Good Will Hunting Essay example

Words: 959
Pages: 4

The movie Good Will Hunting exploits many points of psychology in the character Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT who has a knack for math. Some of the points of psychology include how a character develops after a lot of child abuse during his childhood. It exploits the idea that a child who becomes secluded may never allow an attachment, or when an attachment finally starts to occur, pushes them away. It also exploits the idea that Will Hunting has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Because of the post-traumatic stress disorder it seems that Will is unable to function normally in society, and because of this, carefully plans out his future as to not have to worry about encountering many people. The stress that Will Hunting endured in
This could also be an affect from his childhood abuse, where his father had beaten him and his mother when he came home in a rage. Only once in the movie did it really show Will Hunting getting angry to the point of insanity (if it could be called insanity), and that was when Skylar asked him to move to California with him. He stated no, and grew upset with her. She then told him that she loved him, and he lashed out at her with furious words, hurtful words, and the truth about him, that he has no brothers, that he is an orphan, and that his father physically abused him when he was younger. It’s the anger that pushes him away from Skylar and causes her to go to California without him, causing him to not have to deal with someone trying to get close to him, to learn about him, and to attach to him anymore, the same thing he did in all of his other relationships; make sure that no female would want to stick around. Throughout Good Will Hunting, Will Hunting experiences many different psychological experiences, such as some stages in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and the stress of having to grow up with an abusive family, never having the chance to attach to somebody he cared for and to never be able to trust anybody. However, with help, Will learns to overcome these psychological obstacles and chases down his dream girl, Skylar.

References
Brown, J. (n.d.). The Effects of Child Abuse on Young Adults.