FCA’s:
1. Michigan Thesis
2. 3 Movie and lit. ex. In body
3. Thesis is proved: ex. And quotes
4. Minimum of 2 quotes and WC page
Finding Yourself
Does modern society allow Transcendentalist attitudes like individualism and non-conformity? Transcendentalism is a philosophy where in order to get to a higher understanding of yourself and your place in the Universe you need to follow four main elements, live life to the fullest, don’t conform, find spirituality in nature, and rebel against conformity. Transcendentalism gained support from writers such as Thoreau, Emerson and Whitman. They believed that truth comes from the heart and can’t be fully understood by your senses. As applied to modern times, the film Dead Poets Society directed by Peter Weir takes place in 1959 at an all boys boarding school, Welton Academy. Here the boys are controlled by the “machine,” which is their parents and school officials. The young men have no power or say in what they do and how they act, but a new teacher, Mr. Keating, shows them there are ways to evolve into an individual. The Dead Poet Society is transcendental because it shows the four elements of transcendentalism and its similarities to 19th century literature.
John Keating, the new English teacher at Welton Academy displays non-conformity and free thinking just like Thoreau shows in Walden. The first lesson of his English class reveals Keating’s unorthodox teaching methods, and non-conformity. He asks Neil Perry, a student, to read the introduction from their poetry textbook. Neil proceeds to read the introduction and gets to a paragraph that reads; “If the poems score for perfection is plotted along the horizontal of a paragraph, and its...