Mr. Thoreau's Critique

The movie The Dead Poet's Society was not quite what I expected. I came into the movie looking for allusions and witty banter and the occasional butterfly of personal accomplishment. I found all of those. However, I also expected to see certain storybook figures, such as the new, perfect teacher who opens the student's minds and hearts to the world around them and their inner mind. Instead, I received Mr. Keating, a teacher with a deadly flaw: his ambition to get the students to think for themselves. While this is sensationally important, he failed to see the dangers of unrestrained thinking.

Now I'm no foe to unrestrained thinking, but their are differences between acting boldly and acting rashly. Mr. Keating's lack of restraint aggravated me.

However, for the most part, the movie is sensational. All should watch this movie, if only because I play a huge part in the plot.

Dead Poets Society and Thoreau

In The Dead Poet's Society, the character who most reminds me of Thoreau is John Keating. He has a whimsical, witty personality, and is very unconventional in what he teaches and how he teaches it. He is similar to Thoreau in that he seeks to find truth through the expression of the human spirit, in the movie's case, through poetry. He and Thoreau share a transcendental belief about humanity and the passions we share, and he tries his best to give share his truths with others.