Dead Poets Society Questions

1. God has been the most influential leader in my life. He guides and directs my paths and has my best interest in His plans for my life. 
2. I think this means that no matter what life pursuits we decide to take on, poetry can always have a purpose in our lives as well because it helps us recognize beauty and love. Yes, I do agree with Mr. Keating's statement. I agree because I believe that it is always important to recognize beauty, romance and love; which all have a purpose in our lives. I think we read poetry to gain insight into life and a special part of ourselves.
3. Yes, I agree with the quote. I have often found that it is helpful when interacting with others to consider their point of view.
4. I hope the lasting impression that I leave behind is one of selfless love and compassion for others.

Dead Poets Society Theme

One of the main themes of The Dead Poets Society is Individuality vs. Conformity. Students at Welton Academy are encouraged to be conformists. The influential leaders in the school all promote mindless following of tradition without any individual thought process. Mr. Keating, however, encouraged the students for the first time ever to think independently. Throughout the film, this theme of individuality is evident as Mr. Keating repeatedly pushes the students to look deep within them and discover their own inner voice. The different characters in the film throughout the story are all faced with the same pressing choice of whether to conform or rebel. Mr. Keating rebels against the authority of Mr. Nolan. Mr. Nolan presses Mr. Keating to conform to the traditional ideologies present within the school, but Mr. Keating goes against the pressure put upon him to conform and stays true to his own personal beliefs and practices. Likewise, the students learned from Mr. Keating’s example the importance of being true to one’s self. Through the process that they undergo, they truly discover themselves and the importance of their own individuality. I feel that these are the most prominent themes within the film. Through the process of figuring out their stance on this conflict, the students in Mr. Keating’s poetry class at Welton Academy were able realize their full potential and passions in life.

Dead Poet's Questions

1. Perhaps Neil wouldn't have been sent over the edge and taken such drastic measures if he hadn't met the inspirational boldness of Mr. Keating, but it's hard to say exactly. I don't think that Mr. Keating's influence directly resulted in Neal's suicide, but was a secondary contributing factor that helped create a major turning point for Neal emotionally and could of very well been 'the straw that broke the camel's back'. He had a strong desire to feel accepted by his overbearing father. I believe he wanted his father to support and encourage his pursuit of fulfilling his true passions. Neil was inevitably left feeling torn between making his father proud and following the path set out for his life or fulfilling his dreams of being an actor and most likely losing his father forever. He felt trapped, with no place to escape. He realized he couldn’t live according to his father’s wishes, and the only way out was to kill himself. He ended up killing himself before his passion killed him first. Just as Knox Overstreet stated, “Carpe Diem, even if it kills me.”. 
2. I believe that Todd was the bravest of all the boys. Todd to overcome because he started out as the most introverted and lack self-confidence. He finds the confidence to join the club and eventually the bravery and boldness to finally pour out a poem he creates out loud. In my opinion Neil was the biggest coward. I believe that Neil took the easy way out simply giving up and taking his own life instead of continuing to stand up to his father. 
3. I think Mr. Keating did put the poetry book in Neil's room. I also think he put it there even though he knew that the administration wouldn't like it. He was trying to teach the boys to think for themselves, and not always do what people tell them to do. I think he knew that Neil was ready to do things for himself, his father just wouldn't let him. I think that is why he gave him the book, even though he knew the administration wouldn't like it.

Dead Poets Society

1. Neil starts as a constrained young man and becomes fully self expressed when presiding over the sessions of the Dead Poets Society and playing the role of Puck on stage in A Midsummer Night's Dream. His way of being illustrates this transformation. 
2. Knox is a static character. He doesn’t undergo any kind of self-realization like Todd does. He just throws himself into love and uses that as his interpretation of "carpe diem". Knox's "object of desire" is Chris. His entire existence, including his thoughts, poems and behaviour, revolves around her. He breaks rules to see her and competes for her attention with her boyfriend.
3. Mr. Keating's character is an optimistic out of the box thinker.

Mona Lisa Smile: Final Post

Katherine Watson's teaching style was considered to be very unorthodox. Her general refusal to conform to the ways of the present day society of her time had a big impact on the approach that she took to teach her students. One scene from the movie that exemplifies her idiosyncrasy is when she a new course syllabus. Another example, is when she brings out a 'paint by the numbers' kit and says, "Ironic, isn't it? Look at what we have done to the man who refused to conform his ideals to popular taste. Who refused to compromise his integrity. We have put him in a tiny box and asked you to copy him." She was suggesting that being yourself and standing out is actually better than conforming to what everyone else thinks. 
Spencer and Betty's marriage wasn't very strong. Betty was not happy in my opinion because her husband was hardly ever home and when he was, he wasn't loving or affectionate toward her. Betty's mother did not allow her to stay with her when her husband was away and her marriage wasn't working out in order to maintain proper appearances.