Dead Poets Society Transcendentalism Essay

Expressing the power of the individual and “seizing the day”, transcendentalism is clearly shown throughout the film, Dead Poet’s Society. The character, Mr. Keating, plants seeds of wisdom in all the minds of his students. This lead to their want to break away from the conformity of society and express their individualism. Throughout the movie, symbolism is expressed to show various parts of these transcendentalist ideals. Symbolism of the elements of Transcendentalism can be identified in the movie, Dead Poet’s Society, due to its film techniques, narrative structure, and character roles.
Throughout Dead Poet’s Society, symbolism is represented by means of various film techniques which strongly pertain to transcendentalism values. For example, when Neil took his own life, it didn’t focus on him primarily, but the crown from his play that he laid upon the open window. This crown symbolized what Neil lived for, and that he died doing what he wanted. This couldn’t be expressed through someone explaining it in the movie, so instead it is shown using
Mr. Keating, the new english teacher at Welton Academy, represented almost all of the transcendentalism values. He taught his students to break away from the conformity of society, but also to find and illustrate their own passions, or soul, through literature. One of the main elements of transcendentalism he taught his students was that society was corrupted by conformity, and if they wanted to die with no regrets, they needed to “seize the day”. A significant example of Mr. Keating’s influence on his students is the very existence of Neil Perry. He broke away from the chains of society and his father, and died after pursuing his passion because he believed he could now die with no regrets. Dead Poet’s Society uses their characters personality and development as a form of symbolism for many of the transcendentalist