Cross Analysis of Tobias Wolfe's Old School and Dead Poets Society
Hale O’Herren
In “Old School” the narrator stays hidden behind his manufactured identity so he can fit in with the other boys at his school. Through a process of self-discovery he realizes he has been fake with his peers and as a result unable to make true, meaningful connections with them. After a battle of identification with author alliance, he finds the characteristics in Hemingway’s novels most valuable; truth and honesty are the sources of good writing. The narrator was unable to see Hemingway expose himself in his writings at first, but after reading Ayn Rand’s novels he realizes Hemingway’s self exposure in his novels. This causes a radical transformation in character that the narrator rides to his social death. No longer does he desire to uphold the false image he created for himself; he wishes to be free and true. Wolfe in “Old School” revels the narrator’s true identity to demonstrate that self-identification should preserve life, not destroy it. This ideal is further emphasized in “Dead Poets Society” by one of the main characters, Neil Perry, who takes this to the extreme by committing suicide to avoid living a false life planned by his father.
While the narrator made the decisions to behave as he did, Hemingway’s ideals coaxed the narrator at a fragile time in his life. “It struck me that Hemingway’s willingness to let himself be seen as he was” (p. 108) The narrator feels safe behind his façade that he created to fit in, but after an identity crisis he is shaken. He no longer feels comfortable lying “When I caught myself in the act now I felt embarrassed. It seemed a stale, conventional role, and four years of it had left me a stranger even to those I called my friends” (p. 107). He is distant from those who seem closest to him because he is unable to be honest. He needs to fit in with the boys at his school to survive but realizes his efforts are worthless. He begins to understand that to win Hemingway’s attention he must write a truthful
In “Old School” the narrator stays hidden behind his manufactured identity so he can fit in with the other boys at his school. Through a process of self-discovery he realizes he has been fake with his peers and as a result unable to make true, meaningful connections with them. After a battle of identification with author alliance, he finds the characteristics in Hemingway’s novels most valuable; truth and honesty are the sources of good writing. The narrator was unable to see Hemingway expose himself in his writings at first, but after reading Ayn Rand’s novels he realizes Hemingway’s self exposure in his novels. This causes a radical transformation in character that the narrator rides to his social death. No longer does he desire to uphold the false image he created for himself; he wishes to be free and true. Wolfe in “Old School” revels the narrator’s true identity to demonstrate that self-identification should preserve life, not destroy it. This ideal is further emphasized in “Dead Poets Society” by one of the main characters, Neil Perry, who takes this to the extreme by committing suicide to avoid living a false life planned by his father.
While the narrator made the decisions to behave as he did, Hemingway’s ideals coaxed the narrator at a fragile time in his life. “It struck me that Hemingway’s willingness to let himself be seen as he was” (p. 108) The narrator feels safe behind his façade that he created to fit in, but after an identity crisis he is shaken. He no longer feels comfortable lying “When I caught myself in the act now I felt embarrassed. It seemed a stale, conventional role, and four years of it had left me a stranger even to those I called my friends” (p. 107). He is distant from those who seem closest to him because he is unable to be honest. He needs to fit in with the boys at his school to survive but realizes his efforts are worthless. He begins to understand that to win Hemingway’s attention he must write a truthful