Literary Essay - Dead Poets Society
Bill Beattie once said, "The aim of education should be to teach us how to think rather than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men." All too often, however, individual thoughts are crushed by the powerful weight of conformity. In the film Dead Poets Society, conformity exercises it's influence and the results prove disastrous for some. For others, the effect of conformity compels them towards individual strength and the discovery of one's true self. Modern education is one of the largest "offenders" when it comes to conformity, and that point is illustrated repeatedly in the film Dead Poets Society. At Wellton, students of all walks of life are expected to learn the same lessons the same ways. They are expected to memorize the important facts and regurgitate the same facts during exams. Latin class involves recitation, while chemistry involves memorization, and as long as the students can deliver what they have been told, they are successful in life.
Mr. Keating did not feel that poetry was meant to be analyzed using measurable techniques but rather through the feelings of one's heart. He summed up his feelings on Dr. Pritchett's method of measuring the greatness of poetry in one word, "Excrement." It is not just to say that education is only about textbooks and memorization. The memorization of the Periodic Table of Elements in Chemistry has very little impact on a large part of life; such as that of personal relationships, friendships, love, loyalty and trust. All the characters in the film are human, and therefore have the same physical components in their bodies, but their feelings and point of view are unique unto themselves. The true danger of education is the attempt to call for all people to see the world in the same way. lish teacher, Mr. Keating, challenges his students to think for themselves and to resist conformity. He most memorably illustrates how easily conformity affects people during his lesson involving a stroll in the courtyard. He instructs three of his pupils to walk around the courtyard. The three boys march in unison, and t
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Approximate Word count = 750
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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