Dead Poets Society Comparison

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Natalie DePietro A Separate Peace and Dead Poets’ Society Comparison NGLC Honors Hamburg April 28, 2013 How Authors Develop Similar Themes in Multiple Pieces of Literature through character Tragic endings, rebellious acts, and sweet talking. All narrow down to two teenage boys in two classic literatures, who both spend their time in boarding school. Phineas from A Separate Peace, and Neil Anderson from Dead Poets’ Society, both pieces of literature show that one’s inability to face reality can lead to catastrophic events. The characters Phineas, who is known as Finney, and Neil are both selfish and it causes them not to face the truth, resulting in a tragic outcome. In the book, Finney, who “without notice during the summer” creat[ed]…show more content…
In the novel, Finney repeatedly refuses to listen to the facts of Gene breaking Finney’s leg because he “do[esn’t] care,” (Knowles 151). Because Finney wouldn’t listen, he ran out and ends up breaking his own leg, and since he is reluctant to face reality, he gets sent to the hospital. Likewise, during the movie, even when Neil is not allowed to participate in the play, because of his strong passion for acting he still goes on with his part, though it upsets his father deeply (Dead Poets’ Society). Because Neil acts in the play, it causes his father to be infuriated with him, and Finney’s father decides to ship him off to another school. Both examples show how each of the boys are opposed to face their own realities, and because of this they end up hurting themselves. Other similarities between both characters are displayed throughout the stories also. Such as, in the book, Finney finds out Gene pushes him off the tree on purpose, and Finney doesn’t want to ask why because he “believes [him],” and that it would crush Finney (Knowles 191). Since he cannot bear to face the circumstances, consequently Finney, who became “increasingly dependent on Gene,” dies with a broken heart (Telgen). In the same way, Neil is clearly resistant towards his father when he lies to Mr. Keating about asking for his father’s…show more content…
In the novel, Finney comes back to school so certain of himself “with such health,” he keeps doing things he shouldn’t be doing, which makes him believe he is still eligible to participate in the war (Knowles 104). Just like Finney, Neil in the movie is so sure and proud of himself for preforming in the play that he uses one of his soliloquies to direct an apology towards his dad; this makes his dad even madder (Dead Poets’ Society). Since Neil and Finney are both courageous and “most innocent of all” the characters, it’s harder to face the reality that’s in front of them, like how Neil can’t comprehend his dads firm answer, and how Finney won’t believe he is actually cripples (Telgen). Furthermore, Finney, who is brave, suggests jumping off the tree with Gene. Although Gene almost falls off, Finney catches him and saves Gene’s life, but he “practically lost it” too (Knowles 33). Similarly, Neil is the one to show Mr. Keating his old yearbook since everyone else wouldn’t do it. Because Neil showed him it, they found out about the Dead Poets’ Society, which leads Mr. Keating to lose his job. Since Finney and Neil are so sure what they want to do, it is impossible for them to comprehend what other people want as well. For example, Finney is so confident in himself, that he wears a pink shirt that makes him “look like a fairy,” and he talks boldly about
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