Assisted Suicide In Me Before You, By Lou Clark

Jim was the naughty one out of them, so Will was there for him a lot. Jim got himself into trouble by going into the Mirror Maze, and Will found him and got him out of it safely. Jim knew he needed Will in his life for protection: “You’re always going to be around, aren’t you, Will? To protect me?” (p.68). Even Jim, who acted like he was fine on his own, still needed Will there to protect him, because you always need friends in your life to love and care about you. Jim also snuck out of his house to go to Miss Foley’s house to see Robert without Will. Will luckily saw Jim sneak out because if Will wouldn’t have been with Jim, Jim would’ve gotten caught with stealing. Robert tried to get Jim caught with stealing Miss Foley’s jewelry, but Will helped Jim escape. Will had feelings about Jim. How he was good most of the time, but sometimes wondered off to somewhere far away: “And again Will had the feeling about Jim that he had always had about an old forgotten dog” (p. 83). The time that Jim needed Will the most was when he could have died,but Will went crazy to help him survive. Mr. Dark and his freaks like when people are sad and scared, so if Will would have stayed sad, Jim would have died. But Will stayed happy with the help of Charles, who told him to “Hop! Jump! Yell!” (p. 283), because he knew that is what would help Jim wake up. Jim

    The lack of background information on the murder forces Will to take an uninformed and emotional course of action, but even if Will had known the circumstances of the crime, he still would not have been more rational.  Upon hearing of the old men’s gathering, his immediate reaction  is to fight, and several characters attest to his violent nature.  While he claims to have been friends with Beau, it becomes patent that he only wants revenge because of his racism.  In the scene where Beau’s brother pleads with his father not to start a fight, a

After a difficult start, Sean concludes that Will's defensiveness is the result of years of physical and emotional abuse, (as well as intense isolation), and that his hostile, sarcastic, and evasive behaviors are all defense mechanisms. The two work together to break through Will's considerable barriers, using a certain type of psychotherapy, and to get at the heart of the problem, dealing with Will's complex emotions. The two begin to relate to each other more, with Sean telling Will about his past and his happiness with his now

Will telling Annie stories allows him to realize all the bad deeds he’s done in the past and she helps him recover to find who he truly is. Will understands that having close relationships with his family is what he needs to survive. Will knows that children “see the world as a mystery” and they “need to grow up with a family.” (pg. 56) His understanding is that he is lost and he needs to stick with his family to learn and develop how to live the right way. Annie gains her self-identity when she realizes that Gordon, her “protector” is who she should really admire at the end other than her uncle. When she says that, “being with Gordon is a release for that I’ve been starving for” she understands that Gordon is her key to knowing who she really is and what she needs to do to serve her purpose (pg. 340). All the times she’s been trying to find her sister caused her in so much harm and it was Gordon who helped Annie escape those dangerous situations. Annie truly knows that her relationship with Gordon is what is actually keeping her strong and alive. When Will wakes up at the end of the novel, he sees how much Annie has changed: “She’s learned some things this last year. She’s becoming what my father believed she would.” (pg. 357) Will finds out that it was him that gave Annie the strength to never give up and survive to find her lost sister. Will, along

Furthermore, Eden Robinson uses the character of Will’s father, Greg to show how the actions of Will’s biggest role model can have a negative influence towards Will’s ability to make a better decision to benefit himself.

Will wasn't dealt the best hand, when it came to a childhood. The movie doesn't go into detail about his biological parents, it just describes him living in foster care. While in foster care Will had a difficult time, and dealt with quite a bit of mental and physical abuse. While in foster care, will

The adolescent and young adult stages in a person’s life are impressionable years, which is clearly demonstrated by Willa Cather’s ability to so vividly recall the details of rural Nebraska, despite only living there from the ages of nine to sixteen. However, in those seven short years, young Wilella - her birth name - met many questionable “mentors” who held great significance and responsibility in the life choices she pursues. The first of these shady characters in need of assessment is a man by the name of William Ducker.

