Dead Poets Society Analysis

Mr. Keating’s class and lessons are very different from anything else at the school. He teaches his students to look at poetry and life and a whole new way. This new way of thinking that he teaches his students is very transcendentalist. This is shown through the poetry that he reads to his students and his overall message of “carpe diem” or “seize the day”. He reads a large amount of poetry from Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau who are both very transcendentalist writers. Mr. Keating also encourages his students to form the Dead Poets Society in which they open

One person’s interpretation of a story is always different than another’s. Some of us may see things that are not being shown to us. Dead Poets Society, in author Tania Modleski’s eyes has taken on a manifestation larger than the author herself. This story is not what the author will have you believe, whereas the true story was hidden in the misconception of Modleski’s beliefs. The sexual content, homoerotic tensions, and antiauthoritarian behavior, seemed to come from the author’s wishful thinking as opposed to the reality of the film.

His unusual teaching methods makes the students take an interest in him, this leads to them discovering he was a member of the dead poet’s society. The students look up to Mr. Keating and they restart the dead poet’s society creating a space for them to think for themselves and become

In the movie Dead Poet’s Society Mr. Keating is also viewed as outcast and a person who does not conform to social norms. Mr. Keating is viewed as a different and unusual teacher because he does not follow the traditional teaching styles. Mr.

Mr. Keating's actions of nonconformity in the movie Dead Poets Society benefitted his character in many ways. Mr.Keating was the poetry teacher of a group of boys who used to be in “Dead Poets Society” who chose to live transcentally. In his class he encouraged the boys to do whatever they want to do, to believe in themselves, and not follow the crowd. He told them to seize the day no matter what and just like Thoreau you should “[l]ive each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each”(Thoreau). As you live each day you should live it as simply as possible and live each like it was your last. Each of the boys in the Dead Poets Society benefited from living tanscentally with the help from Mr.Keating. One of the boys got the girl of his dreams and another got the confidence to stand up for

“Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members” (Emerson 369). From Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” the saying explains how society wants every individual to conform to its beliefs and expectations. In addition, our manhood is the capability to have our own opinions and beliefs. Individualism is a major theme of Transcendentalism, which is a part of romanticism and combines not only literature and philosophy, but also religion. Some additional focuses of Transcendentalism are the belief that an Oversoul exists, that the individual is the center of the universe, that one should involve themselves in civil disobedience, and that self reliance is better than dependence. With that, the followers consist of mainly fierce abolitionists. This movement only lasted ten years, but its influences are apparent today. Furthermore, Transcendentalism is represented in the movie Dead Poets Society. It occurs at Welton Academy, an all boys school, when a new teacher, Mr. John Keating, takes the place of the retired English teacher. He is witty, heartwarming, and inspirational, and has many unorthodox teaching methods compared to the other teachers but the administration is not happy with him. Mr. Keating assists his students, especially Neil Perry, a boy who values independence and leadership, with the pressures of life and school. He encourages them to pursue their true dreams, not their parent’s dreams for them, and to seize the day. The

Keating disagrees with the math terms being used to describe the art of poetry. Keating actually mocks Mr. J. Evans Pritchard for trying to dissect poetry and break it apart using different terms. He thinks the other teachers are wrong and only his way is right for teaching poetry. He states this is wrong but also tells the boys to have an open mind, which is hypocritical. He puts the boys in danger of getting expelled or hurt by telling them about a club he created when he was younger. The students are interested and actually break out of the boarding school, which is dangerous. A stereotypical teacher would not want their students to risk expulsion or physical danger. If John Keating wanted his students safe he would not prompt them to break the rules. This is going against a traditional stereotypical teacher who is always looking out and making sure his or her students are safe, happy, and comfortable.

Professor John Keating was a new teacher in the school who had unorthodox methods of teaching his class. Originally, he was supposed to teach a very serious class with no fun and games, the only focus is learning and that is it. Mr. Keating was also a rebellion of this strain theory. With his unorthodox methods of teaching his class, he stressed the idea of carpe diem. This concept affects all of his students and they were to “seize the day” by setting themselves free of the order their society had imposed on them. Mr. Keating was a big influencer in Neil’s decision to pursue acting. The pressures to succeed placed on Neil by his parents and society prevent him from exploring his own individuality. He felt as if he were enclosed in a box with nowhere to go. Neil’s father had warned him that if he did not stop acting he would have

As he began his first lecture, it started off like any other lecture a teacher would. He had a student read aloud from the section they were going to be learning about. The section treated poetry as a science graphing the quality of a poem, he had them tare this section out saying it is not what poetry is. He would not just copy what the book said, he taught them in non-conventional ways. As we can gather also from the scene where they are in the courtyard and he has them all walk individually showing that you do not have to conform and all march the same. From this, Mr. Keating is rewarded by thinking outside of the box by teaching the younger generation that they do not have to conform to what adults say, just because they are adults. For this he is also punished, the blame of Neil’s tragic death is pushed onto Mr.Keating and not the adults

Neil Perry was not the only one to face challenges at “Hellton.” the majority of the boys did. The students at Welton Academy were under immense pressure that was placed upon them by their parents, the staff, and/or both. After attending a few of Mr. Keating’s classes, the boys began to show their true colors. Neil Perry became the leader and enforced all of Mr. Keating’s teachings, Todd Anderson was able to break out of his shell, Knox Overstreet unveiled his hopeless romantic persona, and Charlie Dalton was fearless in exploring poetry. Emerson once said, “We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of the divine idea which each of us represented” (Self - Reliance). Here, Emerson is portraying the fear and dawdle the boys showed when asked to dispatched their dutiful ways and do things they actually enjoy. One of the many principles of Transcendentalism is the pledge to “make your own way” and the boys eventually grow ill of always knuckling under, so they shed their skin in order for their true selves to emerge.

