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Dead Poets Society And Catcher In The Rye Comparative Essay

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Though stark differences are apparent as well, The Catcher in the Rye and Dead Poets Society hold similar themes beyond crew cuts and preparatory schools. These include the struggle to conform, finding corruption and evil in adulthood, and having fear for the future as an adolescent. Throughout the novel, Holden continually finds himself feeling like an outcast; he attended a reputable school before he was expelled, impromptuly planned an escape from New York to live alone in the countryside to escape the world in which he lives, and was often rejected from most of the places he visits and by people he met as he ventured alone through New York. Similarly, Keating of Dead Poets Society stands apart from the rest of the faculty working at the preparatory school. He challenged tradition throughout his career, teaching his students to change the way they perceive ideas and with his creation of the Dead Poets Society. The members of the resurrected society too face related problems as they are confined to their school's regulations and the wishes of their parents. …show more content…

This is seen as Holden asks cab drivers of New York where ducks live in the winter, this moment being symbolic of him wondering where he goes once his life as an adolescent has ended. Holden's tendency to view childhood as pure and adulthood as gritty and tired, evidenced with his disgust for the vandalism around the elementary school supports this idea further. This idea is found in Dead Poets as Neil faced conflict with his parents because of his wish to pursue acting rather than medical school which eventually lead him to commit

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