All my Sons and Dead Poet Society Comparison Essay

All My Sons and Dead Poets Society Comparison

Despite the fact that the play All My Sons, and the film Dead Poets Society are completely unrelated, it is evident that there are numerous thematic similarities between these works. Arthur Miller’s play, All My Sons, examines the morality of a man, Joe Keller, who places his narrow responsibility to his immediate family above his wider responsibility to those who rely on the integrity of his work. On a totally different spectrum, the motion picture Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir, is based on an idealistic teacher, Mr. Keating, who stirs up the conformed waters of a recognized preparatory school, inspiring individual identity and the will of his students to “suck the marrow out of life.” The following paper will proceed to explain how a connection can be drawn between these two pieces. Firstly, father-son relationships in both compositions will be examined. Subsequently, the relation between the proverbs “Ignorance is Bliss” within the pieces will be drawn. Lastly, it will be determined how in both works, the domestic ‘bubble’ played a role in creating personal distance from reality.

In the Dead Poets Society, prior to meeting with Mr. Keating, Neil Perry had a very interesting relationship with his father. When he was not with him, Neil appeared to be a natural born leader, who tried to encourage others to become more outspoken. However, he immediately became submissive and obedient as soon as his father came into the picture. Evidently, Neil was brought up in an environment that was very strict and harsh, which did not allow him to express himself in any way. This is evident in the following excerpt from Mr. Perry: "After you've finished medical school and you're on your own you can do as you damn well please! But until then, you do as I tell you to!" Thus, Neil felt that he could not express himself through acting unless he did it behind his father’s back. As was to be expected, Mr. Perry eventually...