Good Will Hunting Character Traits

The 1997 film Good Will Hunting stars Matt Daemon as 20 year old Will Hunting, a gifted and intelligent young man who has so far lived a difficult life. Will begins the film as a janitor at MIT, living in the southside of Boston in a one room apartment and causing trouble with his friends. He ends the film having just turned down a significant job offer “see about a girl.” Will Hunting is clearly intelligent. He proves this several times throughout the film; solving the problems at MIT, the discussion with the Harvard student in the bar, his defense in court, and his continued analysis of the problems around him. When Lambeau discovers who it was that solved the theorem, he is determined to give Will the chance to rise to the top. Will displays many characteristics of a gifted student. He shows a rapid comprehension of concepts. He has an intense curiosity, proven by his obviously intensive readings. His fascination with ideas and words and his eidetic memory have given him an extensive vocabulary and the ability to express himself and his ideas easily. It is clear, even at the beginning of the film, that Will is looking for a challenge. Working as a janitor at MIT gave him access to some of the best classes in the nation, without any of the accountability. His curiosity is high, but so is his anxiety of failure. It’s easy to

However, orphaned at a young age, he was shuttled through the foster care system. At least one such foster home was abusive. We finally find out how abusive later in the film, with Will’s declarations to Skyler and the discussion between him and Sean. Will tells Skyler he has had cigarettes put out on him and been stabbed. During the discussion with Sean, we see pictures in his file with severe bruising. Will tells Sean that his foster father would put a belt, a stick, and a wrench on the table and have Will choose. It is clear this abuse is the root cause of many of Will’s