Parallels Between Holden Caulfield and Will Hunting

           Will Hunting parallels Holden Caulfield in some ways. He doesn't look for success in his academic life. He is resentful towards his family for them being abusive and not encouraging, while Holden doesn't like the fact that they are pushing him to go to schools he doesn't want to go to. Will makes life unnecessarily hard for himself by trying to avoid relationships with people because he is afraid to get hurt again by somebody else. On the other hand, Holden isolates himself from people by making up excuses for them being phonies or hotshots to make him feel better about himself. Will pushed his girlfriend away when she tried to get too close, pushed his mentor away, pushed his job he got offered away, anything that would make him happy he pushed away, just so he wouldn't become emotionally involved with them. Holden pushed his chances to become successful or keep relationships with people by failing out of prestigious high schools, throwing away his relationship with Sally, making up excuses to not call Jane up, isolating himself from the so called "phonies", and not listening to the people trying to motivate him. A major difference was at the ends of the novel and movie from Holden not being ordered by the court to go to a therapist, but instead having a mental breakdown. Will at the end had a successful ending from realizing he can try new things without having the fear of getting hurt again. He realized this after Sean kept saying "it's not your fault" over and over to him.