by his professor and wanted it to be enhanced, by the help of his friend, Sean, who was attempting to treat him out of his complexities. His professor was stunned at the fact that Will could answer those questions that others could not, and was sure that he had some sort of hidden talent that could be utilized efficiently. This hidden talent that Will possessed was probably genetically transferred, and he may have had some hereditary transfer of intelligence genes, that made him an introvert, but at the same time, exclusively intelligent.

Genes are passed on from one generation to the next and are contained in the human cell, in DNA. Some physical traits such as eye color, or hair color, are evident when transferred, but the secondary traits which are invisible, like the intelligence, or personality of individuals, are also incorporated in a person’s DNA. There is proven evidence of the effect of genetics and genes on the offspring. Children share 50% of the genes of their parents, and that also, with each of them. Heredity influences the intelligence levels of people substantially, and research has shown such results through tests performed on twins also, to signify the effect of genes on the intelligence they possess.

Some findings in France and Canada have shown that an infant’s earliest environment affects the IQ level that is reached in later years (Kaufman, A., 1999). This is proof of the fact that Will in the movie, had some hereditary intelligence, then had a reasonable environment to reside in, which made his IQ reach a certain level, and finally, he got all the beatings, which led to his furious nature, and irritable moods.

Critique of Theories

The personality theory put forth by Sigmund Freud is very factual, in that it speaks of the necessities of life, and how the human reacts to the elementary and most essential needs of life, like hunger, and thirst. It is very rightly stated, that each person has an ego to take care of, and performs accordingly, in his life, and for all the activities that he undertakes. The superego of individuals includes those aspects which he has learned from his families, which are inclusive of all the values that have been set forth, to follow. These may also include the standards set by peers, and which are the norm of the society, which he is to follow. This is also a positive point of the personality theory, as whosoever does not wish to follow the norms of the society, is considered an outcast and each individual’s elders teach him what is best for him to lead a successful life. The theory has not included any instances of people not living successful lives on not following the norms of society. There is also no mention of the types of standards that are meant to be followed.

The cognitive combination of theories relates the thoughts of a person to his actions. This is true in the sense that whatever each person thinks is executed in daily routines. The thoughts that are accumulated in a person’s mind are brought into practicality.

The genetic theory of intelligence has to influence approaches that since other elements are inherited genetically, so can intelligence be inherited. This is convincing to quite an extent.

It can be seen that psychology has a great impact on the personality of an individual, and the entire life span is dependent on psychological factors. Will also showed offensive behavior in his daily acts due to the psychological disturbances caused during his upbringing. The behavior of Will has been influenced due to the psychological gains and losses he faced during his upbringing. Psychology plays a vital role in a person’s life, and all theories put forth concerning human behavior, are authentic, practicable, and worthwhile.

  • EDA G. Goldstein, D.S.W (2004) Object relations theory and self-psychology in social work practice.
  • Freud, S. The basic writings of Sigmund Freud (A. A. Brill , trans). New York: random house, 1938. A compendium of many of Freud’s most significant writings.
  • Kaufman, A. Genetics of Childhood Disorders 1999. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 1999 38:4.
  • Neuroscience of Intelligence: Nature vs. Nurture Debate.
  • Vourlekis, B.S (1999). Cognitive theory for social work practice. In R. Green(Ed), Human Behavior theory and social work practice (2 nd Ed) page 173-185. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
  • Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Good Will Hunting Original Script.
  • Greene, R. Roberta. (2002) Human behavior theory and Social work place. 2 nd Edition. Aldine de Gruyter, New York. Rowman & Little Field Publishers.
  • Berzoff, J., Flanogan, F.M and Hertz, P. (1991)Inside out and Outside In. Psychodynamic Clinical Theory and Practice in Contemporary Multicultural context.
  • Applegate, J. S. (1990) Theory, Culture and Behavior: Object relations in context. Child and Adolescent Social work. Volume 7, Number 2, 1990
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IvyPanda. (2021, October 22). Human Behavior and Psychology in "The Good Will Hunting" by Gus Van Sant. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-behavior-and-psychology-in-the-good-will-hunting-by-gus-van-sant/

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1. IvyPanda . "Human Behavior and Psychology in "The Good Will Hunting" by Gus Van Sant." October 22, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-behavior-and-psychology-in-the-good-will-hunting-by-gus-van-sant/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Human Behavior and Psychology in "The Good Will Hunting" by Gus Van Sant." October 22, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-behavior-and-psychology-in-the-good-will-hunting-by-gus-van-sant/.

