Good Will Hunting Love

Understatement of the century: Will Hunting doesn't have a very good history when it comes to love.

For starters, he was abandoned as a child by the ones who were supposed to love him most—his parents. After that, he was abused by all the foster families he stayed with. So it makes sense that he wouldn't have a very deep trust for other people and the love they give. But getting over this lack of trust is something Will is going to have to do if he ever plans on living a full life.

And—bonus—during the course of Good Will Hunting he also teaches Maguire to get over the pain of losing his wife and to go out and experience love and life again.

Questions About Love

1. At what point does Will realize he's scared of being in love with Skylar? Why?
2. What is Will's normal reaction to love and commitment? What do we know from his background that could help explain this?
3. How does Maguire help Will get over his fear of love? At what point do we know it's working?
4. How does Will respond when Skylar tells him she loves him? Why does he respond this way?

Chew on This

In Good Will Hunting, we see that (sometimes) unconditional love is the last thing somebody might want.

Good Will Hunting teaches us to go out and seek love, even if it's scary to make ourselves vulnerable.