Carlos Michel Daccach
Ms. Leary
Eng 106
Will’s Search For Success

Only those who struggle to obtain something they truly desire know how hard it is to risk losing what they have gained. Good Will Hunting presents society with a plot that demonstrates how success can have different facets. For Will, success was finding a family among his group of friends after being abused as an orphan. Chuckie, his best friend, is more like a parental icon and the rest of the “Southies” are fraternal. Chuckie proves being supportive and protective of Will and the rest of the group throughout the film, which clearly demonstrates his parental roll. Will is a genius that can catalyze his potential to help society, but fears loosing his place within his “family.” He recognizes that his intelligence and capacity is one at a level that cannot be reached by his group, and he believes that if he pursues his potential, distance will be created between his family and him. He believes that holding himself back is the only way of belonging with the group.
After being abused in a couple of foster homes, Will finds a family within his friends. Each change brought more pain than the previous one. Finding a family who supports him is like finding a trench in battle, it is not like being in a bunker, but it is better than taking a risk and run. Chuckie, Morgan and Willy stand up for Will and give him the support that his previous homes did not. Even when Will decides to step out of the car and create a fight, his friends defend him regardless of the reason. By supporting each other always, a bond is created among them. This bond has the same elements as a family where they all have a sense of belonging. Among their family, Chuckie represents the paternal figure. It is always he who picks up Will, brings him coffee, pays at the bar, and buys burgers for the group. Even when Will lost his job as a janitor, he finds him a place in construction. Chuckie’s paternal role is due to his own need of belonging. The support Chukie and the group give Will is normal between a family, but Will feels that they are more loyal to him than he deserves. By telling Chuckie that he is going to live in South Boston for the rest of his life so they can be neighbors and take their kids to the little league together, Will believes that he should lower to the groups potential in order to show faithfulness in return. His fear of abandonment make’s him demonstrate loyalty using any means necessary.
Will believes that hiding his intellect around the other members of the clan is the best way to avoid distance within the circle. Lowering his intellect to match the group’s capacities is Wills way of creating closure. This is why he adopts to their rudimentary lifestyle. Around the group will plays along to the unsophisticated activities, but when alone he tends to enjoy reading and solving complex mathematical problems. At the bar, Will leaves to solve a math problem, but prefers to tell Chuckie that he is leaving because he is tired. He feels that telling Chuckie that he is off to hit the books will only create distance among them. Will unconsciously know that he does not fit to live the basic lifestyle but the fear of standing out and facing another harmful change makes him live a second life. Even though he tries to conceal his brilliance, it is impossible for Will to completely do so, thus compensating with unsophisticated acts becomes a habit. After an act of brilliance, Will tends to show less of himself with rough acts. After proving his intellect in his argument with Clark (“the Michael Bolton clone”) in a complicated manner, Will feels the necessity to ask him: “Do you want to take this outside?” Violence is usually a technique used by those who lack the ability to defeat another using words; Wills use of violence has a complete different purpose. It was clear that aggression was not needed after humiliating his opponent at the bar, but for him, it was necessary to