Good Will Hunting's Will is the classic self-educated dude, or an autodidact if you want to be really fancy about it. But his biggest problem is that all of his good education is intellectual and all of his bad education is emotional.
For example, Will is a super smart guy who's learned a ton of stuff about math, economics, chemistry, and literature from books. But he's also learned a lot of bad emotional lessons from his abusive upbringing. He's learned not to trust anyone or love anyone… because that person might hurt him if he lets them in.
Questions about Education
- What is the most important lesson Will learns in this movie? Why?
- In what ways does Will educate Sean Maguire? Try to be as specific as possible.
- What does Skylar learn from her time with Will?
- What does Will teach Professor Lambeau and his colleagues about the work they've done in mathematics?
Chew on This
In Good Will Hunting, we learn that education means a whole lot more than just book-learning.
Good Will Hunting shows us that all the education in the world can't change the fact that some people are naturally smarter than others.