Transcendentalist Philosophies In Dead Poets Society

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The movie Dead Poets Society follows a group of teens at a strict school who become heavily influenced by the transcendentalist philosophies of their new teacher, Professor John Keating. The values they are taught completely change their entire perspective and attitude towards life. For the most part this is a good thing, as the boys normally lead boring lives that they are bored with. They form a group known as the Dead Poets Society and their lives are immediately changed forever. They live by the philosophies of writers like Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The boys in the Society were introduced to a new outlook on life when Professor John Keating arrived at Welton Academy. Among them were people who never got the chance to live their lives to the fullest. Through his teachings, the boys are relieved of the harsh pressure put on them by everyone. They find themselves and learn how to express themselves in ways they otherwise would never have been able to. Knox Overstreet is inspired by the phrase, “Carpe Diem”, and decides to face his fears and…show more content…
They will never forget what they learned from Keating. Some of them will continue to live their lives based on Carpe Diem forever. Even after all they endured with Keating being fired and Neil dying they still stood on their desks at the end as a gesture of nonconformity in a salute to Keating. The philosophies they found will allow them to escape lives of quiet desperation and live life like Thoreau and Whitman did. Source Page 1. Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Robin Williams. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, 1989. 2. "The Transcendentalists - including Ralph Waldo Emerson - Henry David Thoreau - Others - Dial Magazine." The Transcendentalists - including Ralph Waldo Emerson - Henry David Thoreau - Others - Dial Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.

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