People who suppress themselves are just like normal people, but they hide their self. If they are observed carefully, they are found to be  always thinking negatively. Their internal fear drives them to isolate themselves from society in order to protect themselves. Being cast over by the shadow of fear, they, in fact, don’t have a normal life; they are frightened all the time, let alone actualizing their dreams. They do not have a goal in life. In this essay, I will examine the portrayal of the sense of suppression in the movie, "Good Will Hunting".

Will Hunting, both a genius and an orphan, who has been suppressed for nearly two decades eventually can be free from his self and his past with the help of the therapist, now also his friend, Sean. Being a genius who has a photographic memory and can instantly solve math problems which only one to two persons in the world can solve attracts a leading mathematics professor to help him. Being asked to consult several famous therapists, none of them is willing to help or  can help Poor Will. The bane lies in Will’s rejecting to be helped and his making jokes on them. Thus, the feeling of being insulted make them refuse to help Poor little Will anymore. Will succeeds in hiding himself and prevents others from touching his soul which will make him feel painful. Unlike other therapist, Sean’s wanting to beat Will as Will insults his dead wife

None of the therapists except Sean who helps Will to release his long suppressed feeling can look through this genius. Sean’s telling Will that only knowing  the superficial knowledge of certain aspects but never touching the feeling makes Will reflect. Sean’s implying that Will is actually not so great makes Will less arrogant . Their talking about daily life and Sean’s sharing of his love affair between his wife and him gain the trust of Will. Being a special therapist, Sean won’t do the same as his counterparts. He tends to wait for Will to express  his feeling rather than ask many questions. Will’s remaining silent reveals his fear of speaking something from the bottom of his heart and his wanting to suppress his feeling and pretend to be fine. His never starting a topic if Will remains silent and his waiting for Will’s sharing his own feeling works. Sean’s showing the photo of the tortured body of Will stirs him. Will’s telling Sean the way his step-father tortured him marks the beginning of Will’s releasing the suppressed feeling. Sean’s continuous telling Will that being tortured is not his fault makes Will feel released . Will’s answer of his understanding of his knowing of his blamelessness  reveals his hard work of being hiding himself. Yet, his crying in front of Sean tells us that his long suppressed feeling is released. Being cured by Sean, he can have courage to face his future and do whatever he wants.

Will’s revealing the truth can explain his behavior in the past. Doing menial jobs and wandering the  streets with his friends to fight with others whom they dislike. To this genius, finding a well-paid job is very easy. Yet, being famous is not his cup of tea. Will’s record of fighting and being caught by the police shows that he is a kind of person who believes that violence can solve problems.  Will is living in the shadow of the torture by his step father who he couldn’t fight back against in his childhood. His beating the guy who once beat him when he was in a kindergarten nearly to death shows that he has profound hatred towards those who have maltreated him and he must avenge himself on them. This also shows that his suppressed feeling doesn’t do him any good.  Present is always connected to the past. As he doesn’t share his feeling with others even his best friend; the shadow shapes his violent behavior. His suppression of his painful past affects and hurts him deeply.

Will’s hiding his family condition from his girlfriend whom he loves deeply shows that he is afraid of talking about his past that offers him great pain. His wanting to be apart with his girlfriend lies in  his phobia of his demerits  beind discovered by his lover. Thus, he will be abandoned. His thought lies in his not understanding of what true love is. When we love a person, we love his/her entire person including his/her strength and weakness. The relationship can’t hold if we only love his/her merits. Will’s parting with his beloved girlfriend suggests that he is frightened of being abandoned by others. Thus, he takes initiative to end their relationship though he loves his partner. It can be seen that Will has the phobia of being left behind. Obviously, his phobia has  resulted from his being abandoned by his parents such that he has to spend  a life which is lonely and without love. Will’s refusing to go to another city which is unknown to him also suggests that he doesn’t want to be abandoned in a strange place.

His enjoying  staying with his friends who don’t have proper jobs and are not of  upright disposition to drink in the bars and fight in the streets reveals his wanting to find somebody who can be trusted and who offers him security. He has such thoughts because of his torturing by his step father who is supposed to love him and his abandoning by parents and having to be alone. With his peers, he can gain the sense of security as they will fight people together where they will have a risk of being caught by police. His peers are willing to take risks together and help him to beat the gang which he dislikes. Thus, Will treasures this kind of friendship. He knows that he won’t be left behind by his friends.

All in all, mishaps and misfortune happen every day. This implies that, day by day, we can be victims. An individual has a formative influence on one’s life. Some victims can stand up to their misfortune and pass their lives in a positive manner. Yet, some victims have lived in the shadow of darkness since the mishap took place. With the help of therapists, patients can recover from darkness. They can find light in life.

(1065 words)