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- Self-centred and individualistic
- Sees freedom as a lack of duty or responsibility to anyone else
- Has no ambitions or goals in life
- Has no sense of consequence - lies frequently
- Struggles with the concept of fantasy and reality, and sometimes fails to recognise the severity of a situation
- Shies away responsibility for Marcus, insisting that he is nothing more than a friend, although he is the adult in the relationship and should recognise that
- Sometimes doesn't even feel genuine emotions
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- "I'm OK as I am" - never looks to improve the quality of his life
- "Being men's magazine cool was as close as he had ever come to an achievement" - has done little to be proud of
- he "wasn't particularly unhappy" - never strives to feel extremes of emotion, e.g. happiness
- says of his flat: "it's big enough for me", which reflects his entire outlook on life - he's not very ambitious
- likes to "peak over the fence at other people's lives" instead of living his own
- "she was beautiful...(like) Julie Christie" - he grounds his notions of beauty in the world of fiction, which reflects the lack of boundaries between fantasy and reality in his life
- "his career as a serial nice guy had begun" - takes on a persona, as if he is an actor
- once told a friend that there was "a different world" at the back of his wardrobe and even "searched" for this world with his friend, which shows that he can be delusional
- he is "absorbed almost to the point of enjoyment" and can barely "restrain himself from rubbing his hands together" when Fiona is admitted to hospital, which illustrates the way in which he fails to recognise the difference between fantasy and reality. He refers to the incident as "the evening's entertainment"
- "reality was not in his genes" his whole life has been influenced by the world of fantasy
- says to Marcus: "I'm not your father" - repeatedly avoids taking responsibility for him
- "He used loud angry rock music as a replacement for real feelings"
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- Begins to admit that he cares about Marcus
- Becomes more responsible
- Starts feeling genuine emotions
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- "Will missed him" - begins to actively seek involvement with Marcus
- Will "wrestle[s] with his conscience" when he sees Marcus skiving from school - this shows that he recognises the obligation he has towards Marcus, despite the fact that he doesn't act on it
- His attempt to help Marcus fit in (by wearing "the same clothes...as everyone else") is misguided, in that it is superficial. However, the fact that Will tries to help indicates that he is no longer shying away from responsibility
- When buying Will and Marcus are shopping together Hornby writes, in the narrative perspective, that they "could easily pass for father and son" - this contrasts with Will's earlier avoidance of responsibility
- "Wanting Rachel so much still frightened Will" - he is finally forging genuine attachments to people
- "He felt as if he were a chick whose egg had been cracked open" - this shows how Will is facing up to reality, and contrasts with earlier references to the album In Utero.
- "I just want to hear that he's OK" - admits that he is beginning to care about Marcus
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