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Home / Essay Samples / Entertainment / Movies / Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting Defense Mechanisms and Mental Illness Analysis

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Entertainment

Good Will Hunting

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Good Will Hunting Psychology Analysis

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Table of Contents

Introduction, analysis of good will hunting, summary of good will hunting, works cited.

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  • Freud, S. (1961). The ego and the id. W.W. Norton & Company.
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  • Good Will Hunting. (1997). Directed by Gus Van Sant. Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Miramax.
  • McLeod, S. A. (2021). Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
  • Saul, L. J. (2004). Good will hunting: a theoretical analysis and application of personality theories. Personality Theories, 48(2), 202-214.
  • Kantor, D. (1999). Psychological analysis of the film Good Will Hunting. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 16(1), 115-118.
  • Raphael-Leff, J. (2009). Good Will Hunting and attachment theory. Attachment & Human Development, 11(2), 185-195.
  • Stevens, L. E. (2008). “How Do You Like Them Apples?” The Use of Existential Therapy with Good Will Hunting. Journal of Individual Psychology, 64(4), 412-427.
  • Woolfolk, R. L. (2006). A guide to psychoanalytic theory and therapy in Good Will Hunting. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 45(1), 83-96.

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Good Will Hunting Summary

The movie Good Will Hunting exploits many points of psychology in the character Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT who has a knack for math. Some of the points of psychology include how a character develops after a lot of child abuse during his childhood. It exploits the idea that a child who becomes secluded may never allow an attachment, or when an attachment finally starts to occur, pushes them away. It also exploits the idea that Will Hunting has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Because of the post-traumatic stress disorder it seems that Will is unable to function normally in society, and because of this, carefully plans out his future as to not have to worry about encountering many people. The stress that Will Hunting endured in his childhood could have caused him several psychological obstacles to overcome. “Child psychologists believe that child abuse causes a much higher level of psychological disturbance such as violence, depression, and drug abuse” (Brown). Child abuse is a large part of the development of Will Hunting.

It is revealed several times throughout the movie, especially in one particular scene where he reveals that his father used to come home drunk and ready to fight someone. He speaks of how he had to provoke his father into beating him so he wouldn’t beat his mother. “He used to just put a belt, a stick, and a wrench on the kitchen table and say, ‘Choose. ’” (Sant, 1997) Will would say to his psychologist, Sean Maguire, when they spoke of his past and how he knew all about child abuse because he had first-hand experience in it.

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Skylar Good Will Hunting

It was also mentioned that he had history with child abuse when he broke out into an anger fit when yelling at his girlfriend, Skylar, shouting at her about how he didn’t tell her the real stories because she didn’t want to know about his scars, and his history, and his father beating him and his mother, and about him going through foster homes and being an orphan. Throughout the movie, Will Hunting uses several defense mechanisms in the way he acts to protect himself from the world, from having to attach to anyone or anything.

One such defense mechanism he uses is lying about himself and his history. When Skylar asks about meeting his large assortment of brothers and staying at his house, he agrees that he would let her meet his non-existent brothers, and that he would let her stay at his house some time to meet his family. Little did she know that he actually was an orphan with no siblings, and that his house was a run-down shack that he stayed in, and that he had never planned on her actually visiting his house or meeting his friends.

