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.

Mona Lisa Smile: Katherine Watson & Charles Dickens Comparison

In Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times, he states that facts are important when teaching.  The problem with that is, not all facts are right. For example, many people believe that we only use 10% of our brains which, is obviously not true (Yes, Lucy lied to us).  Each part of our brain serves an important function for us to store, remember, and learn new things.  If all we taught were facts or "facts", we would all be  a bunch of confused animals.  In the movie, Mona Lisa Smile, Katherine Watson shows the same kind of passion as Dickens by replacing the words "facts" with originality and independence.  She teaches the women of Wellesley College that facts are not the  most important thing to pass her class, but to think outside of the box and not attune to the ways of life back then.

Mona Lisa Smile: Theme

My favorite theme was Individuality.  I liked how the women, in the beginning of the movie, thought that getting married was the most important thing ever, but once Joan decided not to go to Law School, Katherine tried convincing her that she could still raise a family and go to school, but she resisted.  Also, when Betty filed a divorce she was showing individuality because that was uncommon back then.

Mona Lisa Smile: Prediction

I think Mona Lisa Smile is about a woman coming into a school and teaching women that getting married isn't as important as getting an education.  I think in the midst of Julia Roberts' character's complications she finds love.  Or it's about really smart women who know everything and she wants to teach them about life and other things like art.

Differences Between College and High School Exams

I think tests in high school may be easier to study for because you take them right after learning the objective.  Also, testing is frequent in high school, like we would randomly have a test on Tuesday, then on Friday for another class, so it's harder to prepare.  In college, I think it will be harder to study for exams because of the larger material that would be covered. I think it would be smart to form or find a study group quickly and to practice some forms of studying in high school that seem interesting so you can use it in college. Overall, I think you should make sure that the material is understood in order to study it obviously....