Dead Poets Society Essay

To what extent do you agree? In the movie â€Å"Dead Poets Society† produced in 1989 by film director Peter Weir who provides us with an example of a â€Å"charismatic teacher† who persuades the boys away from conforming to the traditions. Suicide was overall Neil’s choice as he was unable to overcome and deal with the difficult relationship with his father. Neil was a sensitive, passionate type of person who found it hard to express his private thoughts about how he felt. Mr Keating is somewhat blamed for Neil’s death as he opened the students minds to different ways of learning and thinking and wanted them to avoid conforming with society and to express individualism. Neil’s father pressured Neil into things he didn’t want to do which took a major part in the act of suicide for Neil. When Neil Perry decides to pursue a career in the performing arts, rather than in medicine, his father, Mr Perry, is furious. Unmoved by Neil’s extraordinary performance in the play â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream†, Mr Perry continues to insist on controlling his son’s life and dictating his every move. But Mr Perry’s efforts were in vain; Neil had already experienced freedom—a privilege not easily relinquished. So in a way the act of suicide was Neil’s way of standing up to his father. Mr Keating encourages his pupils to have independent ideas. For instance, in their second English lesson, he instructed the boys to rip out the introduction to their poetry textbooks, because he believed that the pupils should develop their own responses to poetry rather than follow the guidance of the editor. Throughout the film Mr Keating repeatedly says to the boys â€Å"carpe diem† which means seize the day, so Mr Keating was not in fact ever saying that suicide was not conforming or seizing the day, it was completely against what he was trying to teach the boys. Neil eventually stands up to his father, but is unable to communicate his opinions to the increasing tyrannical traditionalist figure that his father has become. Rather than continuing to live a dreary half-life, Neil decides that the only way to gain control is by taking his own life. Though he lost everything in the process, suicide was the only way for Neil to stand up to his father and live life to the fullest (â€Å"Carpe Diem†). Through the act of suicide, Neil is taking control of his life decisions—and must, as a result, accept the consequences. Neil’s clearly existential actions were a necessary step in his process of self-discovery and individual growth.