O Captain! My Captain!
My Thoughts On ‘Dead Poets Society’
1
by: J Janssen
Index:
Section
Page Number
Film Overview
3-
Post War Society
Independence &
The American
Dream
Symbolism
The Last 30
Minutes
Final Thoughts
2
Film Overview:
Dead Poets Society is a film directed by Peter
Weir and written by Tom Schulman. The film was
produced by Touchstone Pictures and was
distributed by Warner Bros. on June 2nd, 1989.
synopsis:
A new English teacher, Mr. John Keating (Robin
Williams), is introduced to the faculty of an
all-boys boarding school (Welton Academy).
Mr. Keating, throughout the film, is determined
to teach his class the importance of freethinking and becoming one’s own person.
From his teachings, a particular group of boys
reform the ‘Dead Poets Society’.
what is the ‘Dead Poets Society’?
The ‘Dead Poets Society’ is a group who dares
to test and question the world around them. A
band of adventurers brave enough to try and
break away from what they have been conditioned
the believe. Members of the D.P.S are Neil
Perry (Robert Sean Leonard); Todd Anderson
(Ethan Hawke); Charlie Dalton (Gale Hansen);
Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles); Richard Cameron
(Dylan Kussman); Steven Meeks (Allelon
Ruggiero) and Gerard Pitts (James Waterstone).
These boys learn, through Keating’s guidance,
that there is more to life than what others
expect of you. Keating repeats the idea of
Carpe Diem, which means to ‘seize the day’.
This Latin phrase is the motivation that allows
3
the boys to explore newfound bravery and
finally become individuals who live for
themselves.
what’s the big idea?
At first glance, Dead Poets Society seems like
many other coming of age films that came out
during the mid 1980’s to early 2000’s:
‘a group of high school kids learning to find
their voice during their adolescent years’
Although this statement is true when looking at
the film’s bones, it truly is the film’s flesh
and blood that makes it stand several feet
above the rest.
The most striking difference from typical
coming of age stories around that time is the
bittersweet ending. Instead of everyone
receiving their ‘happily ever after’, the film
ends with the death of Neil Perry, expulsion of
Charlie Dalton and the end of Mr. Keating’s
teaching career at Welton Academy.
(more on this topic in ‘The Last 30 Minutes’)
characters:
Mr. John Keating
From the first interaction the boys’ have with
the English teacher, we can already tell that
he’ll play a significant part in the major
character development found throughout the boys
in the film.
Keating himself attended Welton during his high
school years, which provides him with a deeper
4
connection and relatability with his class.
Although not the only reason, this connection
helps form a bridge between teacher and
student.
Keating, in many ways, is the supportive
fatherly figure many of the boys lack. The one
person they can turn to when all else fails and
need true and meaningful advice. He provides a
source of comfort may of the poets never knew
existed. Keating’s classes ignite a spark in
the boys’ souls. A spark which transforms into
a passionate fire that fuels their desire for
individuality and exploration.
Neil Perry
Being the only child of a middle-class family,
Neil is faced with enormous pressure to succeed
and portray an image of perfection.
Our first introduction to the character is at
the end of the assembly when the families and
students have a chance to speak with the
principle, Mr. Nolan. In this interaction, both
his father and Mr. Nolan express their
expectations for the boy to achieve great
things. Neil is seen and seldomly heard, only
speaking when spoken to.
Neil’s relationship with his father is one
typical for the time period. Instead of a
loving bond, Mr. Perry rules his household with
a dictatorship. Neil’s life is planned out for
him, and he is not to disobey his father’s
direct orders. We see an example of this when
he tells Neil that he’ll be dropping the school
annum to focus on his studies. Neil protests
this decision, but ultimately gives in to his
father’s order. Neil also refers to his father
5
as ‘Sir’ which solidify the nature of their
relationship, commander and soldier.
Through the influence of the ‘Dead Poets
Society’, Neil discovers his passion for
acting. He auditions and gains the lead part in
the community theatre’s production of “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Knowing his father
would be displeased with this, he decides not
to tell him, hoping that Mr. Perry wouldn’t
find out. This is the first time Neil disobeyed
his father and made a decision for himself.
Mr. Perry finds out and forbids Neil to
perform. Instead of telling his father how much
the production means to him, Neil keeps quiet
and submits to his dad’s authority.
Later that evening, Neil confides in Mr.
Keating about his thoughts and feelings
regarding the play and his relationship with
his father.
Instead of quitting the play, Neil deceives his
father and continues with the show.
During the play, Neil is happy and free. On
stage he doesn’t have to portray the ‘perfect
son’. Instead, he can be a character who has no
connection with Neil’s true life or struggles.
For that moment he is someone completely
different.
The dream doesn’t last long as we see Mr. Perry
walk into the theatre.
At first, we hope that by seeing this passion
and talent on stage would change his mind, but
after the show ends Neil is dragged home and
6
told that he’ll be enrolled into a strict
military school because of his disobedience.
