Good Will Hunting Summary Sparknotes

Brief Summary of Plot:
Good Will Hunting chronicles the tale of Will Hunting a gifted young man who works as a custodian at MIT. One day he solves a difficult math problem and is discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who soon takes Will in as his protégé. When Will’s bravado gets him arrested for assaulting a police officer the professor bails him out under the condition that he sees a counselor. After several failed attempts by 5 therapists, Will meets therapist Sean Maguire who takes Will on a path of discovery. In the beginning the two but heads but soon Will begins to open up and the two develop a deeper connection. Along the way Will hits it off with a girl at a bar, but things turn sour and she ends up going to California to go to …show more content…
The therapist uses interpretation and confrontation to counsel Will and examines his past and his current and past relationships. The therapist focuses on Will’s past abuse by his father. Because he was abused as a child, Will has a problem forming close relationships with people. He notes Will pushes people away before they can do the same to him. His only close friends are his buddies from his neighborhood. When the therapist asks him who his close friends are other than Chuckie, Will names Shakespeare, Nietzsche and several other dead intellectual titans. Will has no empathy for anyone outside his group and the therapist believes he uses his intelligence and books to distance himself from everyone. He argues that although Will may be book smart he cannot replace concepts with real life experiences. Furthermore, he states that he does not think he is confident, but rather a scared soul who mask his inner feelings and true self. Transference is also seen in the movie. Sean, in essence, re-parents Will and becomes the loving father he never had. Sean even takes Will to the Boston Public Garden, a place where parents take young children for rides on a small lake in …show more content…
In the first session, Sean takes a very colloquial approach by conversing on shared experiences and interest with Will such as books, growing up in “Southie”, their love for the Boston Red Sox, and the common experience of being abused by their fathers. This rapport-building process is crucial in developing the relationship with Will who is very guarded. This provides hope for a change. Moreover, in a sense Sean becomes the loving and nurturing father Will never had he challenges him to be passionate about something, to be honest with himself and to be authentic. These challenges are necessary to push will to reach his full potential. What I felt was helpful was the therapist’s authenticity. He was very open talking about his wife and although his methods were not traditional they were authentic. I liked how he related to him in a causal manner. He even calls him out in an authentic manner by saying that he is really not confident, but scared and terrified. He believes Will uses books to replace actual real life experiences and as a way to distance himself from