Essay Example on In the film Good Will Hunting 1997

Will was a young man who worked as a janitor at M I T lived in a poor community and was referred to as a Southie However he was much more than just that He was an astonishing mathematical genius who could solve even the most complex equation He had an ability that many would love to have yet he could not recognize that and was unwilling to live up to his full potential commonly referred to as impostor syndrome From the very beginning of the film it was evident that his self esteem and idea of self concept suffered greatly due to his upbringing He was an orphan child who grew up in various foster homes and was physically abused pretty severely Will s low self esteem developed early in his life and carried with him throughout his early adult years Will was more than comfortable being a poor Southie and was content to stay there all of his life He chose to base his life around his friends because loyalty and reciprocity were the only aspects of love he could understand and there are no risks when you don't aspire to dream Will s only concern was doing what he had to do to get by he was living life with no real purpose He had a difficult time building any trusting relationships with anyone other than his three best friends and had uncontrollable anger 

Although he was very knowledgeable he was unable to integrate his intelligence into his relationships in any situation His actions proved that he felt he was incapable of love or success and he would push people away before they had the chance to leave him fear of abandonment This is exactly what he did to Skylar he pushed her away and did not think he was worthy of her In the eyes of Will Skylar was perfect and he did not want to ruin that There were three prominent characters in this film that had an exceptional amount of positive influence on Will they were Professor Lambeau Sean and Skylar These people were all very nourishing towards Will and saw his potential and self worth before he could fully see it himself It was with the help and encouragement of all of them that Will was finally able to expand on his self esteem and go beyond his own limitations Professor Lambeau was a very successful man with much prestige but also on the selfish side As soon as Professor Lambeau realized that it was Will who solved the complex mathematical equation on the board he immediately tracked him down and wanted to help him He was determined to help him get into school find him a job utilizing his abilities or to work collaboratively with him Professor Lambeau knew Will would have been a great contribution to the mathematical world and that he would ve gained immense satisfaction and accolades for having found Will and mentored him However Professor Lambeau was not sensitive to the other aspects of Will s life and personality but nonetheless still deemed himself as nourishing He knew Will had something special and was capable of much success as a mathematician and was determined to see him do something positive with his genius abilities Under Professor Lambeau s instruction 

Will had to attend therapy with psychologist Sean Maguire In terms of interpersonal communication Sean used attribution of control to form his first impression of Will When Sean first met Will he could immediately see that Will was an injured soul who really knew nothing about life because he had not truly experienced it Sean was able to look past the disrespectful fragile cocky and tough kid that Will was and see the genius in him At first Will did not think he needed therapy but he eventually wanted to go just for the conversations he had with Sean He enjoyed having someone to talk to and someone who could relate to his past experiences Both Will and Sean were committed to the therapy sessions and Sean helped Will realize that his past experiences do not define who he is and what he can become Sean taught Will the flaw in his own thinking It is not your fault He assured Will the past was not his fault that he was not a bad person and he cannot avoid risks all his life by thinking of what can go wrong It was then that Will finally heard what Sean was saying and realized his resistance This was a very monumental moment for Will as his sense of self started to change and he was finally able to put aside his self destructive beliefs Sean also had a very positive influence on Will in that he challenged Will to take risks and dared him to love When it came to love Skylar played a very critical role on Will s outlook on life and his ability to love Will and Skylar met at a Harvard bar and Skylar was immediately attracted to Will s witty knowledge even though they came from two completely different backgrounds In this situation the halo effect played true Skylar s first impression of Will influenced her positive feelings towards him and her decision to pursue a relationship She ultimately gave Will the experiences he needed to prove to himself that he was not as incapable of love as he thought In the closing of the film Will had recognized his self worth and decided to move to California to better his life and pursue his love for Skylar Had it not been for the relationships and communication he endured with his three best friends along with Professor Lambeau Sean and Skylar this probably would have never happened Will no longer had a fear of abandonment or intimacy and was willing to take a risk