Dead Poets Society Transcendentalism

Dead Poets Society, a drama film directed by Peter Weir, tells the fictional story of Mr. Keating and how he inspires the students of Welton Academy by advising them to carpe diem, or seize the day, and encouraging them to restart the Dead Poets Society, a club not only for reading poetry, but for learning to take risks in order to create positive modifications and exciting experiences. Embracing their teacher’s unorthodox ideas, each boy finds his own voice and takes a stand against his parents, the people who make major life decisions on his behalf without consent. Therefore, Mr. Keating’s insightful lessons, notwithstanding the mayhem they cause, ignite a fire in the boys’ hearts and change their lives forever. During one of their first classes together, Mr. Keating instructs the boys to tear out the introduction to understanding poetry in their textbooks because he hopes the boys “don’t just consider what the author thinks, [but] consider what…[they] think” (Keating). Later, he stands on his desk to illustrate how “we must constantly look at things in a different way” (Keating). Both of these actions surprise the boys because no other teacher at Welton approves of teaching these concepts that align with Transcendentalism, a belief that society corrupts an individual’s purity. Quoting a famous founder of the movement, Henry David Thoreau, he says, “‘Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.’ Don’t be
Keating’s presence at Welton sparks an important movement, but in the administration’s eyes, also serves as the reason for disobedience. Mr. Keating’s bold lessons heavily based on certain Transcendentalist ideas evoke indescribable feelings of courage in people, especially those who never heard someone tell them to look at life and everything that comes with it from a different perspective before. Despite depressing events, viewers deem the story inspirational because of how each character evolves, finds their own voice, and truly seizes the