Will Hunting also uses the defense mechanism of being extremely smart and by reading people and exploiting their weaknesses to shift their focus away from him. This would be a characteristic of the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder avoidance state, where he is dealing with it throughout the movie, which causes him to stay withdrawn from people and society (NCBI). Will uses manipulation to change the subjects and focus’ of others from himself. He is also sarcastic when he talks. Such examples include the several psychologists who he visited before he found Sean.

He would read their books before he met with them to decipher the way they worked. Then, when he worked with the psychologists, he would exploit their weakness and what they were uncomfortable with and push it right into their faces. He would also use sarcasm to make a point that he thought all of these psychologist meetings were useless to him and pointless. Finally, Will Hunting uses the defense mechanism of anger, another sign of his Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (NCBI), to help guard himself from others and letting them know too much about him.

This could also be an affect from his childhood abuse, where his father had beaten him and his mother when he came home in a rage. Only once in the movie did it really show Will Hunting getting angry to the point of insanity (if it could be called insanity), and that was when Skylar asked him to move to California with him. He stated no, and grew upset with her. She then told him that she loved him, and he lashed out at her with furious words, hurtful words, and the truth about him, that he has no brothers, that he is an orphan, and that his father physically abused him when he was younger.

It’s the anger that pushes him away from Skylar and causes her to go to California without him, causing him to not have to deal with someone trying to get close to him, to learn about him, and to attach to him anymore, the same thing he did in all of his other relationships; make sure that no female would want to stick around. Throughout Good Will Hunting, Will Hunting experiences many different psychological experiences, such as some stages in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and the stress of having to grow up with an abusive family, never having the chance to attach to somebody he cared for and to never be able to trust anybody.

However, with help, Will learns to overcome these psychological obstacles and chases down his dream girl, Skylar. References Brown, J. (n. d. ). The Effects of Child Abuse on Young Adults. Retrieved November 27, 2011, from http://www. unc. edu/~brownja/goodwillhuntingjab2. htm NCBI. (n. d. ). Post-traumatic stress disorder. Retrieved November 27, 2011, from Pubmed Health: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/ Sant, G. V. (Director). (1997). Good Will Hunting [Motion Picture].

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Good Will Hunting Summary

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COMMENTS

  1. "Good Will Hunting": Movie Review: [Essay Example], 695 words

    Published: May 14, 2021 Good Will Hunting is a cinematic masterpiece that tells the story of a traumatized young genius, gifted by unimaginable knowledge and an uncomparable photographic memory. The movie captures a young Matt Damon as "Will Hunting" and a young Ben Affleck as "Chuckie" before their big Hollywood debut.

  2. Good Will Hunting Essay

    1725 "The Good Will Hunting" Summary "Will Hunting has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his… 2 Pages 843 Words Topics: Genius, Interpersonal relationship, Sociology

  3. Good Will Hunting (1997)

    A touching tale of a wayward young man who struggles to find his identity, living in a world where he can solve any problem, except the one brewing deep within himself, until one day he meets his soul mate who opens his mind and his heart. — Dima & Danielle A young adult by the name of Will Hunting has always been living in the slums.

  4. Plot break down of "Good Will Hunting"

    Introduce hero's life goal #2 (Be genius.) Quest chain 1: Will wants to stay in a state of arrested development. Step 2: Demonstrate how the hero is accomplishing his goals (Self-study and ...

  5. Good Will Hunting Summary Sparknotes

    Good Will Hunting chronicles the tale of Will Hunting a gifted young man who works as a custodian at MIT. One day he solves a difficult math problem and is discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who soon takes Will in as his protégé.

  6. Good Will Hunting Summary

    Yep: The janitor is the one solving the math problems. Lambeau tries to go after him to find out who he is. Meanwhile, Will gets himself into some trouble with the law when he assaults a police officer. Combined with his mile-long rap sheet, this assault puts Will on a one-way street to lock-up. But Lambeau tracks him down at the last second ...

  7. Good Will Hunting (1997) Movie Summary and Film Synopsis

    Will realizes Sean has his back. When Lambeau leaves, Sean and Will have a genuine heart-to-heart about Will's childhood terrifying physical abuses and realizes Sean was also terribly abused as a child. Sean finally breaks through Will's walls and Will breaks down crying, knowing everything can be okay. Chuckie and his buddies give Will his ...

