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Examples Of Bildungsroman In Dead Poets Society

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Dead Poets’ Society is a film released in 1989, it takes place at an elite boarding school for boys. The film follows the senior year of seven students as a new professor, Mr. Keating played by Robin Williams, comes in and teaches the boys through poetry what it means to “make your lives extraordinary” (Dead Poets’ Society). With demonstrations and activities, Mr. Keating helps the boys to become individuals and to “suck the marrow out of life” (Dead Poets’ Society). As Mr. Keating helps the boys to not just accept what is expected of them, they start to develop so that their outside lives match who they are on the inside, making Dead Poets’ Society a Bildungsroman film. A Bildungsroman can be broken up into two parts: “roman,” which is just …show more content…

At the beginning of this movie, Todd was just the new kid who wanted nothing more than to just blend in and make good grades. However, Mr. Keating takes a special interest in Todd to help him discover who he is and what he stands for. Throughout the film, Todd comes out of his shell, allowing the viewers to see and relate to who he really is. However, it is not until the very last scene, that Todd completely denounces society’s rules in front of the headmaster. He disregards all punishment and repercussions that might occur in order to figuratively and literally stand up for what is right, which in this case is Mr. Keating. Todd discovers what Mr. Keating meant when he said, “Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular” (Dead Poets’ Society). Todd discovers what it means to be an individual. Throughout the movie, he develops all the qualities of a Bildungsroman hero, even the ones Neil never could reach. Dead Poets’ Society is the coming-of-age story of several different teenage boys; as the boys develop with each other, they all go through the development differently, but they all come out of it as individuals. Dead Poets’ Society is a Bildungsroman because it is the story of how several uniformed boys become individuals, with the help of a thought-provoking professor and a bunch of dead

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