Dead Poets Society

“Beads of sweat broke out on his brow, and he clenched his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white.”

This is the first instance in the book where the severity of Todd’s social anxiety is described. Todd isn’t merely a shy student, he has a physical reaction to his fear, which stems from his feelings of worthlessness. In this case, Todd wants desperately to get out of soccer as his extracurricular so he can do rowing instead, but his nerves prevent him from saying as much.

“‘Then don’t tell me how to talk to my father when you’re the same way,’ Neil snapped. ‘All right?’” 

When the other juniors try to comfort Neil after Mr. Perry withdraws him from the school annual, they tell him that he should start standing up to his father more. This infuriates Neil, who finds the comment hypocritical. All of them are following the exact plan their fathers have for them, so they have no right to comment on Neil’s situation. This is at the beginning of the novel, and none of the Dead Poets have found their individual voices yet, so they are scared into, or content with, the lives they’ve been told are for them.

“Did most of them not wait until it was too late before making their lives into even one iota of what they were capable? In chasing the almighty deity of success, did they not squander their boyhood dreams?”

On Mr. Keating’s first day of class, he takes the boys to look at photographs from students in the past. Those students and the ones at Welton today have two things in common: They all had hopes and dreams at one point, and none of them will live forever. By putting faces to the metaphor of lost dreams, Mr. Keating makes a haunting case for living life to the fullest. Regardless of how wealthy or successful they become one day, they are all destined to die. So, while they live, Mr. Keating encourages them to hold onto their dreams instead of abandoning them.

“‘A penny for your thoughts?’ Neil laughed, as he sat down next to Todd. ‘Not even worth that much,’ Todd said, shaking his head.”

Todd, who later reveals that his father severely belittled his worth when he was growing up, feels that nothing inside of him is worthwhile. He is perplexed by Neil, who seems to actually care about what Todd thinks and feels. Though it is not stated outright, it is heavily implied that Neil is Todd’s first truly intimate friend. Even when Todd tries to push Neil away, Neil sticks by his side, and listens and cares for Todd. With Neil, Todd no longer feels invisible.

“Refuse! Garbage! Pus! Rip it out of your books. Go on, rip out the entire page! I want this rubbish in the trash where it belongs!”

The ripping of the J. Evan Pritchard essay is the first rebellious act that Mr. Keating asks of the junior class. Even though the curriculum is tried and true, according to Nolan, Mr. Keating disagrees with Pritchard’s method of measuring a successful poem. Therefore, he decides to rip it out and teach what he knows to be true of poetry: You can’t mathematically measure a subjective art. By reducing the greatest poems to lines on a graph, Pritchard’s essay erases all of the beauty and romance of poems, essential elements to feeling alive and human.

“Have no fear, you will learn what this school wants you to learn in my class; however, if I do my job properly, you will also learn a great deal more. […] no matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas have the power to change the world.”

From winning over the heart of Chris Noel to finding the courage to audition for a school play, Mr. Keating’s students do indeed learn the value of the written and spoken word. The English class is transformed from a necessary course to pass the academic year to a place of experimentation, passion, and excitement. The power of words is also seen to be used for negative purposes. Todd still remembers what his father called him all those years ago, and it led to his poor self-image. The power of words can be used for both, but Mr. Keating teaches the boys how to change the course of their lives by carefully choosing, writing, and finally saying the words that best express their feelings, dreams, and ideas.

“Medicine, law, banking—these are necessary to sustain life. But poetry, romance, love, beauty? These are what we stay alive for!”

The three fields mentioned in this quote refer to the future careers of Neil, Knox, and Charlie, respectively, and more than likely most of the other students. These are the fields that are deemed as respectable, secure, and will provide the boys with a certain level of societal status. Mr. Keating does not attempt to dissuade the boys from pursuing these careers but to broaden their horizons to include the humanities. The hope is to produce fewer mechanical adults who go through the motions of life and instead produce students who meet the world with eyes wide open.

“Ah,’ McAllister laughed, ‘free thinkers at seventeen!’”

