Examples Of Conformity In Dead Poets Society

Battle of Conformity and Non-conformity In Tom Schulman's Dead Poets Society a group of bright students are enrolled in a prestigious New England private school named Welton Academy. This school stresses conformity and tradition as one of its trademarks. In order to survive in this school one must never challenge the institution. Dead Poets Society is a powerful example of the constant battle between conformity and non-conformity.

Mr. Keating, a teacher at Welton, fights on the side of non-conformity and free- thinking. On the first day of school, he shows them a picture of past classes. He tells them that they are all in the Earth now, and they have a message for his current students. The message was "carpe diem", or "seize the day". He is telling them
However, they could never live their dreams if they conformed to what their parents wanted, or what their principal wanted. Another example of how his teaching promoted free thinking and non-conformity was the way he ripped out the introduction by J. Evans Prichard. He didn't want his students to conform to Prichard's views on poetry he wanted them to form their own views. He called the introduction "excrement" and yelled "rip it, rip it out". Everyday in his classroom there would be a lesson that preached against non-conformity along with poetry. After reading a poem, Mr. Keating stood up on the table and said, "Why do I stand here? To feel taller than you? I stand on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly force ourselves to look at things differently." He then invites his students to stand up. This is obviously a lesson in free thinking and non-conformity. He is saying that there is more than one view to everything, and he is inviting them to be unconventional. Mr. Keating helps almost all of his students become free thinkers and non-conformists. This is illustrated at the end, when they all stand on their