When Will came extremely close to death when he was going through Mill Town, Lightfoot McLendon coincidently came over and helped him out by assisting him off of the train tracks. Lightfoot McLendon is a very attractive and intellectual young girl from the impecunious Mill Town. Lightfoot is the object of Will's affection as a young teenager. Will was on the train tracks when the train was approaching, he laid flat on the trestle as it got closer; he survives by lying flat between the tracks so the train passes just overhead without touching him. After this the train stopped and Lightfoot comes running towards Will to help him come off the tracks safely when the train almost killed him. During all this commotion Lightfoot happened to leave her bucket of blackberries near the trestle, in an attempt to make her feel better Will invites Lightfoot, “Why’n’t we go pick some more early in the mornin’? Mama’s been astin’ me every day when am I go’n get her some blackberries.” (Burns, 83) This lie was made up just to help Lightfoot out, knowing this was very upsetting to her and her poor family. He knew Lightfoot was embarrassed that she was so upset over a few berries, so he validated her feelings. Will is a very considerate, caring young boy.

As Will was cleaning the pool, he was startled when he vividly saw a big fish, like the one in his father’s story. This is a symbol of Will starting to see from his father’s point of view. In another scene, Will and his mother begin rummaging through some of Edward’s paperwork when Will’s mother comes across a certificate of death from the war. Will was amazed because he had always believed that the tales he was told were completely false. Will is again proven wrong when he travels to a little township called Spector, the setting of a tale Edward tells. This is where he meets Jenny, a close friend of Edward, and learned that his father was a good man and loves his family. Will is now starting to know his father through the tales and stories he has told in the

Will’s girlfriend, Skylar, had a good influence on him. Initially, Will was unwilling to establish a lasting relationship with her but eventually decided to join her in California.

Will has Traumatic and Stress Disorder. Rightfully so, he was in foster care all throughout his child hood and was beaten, stabbed, and burnt with cigarettes. He learned how to fight and be defensive with the abusiveness. No family gave him the time of day since he was so defensive and got into trouble often. Will throughout his life struggled with trust issues, anger issues, and not being confident in himself. Will was book smart and full of aggression, he allowed his past to overshadow his future. He used reading as a coping mechanism from his reality. He would get lost in the books and was starving for knowledge. Will used being smart as another defense mechanism. He talked his way out of court several times and talking back to therapist by reading their books, also to people that thought he was stupid. He would show them that he was actually a genius and made them feel stupid. However, as Will soon figures out that the therapist knows exactly what he is doing and that he can read all the books he

Will sees himself as a “southie”, a loser. To maintain congruence between his self-view and his experiences his acts out. He starts fights and stays in trouble. He doesn't seek anything better for himself.

The beginning of the film depicts Will solving equations left on a chalk board at MIT that not even the most gifted of students can solve. Professor Lambeau searches for the mysterious “student” who is solving the posted equations. He finds Will in a court room where he is being sentenced to time in prison after being involved in assault on the streets of Boston. A deal is made with the judge that Will will see a therapist and also study with Professor Lambeau in exchange for time in prison. Will is introduced to many therapists before Lambeau finally goes to his old friend Sean. After a rocky start, Sean starts to get through to Will. They discuss many things together from Will’s troubled past to the newly formed relationship he has with Skylar. Lambeau repeatedly tries to force Will into high profile job interviews while Will continually does not show up to them. This causes an argument between Lambeau and Sean. Trouble then begins to start between Will and Skylar after she tells

about it. In the film, Will feels helpless, so he pushes his emotions aside for others to deal with.

The film takes a turn when Lou overhears Will’s parents talking about Will wanting to end his life, that his six months of trying are almost over. Lou discovers that she was hired to change his mind about ending his life. Lou leaves abruptly and talks with her sister, Katrina, who tells her to make his time left on Earth filled with happy memories. This inspires Lou to research activities and support systems for Will in a final attempt to change his mind about the physician-assisted suicide. Although the activities are selected with the best intentions, several problems arise which spoil the whole day for Will (e.g. the wheels of Will’s wheelchair becoming stuck in the deep mud at the horse track).