In Freewill, in some ways, Will thinks he has it all figured out: Life is terrible, he's unlovable, and there's no point to any of it. And yet—and this is a pretty big yet—his head is filled with questions. For all of the certainty he acts with when it comes to the dismal state of affairs that is his life, his mind can't seem to help wondering whether or not he's actually correct in his assessment. And in the end, of course, he realizes he's been wrong all along. He wises up to the fact that his reality is really quite different from how he's been seeing it: Things will get better, and there are people who love him a whole lot. Go figure, dude.
Questions About Wisdom and Knowledge
- Why is Will so concerned about what is knowable and not knowable?
- When Will says "when people go they take the whole thing with them" (851), he seems to want to be sure that the truth can never be found. What does he know for sure about his parents' death?
- Will is very aware of the things going on around him, so why doesn't he trust himself?
Chew on This
The only way for Will to truly understand his life and his role in it is to suffer through not understanding it first. Wisdom is hard won, yo.
Will knows all along that he isn't seeing things correctly—that's why he's always questioning things.