In the movie, “The Dead Poet Society,” there is a school of boys who grew up their whole life to always follow the rules. If they go against the rules, they will be punishment from the school and also their parents. Until school starts, the boys meet a new but unusual teacher named Mr. Keating. Mr. Keating tries to teach the boys the education to think for yourself. Mr. Keating shows similarity about Transcendentalist from two essays from Emerson, Self-Reliance and Thoreau, Nature. Mr. Keating’s educational methods shows self-independent, free-thinking, and

Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence. Those are the four pillars in the film The Dead Poets Society, which takes place at Welton Academy, a prep school located in Vermont, 1959. The Headmaster of the school is Mr. Nolan, who is very strict and traditional leader. The film focuses around a group of boys that attend Welton, who later reinstate the Dead Poets Society (DPS). The boys are Neil Perry, Todd Anderson, Charlie Dalton, Richard Cameron, Pitts, Meeks, and Knox Overstreet. Two of the lead boys are Neil Perry and Todd Anderson. Another main character is Mr. Keating, who is the new poetry teacher at Welton Academy. He encourages his students to become their own individuals and seize the day. Mr. Keating is an alumni of Welton. When the boys find his old yearbook, they discover that he was in the Dead Poets Society, which leads them to confront him on what it is. Mr. Keating reveals that it was made by people dedicated to sucking the marrow out of life, that they would read poetry together and let it drip from their tongues like honey. The boys decide to start their own DPS. Neil is a very outspoken and charismatic boy, who is the leader of the DPS. Todd, Neil’s roommate, is very quiet and shy. Each boy struggles with individuality. Both of them are very dynamic, changing drastically throughout the film. The Dead Poets Society focuses on the social issue of personal voice and independance and how gaining it or losing is can change a person.

The arrival of John Keating ironically himself a graduate of Welton, de stabilises this worldview of the school by exposing the students to notions of curiosity, mystery, poetry and personal fulfilment. Their journey begins with the vandalisation of their poetry textbooks. Keating then moves out of the classroom only to turn the trophy cabinet, a symbol of Welton’s values, on its head by focusing rather on notions of potential and the transience of life. Tradition, honour discipline and excellence, the four pillars of Welton are soon challenged by the principles of the dead poets society: freedom, self expression, passion and integrity. Keating challenges the boys to see things from a new perspective by having them literally standing on their desks: he trains them at football accompanied by poetry and non-diegetic classical music; he teaches them in the courtyard; he tells them that “words and language can change the world” and most importantly, he challenges them to discover their emotions and to express their passions. However, Keating also discovers that unorthodox teaching practices designed to highlight the ‘dangers of conformity’ have their own price. He is forced to leave Welton, but his legacy will remain with those whose eyes and hearts have been

Many poets and directors believe in the concept of living life to the fullest. In this quote, by Sir Henry David Thoreau, he shows that we should live life to its fullest and make sure we make our mark while we still can, so people remember us. In the Movie," Dead Poets Society," a group of students from the Welton Prep School are moved by the teachings of their English teacher, Professor Keating. He teaches the boys to be their own boss, leaders and not followers. This quote relates to the movie because this quote tells what Keating wants to teach his kids. Many events take place during the movie that asks whether or not Professor Keating's teaching are appropriate, it is also questionable whether or not he

The male teenagers gained by having Keating as a teacher. All the boys were taught many lessons from Keating and some of the lessons were beneficial to them. The boys learn many new experiences from Mr. Keating and they learn that there is much more to life than education and expectations. Knox “met the most beautiful girl”, Kriss, and fell in love with her. Keating taught his class Carpe Diem and Knox decided to go to a party that Kriss invited him to. Knox ends up having a chance with Kriss and they both watch a play together. Todd gains confidence from Keating’s classes and learns to stand up for himself. Todd was always worried about not being as good as his brother and the pressure made him insecure and anxious. He overcomes this and knows that he can be as good as his brother, and even if he isn’t as good as his brother, he’ll be content with himself. He learnt from Mr. Keating that he is the only one who can judge himself and that he should think about what he wants, not what his parents want. There was a camera shot of majority of the Welton boys standing on their table with the principal covered by them. Todd is no longer held down by the principal and inspired the other boys to stand up for themselves too. The Welton boys enjoyed Mr. Keating’s class and are relaxed in his classes even though “it’s different”. They have a healthy teacher-student relationship with Keating and understand how it feels to have good relations with a teacher. Due to the Dead Poet’s Society running, the members create and grow stronger bonds with each other. They all grow together and learn to take challenged with teamwork and strength. The students gain many advantages by partaking in Keating's classes.