Unforgiven Transformation Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Unforgiven.

Quote #4

WILL: She knew what a no good son of a b**** I was. She just ain't allowing that I changed. She don't realize I ain't like that no more. I ain't the same, Ned. Claudia, she straightened me up. Cleared me of drinking whiskey and all. Just 'cause we're going on this killing, that don't mean I'm gonna go back to being the way I was. I just need the money.

Will does sound heartfelt in these lines, but this is the fourth or fifth time we've heard this from Will. He's trying to reconcile what he's about to do—kill two men for money—with the new, "changed," Will. By the end of the film, Will kind of goes back to the way he was, but not all the way.

Quote #5

NED: You ain't like that no more…like I said, you ain't like that no more.

Ned seems really unsure when he utters these lines in the film. It's like he's trying to convince himself that Will "ain't like that no more." There aren't a lot of reasons to doubt Will's claim to have transformed, but Ned's tone definitely makes us suspicious.

Quote #6

WILL: That's right; I'm just a fellow now. I ain't no different than anyone else.

Will's response to Ned expresses just as much uncertainty. Just like Ned was trying to convince himself that Will is different, so Will seems yet again like he's trying to convince himself. The fact of the matter is he is "different than anyone else"—he's killed a lot of people.