Neil tries to protest, thinking of the advice
Mr. Keating told him about being honest with
his father, but stands down and stays quiet.
In the end, Neil knew that there was no
reasoning with his father. The only way things
would change was if he made the change himself.
In that moment Neil knew that he would rather
end it all that night instead of living another
day not being his authentic self. Neil had had
a taste of freedom and couldn’t bare another
minute without it…
Todd Anderson
Our first glimpse of Todd is during the
reciting of the school’s ‘four pillars’. We see
that Todd isn’t dressed in a school uniform
like the other boys and hesitates to even get
up from his seat. During the conversation with
Mr. Nolan, we learn that Todd is indeed a new
face to the Welton Academy and has an
expectation to fill as the younger brother of a
once successful Welton student.
Todd doesn’t speak up a lot. His demeanour is
quiet and timid. This most likely stems from a
lifetime of living under his brother’s shadow.
Todd has lived his life thinking that
everything he has to say is worth less than
what is already known, so he keeps his mouth
shut. This is until he meets Mr. Keating and
Neil Perry.
Neil’s influence on Todd is subtle but
extremely impactful. The two are paired as
roommates for the year and through that they
7
develop an extremely close relationship. Neil
treats Todd as an individual instead of an
extension of his brother. He’s interested in
Todd as a person and gets upset when he views
himself as anything less than that.
When the Dead Poets are first created, Neil
insists that Todd joins the group even if he
doesn’t seem interested in reading aloud. This
inclusion helps Todd realize that people notice
when he’s around and want him present. Neil
made Todd feel included and that his worth is
not determined by how alike he is to his
brother.
Mr. Keating’s influence can be boiled down into
one scene: ‘the barbaric yelp’.
The class was assigned to write and present an
original poem. An assignment Todd ultimately
decided not to do. Mr. Keating gives Todd a
prompt and through some encouragement, Todd
creates and presents an impressive piece of
literature from scratch. Mr. Keating knew he
had much to say, but never had the proper
support of comfort to speak his mind. Todd is
met with cheers and chants instead of ridicule
and insults, proving to himself that his
thoughts and words are worth other people’s
time.
When Neil dies, Todd first seems unfazed. He
walks outside into the snow and remarks on how
peaceful everything is. Seconds later he drops
to the ground heartbroken and physically sick.
Neil was, at this point, his main source of
support and never did it cross Todd’s mind that
he wouldn’t be there anymore. Out of all the
poets, Todd’s reaction to the news was the most
vigorous and expressed.
8
After losing his best friend, Todd also has to
deal with the loss of Mr. Keating. In the final
minutes of the film, Todd does something
seemingly out of character… he speaks out.
Without Neil or Charlie to take action, he
stands from his desk and tries to tell Mr.
Keating the truth. As Mr. Nolan tries to regain
control over the situation and before Keating
leaves for the last time, Todd stands on top of
his desk and exclaims the phrase “O Captain! My
Captain!”. The name only the most daring of
students gave the English teacher. From this,
many of the students followed suit despite Mr.
Nolan’s orders.
This isn’t just a significant moment for the
class, but also for Todd himself. Being used to
sit and keep quiet, being the one to act and
assert himself in a position of leadership
shows us just how much he’s grown as a
character.
The Todd we saw at the start of the film has
grown and learned to step out of the shadow
that has been cast over him his entire life.
Charlie Dalton:
Since day one, Charlie is shown to be the
typical ‘class clown’ of the group. He’s the
first to follow Mr. Keating to the foyer and to
rip out the pages of his textbook.
Charlie however takes a more harmful approach
to Mr. Keating’s teachings. He views the
lessons as encouragement for acting out and
causing mayhem around the school. A practice
9
that ended up getting himself, Mr. Keating and
the group in trouble.
Although a trickster, Charlie remained loyal to
his friends and the ‘Dead Poets Society’.
Richard Cameron:
Cameron tends to be the voice of reason for the
group. His pretentious and do-good attitude
directly rivals Charlie’s reckless and
spontaneous one. These two characters present
the two points of a spectrum that help balance
out the group.
After Neil’s death, Cameron is the first to
speak out about the ‘Dead Poets Society’ and
pin the blame on Mr. Keating. His respect for
the honour code is what paints him as the
villain to the group in the end.
tone:
The seasons throughout the film mirror the tone
of the story being told:
Our journey with the boys starts at the end of
summer. The environment is bright and
everchanging. This reflects onto the behaviours
and tone of the boys, bright, curious and
subject to change. As the story progresses, so
does the change of seasons.
As the
Neil’s death during winter is emphasised by the
bleakness and harsh conditions around them. The
boys are frozen and can’t seem to find the
10
warmth that first surrounded them at the
beginning of the school year.
The film ends on
that some of the
lives and leaves
continue to grow
passions.
a bittersweet note when we see
boys seem to reject their old
us with hope that they’ll
and explore their own idea and
themes:
11