1) In my opinion, I do not believe that Neil would have committed suicide had Mr. Keating not entered his life. Mr. Keating was the main influence in Neil's pursuit of acting, nonetheless, which is the first action in a long line of dominoes that ended with Neil's death. Nevertheless, had Neil not committed suicide, he would have most certainly lived a life of unhappiness and self-loathing.
2) As much as I hate what he did, I would have to say that Neil was the bravest of the students. He chose to end his life rather than to waste it in a profession that he had no interest in. This took a large amount of courage, especially because he was expected to follow his father's orders instead of rebelling against them. Richard was the boy who showed the most cowardice in his actions at the end of the film. He chose to abandon Mr. Keating in his time of need in order to keep himself out of trouble, and even encouraged the other students to do the same.
3) I think that Mr. Keating did place the poetry book in Neil's room so that Neil would be the young man to decide whether the Society should be resurrected. In regards to the administration, I feel that Mr. Keating trusted the young men to know exactly what they were getting themselves into and what the possible consequences were. He trusted his students to think for themselves and knew that it was their call on what they should do.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Carpe Diem
The theme of the movie becomes very obvious when one analyzes the diverse conflicts that the students must defeat in order to truly understand themselves. It is clear that the authors meant to show that Carpe Diem is an idea that can help anyone no matter what problem they are up against. "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day" is a phrase that is heard repeatedly throughout the film by both Mr. Keating and some of the students as they begin to understand its true purpose. The boys hear this saying by Mr. Keating in the beginning, but many of them fear that he is somewhat unusual and they are quick to dismiss these words as another one of Mr. Keating's crazy ideas. Nevertheless, as their interest with both the Dead Poets Society and Mr. Keating himself is peaked, the students establish a firm respect for their teacher and his unorthodox methods. They start to understand the application of this unusual set of words as Mr. Keating allows them to view what they truly want out of life. Most, if not all of students learn to Seize the Day in that they pursue what their hearts desire rather than just what society has predestined them to be. Even the resurrection of the Dead Poets Society showcased the aspiration of the young men to take advantage of the time that they have left and to not waste another second. Seizing the Day becomes extremely important to the students as many of them begin to realize that the lives they are about to embark on may not be what they wish to do. They attempt to use every second that they have to explore new possibilities in order to find what interests them the most. This is a very important way of life for Mr. Keating and he enjoys being able to give the boys the opportunity to make their philosophy as well.
Character Analysis: Dead Poets Society
1) During my experience of watching the movie, I noticed that all of the boys in the Society were changed over the course of the story. Still, I believe that Todd was the boy that was changed the most by the events in the film. In the beginning of the movie, he was extremely shy and afraid to show himself to others. Throughout the the events in the story, however, he became a completely new young man with the help of Mr. Keating and his peers. When Mr. Keating had him share his opinions in front of the class through poetry, the students finally understand Todd's mindset on society. Nevertheless, when Mr. Keating went to retrieve his belongings at the end of the movie, Todd was the first student to jump out of his desk and express his misgivings towards Mr. Keating's departure. This took much courage, as he was defying the headmaster by embracing his belief that Mr. Keating should not have been fired. This is drastically different behavior than what he showed in the beginning, which showcases the change in his outlook on life.
2) Charlie is the young man that I think is the most like himself in both the beginning and the end. He is very adventurous at the start of the movie, just like at the end. The only aspect that changed is that he knew what (or who) he should rebel against instead of simply rebelling everything. He was one of the main supporters of the study group, which was the eventual precursor to the Dead Poets Society.
3) I believe that Mr. Keating is a static character because he was equally as determined to reject society throughout the movie. Nevertheless, I feel that he was a bit more creative in the end on how he would help other young men to reject the status quo. I think that the boys inspired them just as much as he inspired the boys in that Mr. Keating was joyous that the students were able to find what they truly wanted out of life.
4) Todd Anderson is very timid and is not accustomed to the idea of rebellion. It is assumed that he has always lived the way society destined him too, as he was also expected to live up to his older brother's fame. He overcame his shyness because of Mr. Keating's pressure to show the class his true self. Neil Perry was very lively and outgoing, yet he refused to accept the fact that he wanted something else from his life rather than the plan that his parents had laid out for him. When Mr. Keating arrived, he showed Neil how to explore his new interests and how to show his parents what he wanted. Knox Overstreet was somewhat buoyant and cheerful but he faced a major conflict when he wanted to court a girl who was already taken. Mr. Keating influenced Knox enough that he was able to overcome his complacency and learn to "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day." Charlie Dalton was by far the most rebellious student throughout the entire movie. He hated the life that was set out for him and hated that the other young men were so reluctant to initiate change in the school. Nevertheless, he was not knowledgeable in how and when to effectively rebel in order to cause long-term change. Mr. Keating was able to show Charlie his faults and gave him the opportunities to rebel against specific ideas. Without Mr. Keating, it is apparent that many of the conflicts that the students faced in the movie would not have been overcome as the boys did not have a proper leader to follow in their lives.
