Dead Poets Society: 4 Questions

The most influential leaders I've had are my youth pastors, Joe, Haley, and my mom.  Since they have come together, they have been really fun and have/are making a huge impact on our youth group including myself.  They have done this by showing me that you can still have fun and live faithfully at the same time.  I think what Keating is saying means that poetry comes from something more than our minds, but it comes from our feelings and emotions.  I agree and I have been liking poetry more than when we studied it in 9th grade and I think it's important to read it so we can connect the authors feelings and emotions to their characters.  I agree that you must consider different perspectives as you read something because it gives you different points of views of a topic.  I really like the phrase, "seize the day" and I think that would be my verse I would contribute in my lifetime.  

Dead Poet's Society: 3 Quentions

I think Neil would have committed suicide if Mr. Keating wouldn't have come into his life.  I just think Mr. Keating slowed down the process.  I don't even think Neil would have thought about acting if Keating had ever come into his life. I think Todd was the bravest of the boys because he let others, Mr. Keating and Neil, help him come out of his shell. At the end of the movie, you see him progress. He was also the first person to stand up for Keating when he was leaving which takes a lot of bravery. I think Neil was a coward because he could have found another way out of his situation.  Suicide wasn't a necessary option. I think Keating would have put the book in Neil's room because Keating wasn't someone who went with the crowd so I don't think he would have cared what administration thought. He also was the one who encouraged the boys to look at poetry in a different way, so maybe he wanted to show Neil that there was another way to look at the situation.

Dead Poet's Society: Carpe Diem!

The main theme of Dead Poets Society is carpe diem, which means “seize the day.” In the beginning of the movie, Mr. Keating tells them this and to make their lives extraordinary. Neil represents this by pursuing his acting career even though he knows that his father would not approve. He takes Keating's advice and talked to his father about him pursuing his dream as an actor. Todd also shows carpe diem when he stands on top of his desk at the end of the movie. Even though Mr. Keating is leaving and the board has made up their mind, Todd takes leadership and proceeds to announce to Keating that it wasn't his fault, despite the fact that he could have been expelled. So, I think Carpe Diem was the main theme for this movie.

Dead Poets Society: Follow Up Character Quentions..

    In my opinion, I think Todd transformed the most because he went from being a shy kid who followed the crowd to someone who showed leadership and stood up for someone the boys admired. At the end of the film, Mr. Keating was fired and blamed for the death of Neil. Todd took the initiative to stand up and confess to Keating that he disagrees with the rest of the school that Mr. Keating was the cause if Neil's death.

    Neil's father is a static character in the film. Neil's parents, especially his father, were very controlling over his life. When Neil tells his father about his acting, his father is very clear that he does not like the path that Neil is heading towards. When he finally lets Neil participate in the play, it doesn't end well. His father continues to be controlling as he tells Neil where and what he will be studying in college. 

    Mr. Keating is the protagonist of the film. Even though the school board does not see Keating as someone who you would look up to, but Keating was the "hero" to the kids. Their lives were changed by him.

    Todd Anderson had a fear of being noticed and attention, but Mr. Keating and Neil helped him break out of his shell. You can tell that he overcame his fear at the end when he stands up for Mr. Keating even though he might have been kicked out of the school. Neil Perry had a fear of not being able to live a life of his own. His father is controlling his life which leads him to commit suicide. I think Neil overcame his fear when he decided to act knowing that his father wouldn't allow it. Knox Overstreet had a fear of compliance and conformity. He uses girls and disobedience in order to seem more prominent among others.

Mona Lisa Smile: Discussion (2&4)

Since Katherine Watson's teachings were labeled as unorthodox, it means that her teachings were different than what the school's rules and traditions were.  An example of her "unorthodox" teachings would be when she taught the women about the history of modern art and Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflower painting becoming a paint-by-numbers activity.  The scene where she takes the girls out to look at the art piece and "consider it" is also a part of her nontraditional teaching because she taught them things that weren't accepted by the school.  When the word subversive comes to mind, I think of rebellion.  In Mona Lisa smile, I don't think Katherine was trying to be rebellious. She just saw potential in the young women and hoped that they saw it too.  Katherine Watson wasn't just a teacher to them, but a mentor and counselor and the board tried to take that away from her.  So, Katherine Watson wasn't a subversive person, the school wanted to think that she was.