Dead Poets And The Graduate: Movie Analysis

There are plenty of similarities and differences in both The Dead Poets and The Graduate. While both were based around trying to be free of an oppressive environment and the main characters becoming who they wanted to be, The Dead Poets did a more adequate job of showing this. The Dead Poets not only showed the boys breaking free of strict rules and regulations, but actually had a reason laced behind it.
First, The Graduate was about a young man named Benjamin who had just finished four years of college. Throughout this time he was always told what to do and what his next step would be. This leads to him doing practically anything that was asked of him. So really in short, the only thing Ben needed to do was learn to become his own person and stop being such a pushover. By the end of the movie he becomes somewhat rebellious and goes to Elaine's wedding to stop it not only because he’s in love with her, but because he wanted to go against her father's instructions to
Neil, one of the returning boys, had a distant relationship with his father. His dad would not let him do follow his dream of becoming an actor because he didn’t believe to risk was worth the reward. Also, it would interfere with his schooling to become a lawyer or doctor. Keating inspires Neil to take a chance and try for the play, which he get's the lead, but then his father confronts him and orders him to bail a night before the performance. Neil later talks with Keating about what his father told him, Keating then gives Neal advice to tell his father how he really feels about acting and assurance that he would understand. However, Neil doesn’t actually talk to his father at all and does the play anyway. When his father finds out, he brings Neal home and informs him that he is going to be switching schools. Neals reaction to this is to later that night get his dad’s gun and commit suicide. This sets the ending in