Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting is an unusual character portrait of a self-taught genius named Will Hunting, who grew up as an orphan in South Boston, suffered abuse at the hands of his foster father and engaged in gang violence because of his rough upbringing as a child. Will is a mathematical genius with a photographic memory but struggles to find his place in the world. Will works as a school janitor at M.I.T, one of the prestigious technical universities around, while working, he delights in anonymously proving theorems on the math building's hall blackboards. One evening, his secrecy was shattered when Professor Lambeau catches him at work solving a math problem that took him two years to solve. Will flees, but Lambeau tracks
In the movie, intelligence is a very valued concept. Will is a very intelligent young man who comes from a working class neighbourhood and spends a lot of time reading books and storing information in his photographic memory. Wills friends are aware of his gift and although they don’t always show it they all want Will to do the best he can in life. An example of this in the movie is where Chuckie (Will’s best friend) says to Will that if he doesn’t leave South Boston and make the most of his intelligence he will kill him. “You got somethin' none of us have, I mean; you’re sittin’ on a winnin’ lottery ticket. You’re too much of a pussy to cash it in, and that’s bullshit.” Will knows that he is exceptionally intelligent but is too scared to leave his friends that have always been loyal and like family to him. To some people like Lambeau, this is a wasted opportunity but for Will he thinks this is what he wants. Skylar, Will’s girlfriend is both intelligent and also emotionally aware of Will’s gift. She longs to have a relationship with Will, but because he has an attachment disorder and a fear of abandonment, this doesn’t happen till the end of the movie, until Sean gets through to
He only trusts his roughneck friends, with whom he feels comfortable because of their uncompromising loyalty. Will dislikes anyone whom has an education and believes it’s a waste of time. When Will notices Lambeau’s challenge, it piques his interest. On the other hand, although he has a great affinity for mathematics, he has no love for it. It is just something he can do, but is too easy for him. An example of this is when Will sets fire to a mathematical report that he wrote, Lambeau dives to the floor to put out the flames on something that Will believes is meaningless. Will sees little value in education, an example of this is when he confronts the intellectual in a bar embarrassing Chuckie in front of some girls he was trying to pick up by sounding intelligent. Will mocks him for spending a hundred and fifty thousand dollars for an education that he could have obtained at the library for just a few dollars in overdue fees. Yet, Will’s own friends have a respect for the education they lack. Skylar struggles with her studies, but admires the ease with which Will can handle any