The Dead Poet Society

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Seize the day! In a world that thrives on conformity, it is essential others find the value of individuality and self-worth. Mr. Keating full heartedly believed others should be able to think for themselves, allowing for innovative ideas to spread like wildfire. The idea Carpe Diem, Seize the day, was the forefront of his teachings, because he wanted to allow his students the freedom to fight for what they believed in and to overcome personal obstacles. In the movie, The Dead Poet Society, Mr. Keating teaches his students the value of what Carpe Diem means, and how they needed to express the idea in their life. However, with Keating being so keen on teaching outside the academy’s comfort zone, he caused many to speculate the narrative he was …show more content…

Todd Anderson, was very misguided and was living in the shadow of his brother, nevertheless Keating saw his struggle and made sure he left an impression on him. Keating encouraged Todd to live authentically and to be fearless, using lesson in class to allow Todd to come out of his shell. The transformation of Todd was evident in the last scene of The Dead Poet Society, when he stood for Keating telling him the truth of what lead to his resignation from the academy. Mr. Anderson finally spoke up and said what was on his mind, becoming fearless of the consequences. The last boy, which Keating had the most impact on, was Neil Perry. Neil was all around a model student, and was heavily influenced by his father. Keating offered Neil the time to express himself and to think freely, knowing that many of the boys were here by force not choice. Neil and Keating communicated openly about Neil’s interest in acting and how he wanted to pursue it, yet his father was very opposed to this idea. Neil decided to audition for the community play, and seize the day! Keating was very happy for Neil following his passions, yet Keating thought Neil’s father was allowing this to happen. With Keating left in the dark Neil did the play, which caused a series of events to unfold; ultimately leading to Neil’s death and Keating’s