One of the biggest critiques Mr. Keating faces is his pedagogy being unsuitable for boys as young as 17. Nolan and Mr. Perry, especially, are of the opinion that the junior class is too young to think for themselves, and thus all their thinking must be done for them. Mr. Keating, however, knows otherwise. The boys are at a turning point in their lives: They are about to transition from high school to college, where they will be asked to think on their own. If they aren’t taught how to critically think beforehand, they will follow the crowd, never question what they are taught, and move through life without ever forming an original opinion. While his opponents fear Mr. Keating is getting to the students too soon, he knows that he must reach them before it is too late.

“Todd winced as Neil spoke, unhappy but unable to speak up for himself.”

Neil talks the group into letting Todd join the Dead Poets Society without having to read. Instead, Neil tells the boys, Todd will take the minutes so he won’t have to speak in front of them. Todd wants to overcome his fear, but he doesn’t know how. He is embarrassed by his inability to speak in front of people and feels simultaneously grateful for Neil’s friendship and coddled by his comments.

“They danced wildly in the forest, swaying with the tall trees and the howling wind.”

The boys’ first night in the cave proves to be a wild unleashing of the imagination. They are able to shed all of the pressures of their academic and personal lives and experience communal joy. Another interesting part about this particular moment is the parallels between it and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play that Neil eventually acts in at Henley Hall. The woods in the night seem filled with magic, ritual, music, dance, and confession, many of which also occur for the characters in the play during their night in the woods. When morning breaks, they must leave that magic behind, wondering if it was a dream. The difference is that some of the boys, like Charlie, carry that magic into Welton. Others, like Cameron, are too afraid and leave that freedom in the woods.

“You must strive to find your own voice, boys, and the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all.”

Mr. Keating originated the Dead Poets Society at the end of his time at Welton, when he was about the same age as his current students. He discovered the beauty and power of words at a critical point in his life, and it affected his perspective from that point forward. His students are at a crossroads, where the decisions they make about their continued schooling, their chosen career fields, and the people with whom they surround themselves will either permit and promote intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth, or it will enable another cycle of men following orders. Mr. Keating hopes that through his teaching, he can steer them toward the former.

“And don’t think I don’t know this assignment scares you to death, Mr. Anderson, you mole.”

Until this assignment, Todd has been able to escape all of the assignments that involve public speaking. However, this time, there will be no escape for him. Mr. Keating is not pushing this on him as punishment, but instead to expose something beautiful inside of him that Todd can’t see himself yet. He jokes with Todd to let him know he’s aware that what he is asking of him feels impossible, but Mr. Keating will be there every step of the way as he learns to face his fear.

“Knox wondered, could he really come up with the words to make Chris swoon over him?”

At the beginning of the novel, Knox doesn’t understand why women swoon over poetry. As he begins to explore writing his own poems to express his love for Chris, he starts to discover how vulnerable poetry demands the writer to become. At this point in the novel, he feels defeated and is struggling to find exactly what he wants to say to her. It won’t be until later that Knox finally does craft a poem that, while embarrassing her in front of her classmates, Chris knows is sincere and from the heart.

“The point is that for the first time in my whole life I know what I want, and for the first time I’m gonna do it whether my father wants me to or not! Carpe diem, Todd!”

The one thing that brings Neil complete joy in the book is acting in the school play. For his entire life, Neil has not been allowed to even consider paths outside of the one his father has laid out for him. Under Mr. Keating’s guidance, Neil finds the strength to defy his father and do what he wants. He still does not have the courage to admit to his father what he is doing, but it’s a step in the right direction as Neil seeks to find his own voice.

“For me, the most important thing in all sport is the way other human beings can push us to excel.”

In another unconventional exercise, Mr. Keating has the boys line up and kick a ball after reading phrases of poetry. Though this quote refers to this moment, it has a broader meaning inside the novel. The Dead Poets Society is made up of many different personality types, even if they are all being groomed to take a similar position in society. Todd looks up to Neil and wants to become a leader like him. Charlie sees Knox, sincerely in love, and Neil, who wants to be in the play, and sets out to find his own purpose. The group builds each other up, supports each other, and sets the bar for seizing the day high for each other. 

