The Importance Of Individualism In Self-Reliance And Dead Poets Society

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

In the film Dead Poets Society, there is examples of both transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism. Mr. Keating’s class and teachings and the Dead Poets Society are both very transcendentalist. The school and the parents of many of the students, especially Neil’s, are anti-transcendentalist. Although transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism are both present in Dead Poets Society, the film is transcendentalist because the transcendentalists are the protagonists and the main focus of the story.

European literature of the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century was a time marked by increased individualism and an inclination to remove all of the remnants of medieval society. It was a time of protest and reform of the ideals, that were once thought to be correct, to more modern ideas, such as free will and that the self-made individual occupies the center of a rational universe. As this new concept of individualism began to spread, there were apparent discrepancies between the noble ideals presented by the modern renaissance humanists and the reality of human behavior. The discrepancies are shown clearly by the Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” and Erasmus’ “Praise of Folly.” In the text by Pico, he describes the ideal characteristics of this new renaissance humanist movement emphasizing the individual. While in the text by Erasmus, he shows the shocking reality between human fallibility and human perfectibility.

Oscar Wilde once said that, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” The founders of transcendentalism: Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, and Dickinson worked together to show everyone the different perspectives of the concept. They analyzed transcendental philosophies and demonstrated how the individual must rebel against societal conformity in order to seize the day and make life extraordinary, yet willingly accept the consequences that it entails.

Transcendentalism is artistic movement that values inspiration and individuality, it focuses on shying away from societal conformity, valuing intuition instead of reason and logic. The Dead Poets Society follows the lives of seven high schoolers and their English teacher, Mr. Keating, while they battle the social conformity expected within their prestigious school, versus expressing their individuality and true feelings. With the help of their teacher, Knox and Neil learn to think differently and for themselves for the first time in their lives. In Peter Weir’s Dead Poet society transcendentalist values are depicted through the thoughts, actions and words of Mr. Keating, Charles Dalton, and Knox Overstreet.

Transcendentalism is a literary movement in the 1830s that suggest that every individual is capable discovering higher truth through intuition. Transcendentalist live by 5 tenets which are the importance of nature, self-reliance, simplicity, self-trust/confidence, and nonconformity. The movie Dead Poets Society is about a teacher who teaches his group of students how to live transcendental. The movie shows great acts of transcendentalism through each of the characters using the different tenets. Mr. Keating and Knox Overstreet in dead poets society shows that living transcentally is worth the consequences.

American Transcendentalism was an important philosophical and literary movement which placed an emphasis on staying true to one’s beliefs and expressing oneself no matter the situation or consequence. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau fully embraced these beliefs as their influence has allowed these

Perhaps one of the most meaningful maxims Emerson wrote would have to be "Insist on yourself, never imitate." This statement captures the total essence of transcendentalism; deny the will and aspirations of others, and follow your own heart.The movie Dead Poets Society begins by introducing the viewers to Todd Anderson, a very subdued and quiet young man. Todd has the average inferiority complex. He is a very bright young man with exceptional abilities. Todd is unwilling to speak his mind for fear of non-acceptance. Charles Dalton is a seemingly average student with a rebellious attitude. He has already realized that the students are being "brainwashed" into living a preordained life.

The movie Dead Poets Society is a perfect example of transcendentalists ideas being represented in modern media. Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film written by Tom Schulman, directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin Williams. The action is set at the conservative and aristocratic Welton Academy in the northeast United States in 1959 and unreels the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. The movie echoes transcendentalists notions in content in that self-reliance and individualism must outweight external authority and intuition is superior to deliberate intellectualism and rationality.

Throughout the Novel The Fountainhead the main conflict between Individualism and Collectivism is put on display. Howard Roark, the embodiment for individualism, creates buildings that are not currently accepted in society. Throughout the course of the novel he is fighting Ellsworth Toohey, the embodiment of collectivism. Toohey feels that people should do what everyone likes and individuality should be non-existent. These two ideas couldn’t be more different and are constantly clashing.

“Why fit in when you were taught to Stand Out!!” -Dr.Suess. Individualism is greatly discussed by many viewpoints, many for it, as well as against it. “Dead Poets Society” is a film that shows why individualism is needed in our society. Another great example is “What to a slave is the Fourth of July” -Frederick Douglass. Individualism is a great deal in the world, and people should understand what it is like to be an Individual to see that the world wouldn’t be the same if everyone was alike. People should know that we are all meant to be our own person in life and if we were all the same as everyone else in society, the world would be dry and lame.

Transcendentalism was an early philosophical, intellectual, and literary movement that thrived in New England in the nineteenth century. Transcendentalism was a collection of new ideas about literature, religion, and philosophy. It began as a squabble in the Unitarian church when intellectuals began questioning and reacting against many of the church’s orthodoxy ways regarding all of the aforementioned subjects: religion, culture, literature, social reform, and philosophy. They in turn developed their own faith focusing on the divinity of humanity and the innate world. Many of the Transcendentalists ideas were expressed heavily by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essays such as “Nature”, “Self Reliance”, and also in his poems such as “The

Dead poet’s society was filmed through the eyes of transcendentalism using Emerson’s philosophy, as seen in walden. The film deals with a group of young men who attend a very strict boarding school and the english teacher who gives them a new perspective on everything, the damaging effects of conformity, beautiful sense of nature, and emphasis of simplicity and individuality are shown in many elements throughout Dead Poet’s Society and are ultimately highlighted by emerson and thoreau’s philosophies, making the overall concept of transcendentalism understood. _________

During the late 1820’s and 1830’s in the United States, transcendentalism came into light as a response to take a stand against the broad condition of spirituality and intellectualism. Many pieces of written work from that time period utilized the transcendentalist literary style. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance” contains a dense amount of characteristics related to the transcendentalism period. The transcendentalist elements exploited in the essay helped develop the ideas of individuality and nonconformity in society. Emerson uses transcendental core beliefs throughout the essay to project his thoughts and feelings and to inspire the readers to think and act more as individuals.

The statement that conformity and tradition are in opposition to individualism and defiance of authority is very true in The Dead Poet Society, and even more so in today’s society in general. One can walk into any high school and see this is true. In a typical high school, people seem to have very much in common, especially in dress, hair style, etc… which is in opposition to individualism in and of itself. People are so caught up in conforming to how society says they should live their lives, it really tarnishes the spirit of individuality human beings are meant to have.