Dead Poets Society and the Suicide of Neil Perry Essay

Neil Perry was an aspiring actor, though his father wanted him to forget about acting and care about school and being a doctor. Neil took a chance and starred in a play without his father's consent. Though he wasn't supposed to be in the play, Neil seized the day and did what he wanted. Being a part of the play showed how Neil really felt about acting and about his life.

How did Neil Perry change from inclusive, to indifferent? The Dead Poets Society is about a group of boys who come together and create a club called the Dead Poets Society. This club was influenced by their english teacher Mr. Keating, who is a new teacher that once was apart of the club himself. As the boys relationship strengthens, their time at Welton Academy (an all boys boarding school) becomes more enjoyable. One main character named Neil Perry changes the most throughout his journey of being a student at Welton Academy. Neil Perry changes throughout the movie because of personal events. He progresses from being inclusive to daring, and finally becomes indifferent.

Moreover another experience of venturing into society revealed within the film Billy Elliot is the experience of dealing with the death of a loved one or family member. Towards the

To thine own self be true is a respected age-old saying, but while it epitomises the value of self-understanding and integrity, society often forces false identities onto individuals. What ensues is a culture where we constantly act in a way that is not genuine to who we are, to please family, friends and to follow society’s pattern. Revered writer William Shakespeare addresses this theme over multiple texts, namely Romeo and Juliet, in which two star cross’d lovers challenge their identities with true love, and ultimately forfeit their lives as a result. Shakespeare presents the notion that despite the pain and suffering that may come with being true to oneself, it is necessary to achieve authenticity regardless of these consequences. He proves

Billy seems to see death as just a moment that will disappear and that there are other moments when people are totally fine. This shows that Billy doesn 't think much about death and thinks that it is insignificant.

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.

Carrie Fisher, one of Robin Williams’ longtime friends had noticed a mood change in him when he showed up backstage after her show, Wishful Drinking, a few years ago. This visit led Carrie to wonder what was affecting him after their long conversation about bipolar disorder. At the time, she did not think that he was maybe referring to himself acquiring this disorder. After reviewing this night in her head, she concluded that he was secretly opening up to her about his illness. Carrie Fisher said, “He took the test that I gave the audience and got all the answers right, but didn 't think [being bipolar] was something that had anything to do with him” (Gardner). William’s was ashamed of his negative feelings and did not want to lack strength. Frankly, this was probably his cry for help because he was in denial that there was something wrong with him. Fisher did not know how this could have happened to a man who was so empathetic and impactful to many (Gardner). She speculated that it was his “unrelenting stream of emotion” that forced William’s to struggle with alcohol and cocaine, as well as rehab (Gardner). Robin William’s defied so much at once and finally cracked when he committed suicide.

Richard Newman is a poet that is very effective at what he does. He is able to not only tell you a story within his poems, he lets you actually be there with his powerful and moving imagery. Newman is also able to take the tone and voice of a poem and switch it up on the spot. As example in his poem “While You Were Away …”, he goes from talking about a guy knocking on a door beckoning for her to come out to talking about how he is sick with the month of March. His subjects and topics that he writes about or at least the two I’ve read for this assignment, both carry a darker and sadder feeling of it. Both “While You Were Away” and “The Unborn” have some diversion and flecks of humor sprinkled about, but the themes of loneliness, longing, death, and the awfulness of life. The humor does offer, if only for a moment, a breath or pause before diving back in. Newman can encapsulate and draw in readers with his work and each time you read one of his works, it leaves you in a midpoint between being done with said poem, but willing and wanting to dive on again and see what you will see this time.

In Dead Poet’s Society one of the main characters, Neil Perry, wanted to be an actor. And he was an excellent one. But Neil only get there because of a lie. He wrote the letter to the administration because he knew his father would be irate. Mr. Perry, Neil’s father, wants his son to complete medical school and become a doctor. However, Neil also wanted the freedom of living his own life. His father had determined everything in his life up until Neil joined the play, A Midsummer’s Night

As Billy mourns his loss, he spirals into suicidal behavior forcing him to lose his

I would classify Neil as a death Seeker. Neil showed himself as a happy person that would never want to kill himself. From day to day he showed himself to have good days and bad ones. Ultimately when his father buds in, he has bad days. When he gets back home he’s so caught up in the moment that he does it. He grabs him dad's gun all knowing of his actions and shoots

Robert Frost exemplifies death through out all three of his poems. The first one, "After Apple Picking", was a little harder to get the idea that he was referring to death. Frost changes his structure of the poem from literally talking about apple picking to talking about the seasons changing and death. When he writes, "Upon my way to sleep before it fell, / And I could tell / What form my dreaming was about to take", he is referring to his death. The poem takes place while he is dreaming and then when he is done apple picking is when he dies. Frost doesn't give readers the truthful ending but that is just apart of his style. "Birches" was written in such a way that he uses the young boy climbing the tree to represent heaven but once he is

However when Mr Perry finds out about this play and punishes Neil by pulling him out of the school and putting him into military school, Neil rejects the idea by committing suicide that night in his father’s

the students decided to recreate the dead poet’s society, after finding a yearbook with Mr Keating in it. Neil had a fear of his father, and also respected him. All Neil wanted was to be a part of a play, but he knew his father would never approve. Over a passion

Though Mr. Keating and Mr. Nolan do have some impression of Neil’s death, Miguel believes it is Mr. Perry that is to blame. Someone will not just out-of-the-blue kill themselves just because their father told they cannot pursue an activity they just started (or at least that is not a substantial reason). What is more likely is that this death became bought on over years of torment brought on by none other than Neil’s father. Neil’s dad is only one that had the capacity to do so. Although Mr. Keating and Mr. Nolan did send the reason for the suicide up, Neil’s father did the most out of the three by restricting him of what he could do in academics, future life, and even extracurricular activities.