2) Charlie is the young man that I think is the most like himself in both the beginning and the end. He is very adventurous at the start of the movie, just like at the end. The only aspect that changed is that he knew what (or who) he should rebel against instead of simply rebelling everything. He was one of the main supporters of the study group, which was the eventual precursor to the Dead Poets Society.
3) I believe that Mr. Keating is a static character because he was equally as determined to reject society throughout the movie. Nevertheless, I feel that he was a bit more creative in the end on how he would help other young men to reject the status quo. I think that the boys inspired them just as much as he inspired the boys in that Mr. Keating was joyous that the students were able to find what they truly wanted out of life.
4) Todd Anderson is very timid and is not accustomed to the idea of rebellion. It is assumed that he has always lived the way society destined him too, as he was also expected to live up to his older brother's fame. He overcame his shyness because of Mr. Keating's pressure to show the class his true self. Neil Perry was very lively and outgoing, yet he refused to accept the fact that he wanted something else from his life rather than the plan that his parents had laid out for him. When Mr. Keating arrived, he showed Neil how to explore his new interests and how to show his parents what he wanted. Knox Overstreet was somewhat buoyant and cheerful but he faced a major conflict when he wanted to court a girl who was already taken. Mr. Keating influenced Knox enough that he was able to overcome his complacency and learn to "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day." Charlie Dalton was by far the most rebellious student throughout the entire movie. He hated the life that was set out for him and hated that the other young men were so reluctant to initiate change in the school. Nevertheless, he was not knowledgeable in how and when to effectively rebel in order to cause long-term change. Mr. Keating was able to show Charlie his faults and gave him the opportunities to rebel against specific ideas. Without Mr. Keating, it is apparent that many of the conflicts that the students faced in the movie would not have been overcome as the boys did not have a proper leader to follow in their lives.
Monday, February 2, 2015
The Relationship of Katherine and Betty
Betty's marriage to Spencer can best be described as a "false positive" or "gilded." When she was preparing to get married to Spencer, Betty believed that she was making the best decision of her life. Everyone believed that she and Spencer were happy together, even herself. One of the main reasons she was so adamant about getting married was that her mother was very strict about the way she was supposed to grow up and live life. Betty's mother was extremely supportive of the roles that women had in society and had no intention for her daughter to be unique from anyone else. Nevertheless, when Betty started to live her life with Spencer, she realized how much unhappiness was creeping its way into her life. She was slowly feeling more alone, even though she was supposed to be supported by her husband. Betty begins to take her anger out on others and even yells at another student claiming that the student's life was full of emptiness because she was chasing a man who didn't love her back, which perfectly described Betty's life at the moment. In the end, it is Betty, who seemingly had no intention of being unique, becomes and outsider and divorces Spencer because he was cheating, effectively enraging her mother. Katherine Watson, on the other hand, was completely supportive of Betty's intent to become independent. Katherine herself was single as well, and was even described as subversive. Yet, the word subversive literally means someone who is trying to subvert or overcome an established system. Katherine was subversive to everyone else because she decided to live her life by her own rules and not by the expectations of others. Still, wouldn't the word subversive only be used to describe her if the person using it supported the current social system? I believe that Katherine did not appear subversive to herself because she refused to trouble herself with the current social standards, no matter the opinion of others. She wasn't trying to undermine the current system that society blindly followed as she decided to completely remove herself from the system herself. Katherine supported her students to find their own personality and to disregard what society expected them to do, even if they desired to be a part of the system. She was in a league of her own and had no intention of coming back to the current roles that were offered to her by society.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Progressive Teaching Style
Katherine Watson is a very interesting character in the movie Mona Lisa Smile and she perfectly embodies the Progressive teaching style. She is very confident that her students' opinions are important and require them to voice how they feel in class often. She has no intention on telling the girls to conform to society's viewpoint of them, but rather to have independent thought. This allows many of the girls to find themselves and what they truly desire. The factual teaching style, on the other hand, leaves little to no room for independent thought. This teaching style only allows for absolute fact and nothing else. It practically weeds out every form of opinion on any type of subject because in this teaching style, opinions don't account for anything. To this teacher, facts are the only thing that will get you anywhere in life, when in reality, compassionate and independent thought are two very important aspects to success. The factual teaching style is the complete opposite of the progressive style, as it despises independent thought and forces the human mind to conform to whatever image the teacher chooses. While the progressive teaching style allows for every student to develop his or her own method of learning and personality, the factual style destroys any form of originality and attempts to make every student like-minded. This can be very unhealthy, as every person is different and needs ample time to discover themselves. Overall, the progressive teaching style is better for the students and the teacher as it allows for emotional bonding and unique learning experiences for each student.
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