“Mr. Anderson believes that everything he has inside of him is worthless and embarrassing. Correct, Todd? Isn’t that your fear?”

Until this point, readers do not know exactly what is at the root of Todd’s fear of speaking. Mr. Keating is observant and is able to see through Todd right away. This makes Mr. Keating even more determined to help Todd unlearn the feelings of worthlessness his father drilled into him all those years. He points this out not to make Todd feel embarrassed, but to make him feel seen for the first time.

“Knox might not die of passivity, but there was a good chance he’d die of embarrassment if he called Chris, and the society pledges felt obliged to stand by their fellow poet.”

There is a tremendous sense of loyalty between the boys, a comradery that only grows with each passing month. Before the Dead Poets Society was formed, their conversations were limited to what subjects they should study together next. Now, the boys are also invested in each other’s personal lives. They care about what happens to their friends outside of school, and they are invested in Knox’s feelings for Chris.

“Well, my parents might have loved my brother, but they did not love me.”

Once Todd and Neil become closer friends, Todd begins to open up to Neil about his family. He confesses that his parents showered his older with affection but never made Todd feel loved. He tells Neil that he used to believe that parents automatically loved their kids, like in the books he read. He is often isolated away from his parents and brother, feeling invisible and set apart. In many ways, Mr. Keating shows him the fatherly love he never had at home, and the Dead Poets Society is more of a family than Todd has ever had before.

“Are we just playing around out here or do we mean what we say? If all we do is come and read a bunch of poems to each other, what the hell are we doing?”

Charlie, who begins the novel feeling lost and not knowing what he wants, starts to become the most fearless of the group. He is a man of action: He doesn’t believe in leaving the magic and freedom in the cave and starts to make bold steps to living the life he wants without permission from his family, Nolan, or even his friends. Sometimes this leads to recklessness, and eventually it leads to his expulsion. However, it is a small price to pay for “Nuwanda” to break free of the herd.

“John, the curriculum here is set. It’s proven. It works. If you question it, what’s to prevent them from doing the same?”

Mr. Keating’s influence on the junior class poses a threat to not only those students taking his course but also the other teachers and students at Welton. Charlie’s phone prank is public, an act of defiance in front of the entire school. More outbursts like that could spark a wave of rebellion against the systems in place from all of the students. Mr. Keating’s permission to question the status quo could put Nolan’s own influence, power, and traditions at risk.

“Ah, but I am seeing the world, Neil. The new world. Besides, a place like this needs at least one teacher like me.”

Neil wonders how Mr. Keating can stand staying at Welton having the knowledge and perspective that he has now. Mr. Keating assures him that it’s because he’s experienced the pressures of Welton himself, the expectations from teachers and family members to excel and rack up prestigious awards and achievements. In these isolated institutions, where students are most strictly barred from outside influences, the students are in the most need of someone to tell them their voices matter. If teachers like Mr. Keating weren’t willing to teach at places like Welton, all of those students would slip through the cracks and never discover that they are more than the sum of their achievements.

“Neil’s friends watched him intently as he delivered his lines with skill and ease, enjoying every moment, getting laughs in all the right places.” (135)

For one blissful night, Neil comes alive on the stage. His performance proves that acting is not merely a whim for him, it is his passion: It fills him with joy and purpose. He is a skilled actor, with a natural talent for bringing Shakespeare’s words to life. His friends are thrilled to see him pursuing his dream, even if his father strongly disapproves.

“‘Even if Mr. Perry didn’t shoot him,’ Todd said calmly, ‘he killed him.’”

Todd is wracked with grief when he learns of Neil’s death. He knows Neil must have felt like there was no escape to have done what he did, and he knows the person that would make him feel that way was Mr. Perry. The irony is that the administration at Welton ends up pinning Mr. Keating for Neil’s death since they refuse to admit it could have been the pressures put on Neil by his own father or by Nolan. Neil’s father by blood was not there for him in the way he should have been, the way Mr. Keating was. In this moment, after battling with speaking out for most of the novel, Todd has the strength to say what everyone else is afraid to admit.