Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting is the portrayal of the life of a poor, yet brilliant janitor at M.I.T.  Hunting and his friends are working class citizens from South Boston that grew up in an economically poor atmosphere lacking educational influence. He is stuck in the same cycle that has always led his life, and has never been given the opportunity to explore his desires.  The low socio-economic theme throughout movie shows the relationship between education and poverty. Hunting, without a distinct educational background, is subject to his negative environment and feels trapped in his surroundings.  This lack of a nurturing foundation allows Hunting and his friends to settle for a life in poverty that they’ve always lived rather than bettering their situations.  Through his own self-determination to better himself,  Hunting educates himself by reading books that he has borrowed from the public library.   He is able to succeed because he works hard and decides that he wants to be more than what he’s been in the past.  Just like Will Hunting, gifted children can be found in many aspects of society and are sometimes viewed as problem children. They can be gifted in art, music, writing, mathematics or other areas of education, yet it is how their gifts are developed that influences how they will succeed in life.   Appearing to have never been challenged and nor had to use his exceptional abilities,  Will Hunting is a gifted mathematician that does not know how to channel his talent.  

While there is an array of characteristics that identify gifted students,  Will Hunting exhibits many of the distinguishing traits.  Hunting is extremely creative and imaginative, as is evidenced in his various battles in the courts stemming from his multiple arrests.  Even though he is arrested repeatedly, he is always able to use his vast knowledge and extensive vocabulary to convince the judge that he should be acquitted of all charges.  His creative defense strategy and arguments are also an example of his flexible thinking and his disregard for authority.  Throughout the movie, Hunting questions established rules, beliefs, and authority.

Like many gifted students, Hunting has a deep compassion for others, as evidenced by his love and camaraderie for his friends, who he describes as his brothers.  He doesn’t hesitate to come to the rescue of his friend, Chuckie Sullivan, when Chuckie faces severe embarrassment in the bar near Harvard.  Instead, he turns the tables on the pompous Harvard student, making him appear unintelligent.  He loves to read books and has an almost photographic memory, which he displays at the bar when he is able to quote ideas from a textbook that the male Harvard student tries to pass off as his own original ideas.   Hunting’s ability to process information at a deeper level is astounding.  Even though he values his close friendships with his neighborhood buddies, he is willing to leave his friends so that he can work on solving the theorem posted by Professor Lambeau in the hallway at Harvard.  He has a strong absorption in his interests in mathematics and other areas in his self-guided learning.  He is able to solve an extremely difficult theorem in a few hours because of his keen observation skills.  Rather than just mopping the floors, he notices his surroundings, more specifically the theorem posted in the hallway.  Hunting also is very perceptive as he recognizes that the therapist is gay-a fact that the therapist denies.  Again Hunting utilizes his clever perception when he confronts Dr. Maguire about his wife and tells him that he married the wrong woman, noticeably hitting  a nerve with Dr. Maguire.   

Obviously intrinsically motivated due to his lack of a caring family, Hunting, an orphan was shuffled from foster home to foster home.  It was up to him to make his life what he wanted it to be.  Hunting was not given the opportunities that many people who are more economically and socially adept are given.  Instead he had to create his opportunities.  His love of learning is evident in his self-directed studies of multiple disciplines and in the books he reads borrowed from the public library.    


An indisputably brilliant 20 year old would appear to have the world at their feet.  However due to his low self-esteem and disadvantaged past, Hunting experiences an intense inner turmoil-should he interview for the NSA job? Should he follow after Skylar to California?  Hunting feels that he’s not good enough for Skylar or for a better life.  Like many gifted underachievers, Will Hunting struggles with the fear of failure or disappointment.   Should he leave the comforts of his familiar surroundings in search of what better life might be possible for him?  His intellectual gifts, which seem effortless, are undeniable, yet he lacks direction of how to use his gifts for his success.  He’s suffered both physical and emotional abuse throughout his childhood.  Bearing the burden of abandonment and fear, he purposefully lies and pushes away anyone that tries to get close to him. Hunting finds solace in his low socio-economic surroundings of South Boston, and his friendships with chums of the same societal stature.  Will Hunting, like all gifted students, is unique with a multitude of talents, yet the endless potential of any gifted individual relies on an encouraging and supporting environment.