  8. Good Will Hunting: Overcoming Fear

    Good Will Hunting: Overcoming Fear. This video essay explores how 'Good Will Hunting's main character Will overcomes his fear of abandonment, fear of intimac...

  9. Good Will Hunting

    Good Will Hunting. by KE Monahan Huntley (Quotations used in this article are from the development script dated 12/4/96 by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.) The film delivers an intellectually and emotionally fulfilling story. Cast with real life friends and screenplay authors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, dialogue is realistic, if sometimes too quick ...

  10. Review and analysis: Good Will Hunting

    This is why "Hunting" is not a great movie, though highly watchable. The premise of the film is flat-out impossible. The idea that one of the world's top six mathematicians would be doing janitorial work at MIT is inconceivable. Will references Mozart and Beethoven, but these are poor analogies.

  11. Human Behavior and Psychology in "The Good Will Hunting" by ...

    This term paper, "Human Behavior and Psychology in "The Good Will Hunting" by Gus Van Sant" is published exclusively on IvyPanda's free essay examples database. You can use it for research and reference purposes to write your own paper.

  12. Good Will Hunting: Movie Analysis

    Drama, Good Will Hunting, Movie Review. Words: 696 (2 pages) Download. Please note! This essay has been submitted by a student. Good Will Hunting, the movie, is about a young man, Will, who is a gifted mathematician, be it unrecognized by his peers, growing up in a rather low economic social class. Even with Will's genius IQ, he chooses to ...

  13. A Personal Opinion and Summary of Good Will Hunting

    "Good Will Hunting" is the story of a genius youngster whose life was on a brink of self-destruction and how four people tried desperately to help him with his life. It is about a genius who is aware of his intelligence but doesn't wish to try hard because he was beaten too often as a child. About

  14. Good Will Hunting: Movie Analysis Free Essay Example

    Essay Sample: Good Will Hunting, the movie, is about a young man, Will, who is a gifted mathematician, be it unrecognized by his peers, growing up in a rather low ... A Personal Opinion and Summary of Good Will Hunting Pages: 2 (582 words) Remember! This is just a sample. You can get a custom paper by one of our expert writers.

  15. Good Will Hunting Essay

    Fadi Atmounia Pr. Gloriana Pionati Due date: 05/03/2015 Reflection about the movie "Good Will Hunting" I chose to write about the movie "Good Will Hunting" because it shows how one's life, relationships and future are ruined because of repression and not believing in one's self. The main character of the movie is Will Hunting.

  16. A Personal Opinion and Summary of Good Will Hunting

    "Good Will Hunting" is the story of a genius youngster whose life was on a brink of self-destruction and how four people tried desperately to help him with his life. It is about a genius who is aware of his intelligence but doesn't wish to try hard because he was beaten too often as a child. About

  17. Good Will Hunting Psychology Analysis Free Essay Example

    1 Introduction The film "Good Will Hunting" follows the story of Will Hunting (Matt Damon) a self-taught genius who works at one of the most prestigious technology schools; MIT, as a janitor. Will is an orphan with a criminal record of Assault, grand theft auto, assaulting a police officer, etc.

  18. Good Will Hunting Psychology Analysis

    Good Will Hunting Words: 910 (2 pages) Download Please note! This essay has been submitted by a student. Table of Contents Introduction The film "Good Will Hunting" follows the story of Will Hunting (Matt Damon) a self-taught genius who works at one of the most prestigious technology schools; MIT, as a janitor.

  19. Good Will Hunting Summary Free Essay Example

    Good Will Hunting Summary Free Essay Example Good Will Hunting Summary Topics: Abuse Child Abuse Foster Care Hobby Human Nature Hunting Mental Disorder Download Summary, Pages 4 (953 words) Views 406 The movie Good Will Hunting exploits many points of psychology in the character Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT who has a knack for math.