Characters

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Characters

• Mr. John Keating
• Mr. McAlister
• Mr. Nolan
• Mr. Perry

• Todd Anderson
• Neil Perry
• Charles Dalton
• Knox Overstreet
• Steve Meeks
• Gerard Pitts
• John Hopkins
• Richard Cameron

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Carpe diem!

• Of all the characters, which are you more like?
  Why?
• Which of the characters are you most unlike? Why?

• How does Dead Poets Society illustrate the
  importance of attitudes?
• How were the characters challenged by Mr.
  Keatings carpe diem philosophy?

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• To the Virgins, Make Much of Time
• Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is
  still a-flying, And this same flower that smiles
  today, To-morrow will be dying.
• -ROBERT HERRICK 1591-1674

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• How would you live your life differently, if you
  realized that, like the rosebud, one day you will
  no longer breathe, walk around, or socialize on a
  physical plane?
• Freud taught that there are two life forces in
  us
• Eros the life wish craves challenges/adventures
  
• Thanatos the death wish longs for
  safety/comfort
• Which controls you the more? In what way?

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• I went to the woods because I wished to live
  deliberately, to front only the essential facts
  of life, and see if I could not learn what it had
  to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover
  that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what
  was not life, living is so dear, nor did I wish
  to practice resignation, unless it was quite
  necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck all the
  marrow of life,
• - Henry David Thoreau
• What does Thoreau mean by this statement?
• What is the benefit of going out into the woods
  to live deliberately?

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• O me! O life! O me! O life! of the questions of
  these recurring. Of the endless trains of the
  faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish. Of
  myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more
  foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes
  that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean,
  of the struggle ever renew'd. Of the poor results
  of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see
  around me, Of the empty and useless years of the
  rest, with the rest me intertwined, The question,
  O me! so sad, recurring -- What good amid these,
  O me, O life? Answer. That you are here--that
  life exists and identity. That the powerful play
  goes on, and you may contribute a verse. (what
  will your verse be?)
• -WALT WHITMAN -1819-1892

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Native American Proverb

• When you were born,
• You cried and the world rejoiced!
• Live your life in such a way that
• When you die
• The world cries and
• You rejoice!

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• Whenever you do something, make it EXTRAORDINARY

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Whats your future?

• When people peruse the annuals of Loyola, will
  you just be one of the many?
• Will you make your life extraordinary or
  ordinary?
• What keeps us from celebrating and asserting
  our uniqueness?
• What kept Todd so reserved and closed in on
  himself?

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Fear immobilizesChange your attitudes and
stretch beyond your crippling fears

• Choose to live a life of EROS
• Carpe diem!
• Lets look at what the wise poets have to say

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• O to struggle against great odds,To meet enemies
  undaunted.
• To be a sailor of the worldBound for all ports
• O, I live to be the ruler of lifeNot a slave
• To mount the scaffolds,To advance to the
  mussels of guns,With perfect nonchalance
• To dance,Clap hands, Exalt, Shout, Skip, Roll
  on, Float on
• O, to have lifehenceforth the poem of new joys
• To indeed be a god!

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The Lesson in Conformity

• We must find our voice.
• We all have a need to belong,
• Yet it is difficult to maintain our own set of
  beliefs when the rest of the herd says bahhh.

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Do the previous words from the poets provide a
reasonable code by which to live?
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• Should Mr. Keating have told the students about
  the DPS?
• Was he being irresponsible?
• Was he encouraging them to do irrational
  activities?
• What does it mean to suck out the marrow of
  life?

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Todd Anderson Proof that a change in attitudes
changes the quality of ones life

• How did Mr. Keating help Todd to improve his
  self-attitude?

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Discussion Questions

• Should Neil have tried out for the play even
  though he knew his father was against it?
• Did he have other options?
• Does carpe diem mean you have to stir up
  things?

• Why do I stand on my desk?
• - what lesson was Mr. Keating trying to teach
  them?
• - important to get another perspective.
• - Why another perspective?

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Neil Perry Other Solutions

• Obviously Neils solution was irrational.
• What would you suggest that Neil do if you were
  Mr. Keating and were asked for advice?
• Was Mr. Keating responsible for Neils suicide?

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Charlie Dalton Todd Anderson

• The battleground to prove ones attitudes
• Would many of you sacrifice 7 semesters at Loyola
  for a teacher unjustly fired?
• Would a GED be enough for you if it meant
  following your conscience?
• Charlie had the most courage
• How did Todd redeem himself in the end?

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The Road Less Traveled (Scott Peck, M.D.)

• Life is difficult (painful to confront problems).
• Discipline is the basic set of tools needed to
  solve problems.
• Four Disciplines are
• a. delaying gratification
• b. accepting responsibility
• c. dedication to truth
• d. balancing
• The will to use them is LOVE

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Delaying Gratification

• A process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of
  life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by
  meeting and experiencing the pain first and
  getting it over with.
• Its the only decent way to live.

• Approaches
• 1. Problems must be worked through because they
  do not go away.
• 2. Confront problems by taking time and planning.

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Acceptance of Responsibility

• The difficulty of accepting responsibility lies
  in the desire to avoid painful consequences.
• Whenever we avoid responsibility for our
  behavior, we then attempt to give that
  responsibility to another person or organization
  or entity.
• We have the freedom of choice to decide how we
  will respond to life.

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Dedication to Reality

• The willingness to revise and correct our
  understanding or reality our world map.
• Be open to challenge the truth of reality.
• Be free from fear.
• Dont live in a world or if onlys and I
  cant.
• Live out the Serenity Prayer.

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Balancing

• Learn to be flexible
• Be open to growth
• Balance your needs with the needs of others

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Painful Roads to Travel

• Birth
• Childhood
• Play Years
• School years
• Adolescence
• Young Adulthood
• Midlife
• Senior

• Trust (mistrust)
• Autonomy (doubt)
• Socialization (guilt)
• Independence (inferiority)
• Individuation (identity confusion)
• Partnership (isolation)
• Generativity (stagnation)
• Ego identity (despair)