First of all, will grayson, in the beginning, was pessimistic and viewed
the world as a negative place full of annoying people. This can be seen when will says “every morning i pray that the school bus will crash and we’ll all die in a fiery wreck. then my mom will be able to sue the school bus company for never making school buses with seat belts, and she’ll be able to get more money for my tragic death than i would’ve ever made in my tragic life…unless the lawyers…can prove to the jury that i was guaranteed to be a [mess up]” (23-24). Another example of this in the novel is when will describes how he feels about himself towards his mom. He says “i feel bad for her – i do. A damn shame, really, that i had to have a mother. it can’t be easy having me for a son. nothing can prepare someone for that kind of disappointment” (23). Also in the first few chapters, will shows that he doesn’t have any emotion towards anyone he should love such as his mom. will ignores his mom and doesn’t necessarily care about how she feels. will is very rude to his mom when he ignores her in conversations and dreads being around her. For example, he purposely stays out late so he doesn’t have to face her for dinner. Overall in the beginning, before will meets a boy named Tiny Cooper, whom he ends up falling in love with, will is having problems finding himself because he blocks everyone out and views the world in a negative way.
Later in the novel, will becomes more open with himself, his mom, and the world. After will meets Tiny in Chicago, he gets up the guts to just tell his mom how he is feeling. He says, “look, mom, I’m totally gay…” (166). His mom responds with love and tells him that she doesn’t care whether he is or not. Unlike before, will now views the world in a more positive way and is optimistic about life. Everybody now knows he’s gay because other people say, “He like came out to everyone in the entire world. I swear to God I think he wrote the president of the United States and was like ‘Dear Mr. President, I am gay. Yours truly, Will Grayson’” (191).
In conclusion, will grayson changes – from pessimistic to optimistic, from secluded to open, and from unemotional to emotional. In the end, will feels more like he has a place in the world (next to Tiny) instead of just being stuck in the middle of nowhere. The other Will Grayson also changes, but that’s a whole different story!