Dead Poets Society Identity

Dead Poets Society

Parental expectations, self worth, the search for identity and the search for love are issues as old as life itself. In the film “Dead Poets Society” these four common problems experienced by youth are evident. They are shown through the lives of Neil, Todd, Charlie and Knox. Adolescents of today are still grappling with these issues. The problems between teenagers and parents may always be the same, never really changing from generation to generation.

Parental expectations are personified through Neil Perry in the film. Outwardly, he appears confident, clever, controlling and popular. Although, the more we get to know him the more we realise that he is controlled by his father. We see this when Neil wants to be
involved in the school publication. His father doesn’t value this and demands Neil to give it up. Neil tries to put forward his opinion with his father stating
“Don’t dispute me in public……..
You do as I tell you!”
As the movie progresses Neil has more encounters with his father. Neil chooses to break the grasp of his all-controlling father by defying his father, and taking up his passion in acting. Finally Mr Perry’s need for control over his son ultimately drives his boy to suicide. Whereas Neil’s life is dominated by his father, Charlie seems to be controlled by no-one. Charlie seems to be the complete opposite to Neil.

Charlie is not inhibited, nor is he ever demanded by his parents. He is impetuous, daring and extremely confident. We see this when he takes the phone into assembly and asks the principal to accept a call from God. However, this confidence is not enough. Charlie seems to want more. He is always searching for his identity. Charlie wants to be unique and a leader. He chooses the name “Nawanda”, demanding that his friends refer to him as this. The urge to be independent often takes him too far. Mr Keating reminds him to be aware of the consequences of his own actions:
“Sucking the marrow out of life doesn’t mean choking on the bone.”

Charlie’s individuality finally results in him being expelled from Welton Academy. This bravado is something foreign to
Todd.

Todd would desperately love some of Charlie’s confidence, to help him ‘fit into’ his new school, Welton Academy. We are introduced to Todd at the beginning of the film, flanked on either side by his parents. Todd is immediately reminded by Mr Noland that he has
“………big shoes to fill. Your brother was one of our finest.”

Even his parents value his brother over him. This is shown when they send him a desk-set for his birthday two years running. We know Todd thinks poorly of himself by the way he is always the last to join in, or contribute to class discussions. He never takes risks or voices his opinion. Through his friendship with Neil and the potential Mr Keating sees in him, Todd begins to speak up and believe in himself. His potential is shown when Mr Keating brings Todd up in front of his class mates, when Todd fails to share his poem independently. With Mr Keating’s support Todd experiences a magical piece of poetry, which shows not only his classmates, but himself, what he is capable of achieving. Through the death of his friend Neil, Todd’s self-esteem is strengthened. Through losing Neil, Todd realises that he needs to depend on himself, as his support has gone with Neil’s death. He finds the courage to stand up and defy Mr Noland. He shows his compassion for Mr Keating by standing on top of his desk and shouting out
“Oh Captain, my captain!”
For the first time, Todd led others, who followed him and stood on their desks to show their support and belief in Mr Keating. Knox has no trouble believing in himself, he just longs for Chris to believe in him also. His motivation and purpose in life is to win the heart of his true love Chris, Knox is daring enough to show up at Chris’s school and read out his poem for her, showing his true feeling foe her. The poem and courage he showed for he was resulted in him being rejected. Although later on in the movie Chris collects Knox from Welton Academy, they attend Neil’s play together where Chris finally believes in Knox and takes the chance with being seem by his side.

These four main issues evident in “Dead Poets Society” are just as significant in the lives of today’s adolescents.
Many young people of today are searching for confidence, self-belief and their own identity amid the continual bombardment of social expectations and stereotypes. The media today has significant impact on how adolescents are portrayed in their society, and continuously dictates what is expected of them. Today’s youth seem to find comfort in belonging to social sub-groups, which give them identity, support and a sense of connectedness. The search for love is also significant in the lives of today’s youth, as it has been in the past and will continue to be in the future. The need for a life-long partner is significant in every-one’s life. Parental expectations also continue to be a pressure impacting on our younger generation. At a stage when they are searching for their own identity and life choices, parental expectations can cause conflict and
confusion.

These pressures and problems are personified through the characters of Neil, Charlie, Todd and Knox in “Dead Poets Society.” Their significance and impact on the characters in the film, set in 1959, was significant, even fatal. They continue to be significant in the lives of the youth of today. Parental expectations, the search for self identity, self-worth and love will always be issues that youth will have to grapple with, both in the past, today and in the future.