Good Will Hunting

1448 Words3 Pages

An individual is shaped and molded by how they are treated by those that surround them. Most people value the opinions of those they care about and want to act in accord. Consequently, the choices people make are greatly influenced by the people in their lives. Sometimes, someone will become close with people who are different from each other. Such is the case in Good Will Hunting. Will Hunting (Matt Damon) struggles between the people that created him and the people that discovered him.

Will Hunting is a 20 year old genius with untapped potential. Lacking a post-secondary education, Will spends his time reading borrowed library books. What he reads, he knows. He can quote college textbook pages and understand theoretical math and science principles that men at the top of the math field struggle with. But his knowledge isn’t put to use as he mops the floors of Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a janitor. He takes breaks from cleaning to solve the math problems that Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) post outside his classroom. Lambeau wants to know who solves his math problems, which are too complex for all his theoretical math students. As Lambeau is leaving his office late at night, he discovers a janitor grafting on his board. Lambeau chases Will off, but soon realizes he has found a genius. Assuming he’s fired, Will heads out with his friends to blow off steam. When they come across Will’s old elementary bully, they decide to beat him up. As Will is wailing punches on his former bully, the cops show up.

Will recites quotes about American liberty as he represents himself in court. The judge is unimpressed as he reviews Will’s rap sheets and says there is no way for Will to talk his way out of j...

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...rspectives and opportunities. It is friendship that has the power to keep a person close to home. And it is friendship that gives a person the support to leave their home.

Works Cited

Ebert, Roger. "Good Will Hunting." RogerEbert.com. N.p., 25 Dec. 1997. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Hauge, Michael. "Revealing Your Hero's Wound: Good Will Hunting." Revealing Your Hero's WoundsMich: Good Will Hunting. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Levy, Emanuel. "Review: 'Good Will Hunting'" Variety.com. N.p., 30 Nov. 1997. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Maslin, Janet. "Logarithms and Biorhythms Test a Young Janitor." Nytimes.com. N.p., 5 Dec. 1997. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

"Robin Williams' Therapy Makes 'Will Hunting' Good." Review and Analysis: Good Will Hunting. N.p., Aug. 2008. Web. 16 Apr. 2014

"Supplemental Materials for Good Will Hunting." Teach with Movies. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

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