Watching the film offers inspiration and enlightenment on doing something within set personal goals. The setting is at Welton Academy located in Vermont. The school presents a traditional set-up of a boy’s preparatory school. The film represents events that took place in 1959. During the period, the school has not received external pressure to admit young black students. Further, it represents the perceptions of young white scholars who have access to a vast wealth. The film revolves around an alumnus of the institution and seeks to return as an English teacher. His style shakes up the institution due to the enthusiasm he expresses for poetry and the unconventional teaching methods that he applies. Individuals should have a chance to pursue fully their set objectives through what one individual initiates may develop into something great that they lack control over and the individual’s style may determine how others identify them. Based on Whitman`s literal works, individuals should participate in extracurricular learning with different classroom set ups, they also revolve around enlightening learners to pursue inner abilities in their search for success.
John Keating has studied at Welton Academy and has made a comeback as a teacher. However, he uses different styles to teach his poetry class. Keating`s style in delivering academic material to the learners seems as an assault to the academic order. His approaches seem to bewitch the young boys who attend his classes and the young boys become the film`s attention. During his first teaching activity, he orders those who attend to tear out a preference page off from their poetry analogy. According to Keating, the preface pages undervalue poetry. They pose a suggestion that the value in poetry has a measurement similar to the measurements of a rectangle`s area. As a teacher, Keating presents different ideologies from others within the academic world. The different style brings an uprising within the institution.
Keating presents that individuals do not engage in writing because it looks nice they do it in pursuit of passions in life. The statements made by Keating resonate with the learners and the thoughts they hold. Writers should write in pursuit of their life`s passions because they cannot tell how long they will live.
Keating mixes the works of Whiteman along with Wayne`s and Brando`s works in literature. From this material, he coaches the students with merciless efforts for them to realize the difference in their personalities. He serves more than a teaching role in the school; Keating greatly motivates the students to realize their abilities. He focuses on developing personal abilities as compared to moving as a group. As he teaches, the boys begin to realize their objectives as individuals and cease to think as a group. With the motivation that Keating presents to the boys, they focus towards the revival of the Dead Poets society. Earlier as Keating studied at Welton, the Dead Poets Society existed as a student’s club. However, over the years it lacked significance within the institution. For Keating, the revival greatly motivates him and enables him to achieve his objectives as a founding member of the society. Keating took part in establishing the society during his period of study within the institution. The motivation affects both parties because Keating manages to revive the society while the boys manage to realize the power within focus. Keating takes the leadership role as a teacher not only in instructing the students, but also in also participating in their activities and motivating them. The students embrace Keating`s approaches because they have never gone through such a system of teaching and learning.
Some of the teachings offered by Keating do not go well with the institution and lead one student to a fatal length. Other characters, Mr. Schulman and Weir accept Keating`s character in the institution as a romantic face value . The other teachers within the institution perceive that Keating has contradicting responsibilities. The film presents Mr. William`s as a dubious fool to a great extent. Keating`s teachings and style lead to a fatal length with one student; Neil committing suicide. However, rather than Keating appearing as the blame for the incident, the institution receives the blame for attempting to ignore the incident.
The film presents the political games that individuals play to gain control and dominance in social settings. The school receives pressure regarding the academic curriculum after this incident. The administration instructs the teachers on the curriculum offered at the school. The teachers also receive instructions on how to administer the same. It also instructs the students to follow the school’s academic curriculum without questioning. The situation presents a culture of silence and conformity to issues although the students do not enjoy the new culture.
As compared to Whitman’s literature, both pieces present the principles in transcendentalism. Whitman too emphasizes on the need to identify the internal capabilities in order to promote individualism. Furthermore, Whitman advocates for freethinking, non-conformity, and self-reliance, which promotes growth in the individuals towards the realization of individualism. Both authors seem to advocate for the renewal of an individual and to revolt against set traditions. Their literal works empower individuals to change from set systems and progress towards establishing other systems.
Through Song of Myself, Whitman suggests that learners should focus away from the contemporary classroom set-up and direct their efforts towards establishing their personal strengths and abilities. The authors present the literal work, which they composed during the romantic period indicating the support for individualism. The societies embrace Whitman’s ideologies and begin to apply them in the nineteenth century in music and the nation’s politics. Crossing Brooklyn ferry also presents Whitman`s support for individualism and personal experiences. Crossing serves as a significant event in self-discovery and he urges individuals to look towards the event. Through the literal piece, Whitman calls for a renewal in the literature writing which signifies his support for the adoption of new systems and non-conformity.
Although the new culture limits the academic approaches administered by teachers like Keating before its administration, Keating already achieved his intention in the institution. From Keating`s teachings, the student`s harness the ability of working as an individual and recognize their personal individualities. In addition, he helps the students to change their status by using the personal individualities to work as collective groups. The film presents the efforts of an instructor who works with his students to achieve personal and collective goals.
Bibliography
Lighting Dead Poets Society. DVD. Directed by Peter Weir. Australia: Australian Film Television & Radio School, 1993.
Whitman, Walt. Poems of Walt Whitman. Hoboken, N.J.: BiblioBytes, 1999.
