Mr Keating's Farewell Chapter 1 Summary

Table of Contents:
1. Plot Synopsis……………………………………………………................................................2
2. Detailed description of 3 scenes/ chapters……………………...……….……………...........2-3
Chapter 3
Chapter 11
Mr. Keating´s farewell
3. Interpretation of 5 Symbols/motifs/quotes…………………………………………...………3-4
4. My own review…………………………………………………................................................5
5. Appendix………………………………………………………………………………......……5
Information about the author
6. Sources………………………………………………………………….………………….…...5
Primary literature
Literature on the internet

Dead Poets Society
3) Interpretation of 5 quotations/ passages/ symbols/ motifs:
MOTIFS
“Think for yourselves”
This was one of the many advice John
Keating, the English professor, gave to his class during his lesson. However, this quote was one of the most significant tips and even the whole story is related to this passage. Mr. Keating´s teachings were always out of the ordinary, and in each of them he tried to teach his students an important lesson that would help them in their entire life. Another quote Mr. Keating said to his pupils in one of his unique lessons was “Follow your own voice.” He wanted them to have an identity, in other words, their own way of thinking and not just being another person who does what everybody else does. He wanted them to be extraordinary, out of the common and innovative people. John Keating also wanted them to be “free thinkers” and to speak out loud what was not ok for them and to give their own opinion. This search for their identity came up during the whole story, for example when Neil wanted to be an actor, but was not sure to tell his wish to his father, because he did not know how he was going to react.
Lack of freedom
The topic of lack of freedom came up several times in the novel.
At the beginning of the book, there was a scene in which Neil and his father, Mr. Perry, were talking about the extracurricular classes. His father said that he was taking too much of them and told him to be more worried about his studies. However, there were some other events which represent the lack of freedom in the movie, such as going to the Dead Poets Society club late at night. The group of students that went to the club several times at night wanted to have some freedom; they wanted to experience how it felt to do whatever they wanted to do without having someone punishing them over and over again, like Mr. Nolan (the head master) did. The head master and the teacher from the boarding school had a conservative mind, except the new teacher Mr. Keating. The most important thing for these people was the traditions, which should be obeyed. That is why the students had a certain fear to do what they wanted to do, but at the same time they had a strong wish to do what pleased
them.
QUOTE
“Don´t be ordinary, be extraordinary.”
This quote was said by the inspiring professor, Mr. Keating, during one of his entertaining lessons. Once again, we can deduce he was trying to teach his students how to stand out of from the rest of the society; how to improve and be successful people. Taking into account all the things Mr. Keating did, we can deduce some other aspect from himself and his way of thinking. With his unique and extraordinary methods of teaching and the tips he gave to his students, we can assure he loved being a teacher. “I love being a teacher, it is my passion.” he said once. It wasn´t just a work for him, it was his manner of living. Nevertheless we can assure that his crazy and strange methods did work, because he achieved his goal. This was helping his students to go through the problems of life and he even inspired most of them to fight and reach their goals. To conclude we can say that Neil, Todd, Knox, Charlie and Richard (his followers) learned the final and most important lesson, which was to be different from everybody else and to find one´s ways.
THEMES
Inspiration
A very peculiar topic, which stood out in several scenes of the book was the inspiration.
Since the very first chapter of the book we can distingue a certain person that has some kind of charismatic and good behavior, this is John Keating, the new English teacher. However, during the course of the story we were able to recognize his wish, which was teaching lessons to his students that would help them for life´s problem. We were able to notice that the students were gradually influenced by their teacher, Mr. Keating. Mostly five of them were the ones who really took his life-tips and took them into account. These students were Neil, Todd, Knox, Charlie and Richard. For these students Mr. Keating was not just an English teacher, he was also their mentor psychologist. They considered him a real friend to whom they could tell all their problems and worries to get help and tips. To conclude we can say that John Keating was their inspiration to do what each of them wanted; he was their inspiration to reach their goals. And as the book cover says: “He was their inspiration. He made their lives
extraordinary.”
Loyalty
The topic of loyalty does not come directly since the first chapter nor at the middle of the story, but it does come at the ending of the story. However, the English teacher tells the students to call him by the following quote “Oh captain, my captain.” At first it seemed ridiculous or childish for the students, but later on, when the students began to like their teacher method, they did accept the quote as a way to call Mr. Keating. Analyzing this quote carefully and the way the teacher used it we can realize that it was another of his tricks to get the students attention and to win their confidence. We can support those deductions by looking the last scene. Mr. Keating was accused of being Neil´s influence to commit suicide and was kicked out of the school. Mr. Nolan was replacing Mr. Keating, when suddenly John Keating enters the classroom to take out his belongings and Todd stood up telling him that he was forced to sign Keating´s close to dismiss him. He also screamed the quote “Oh captain, my captain.” as a sign of his loyalty and Knox, Charlie, Richard and some other students did the same.
4) My own review:
I think that this book very entertaining. Not only because it has a very good story, but also because it teaches the reader lessons which are important for life. There are several situations in which characters acted individually, deliberately disobeying conventional authority, in order to follow their dreams.
The process of self-discovery and free thinking is necessary, in my point of view, so I found the book´s theme ¨freedom¨ very interesting. For example, Neil and Knox’s fearless nonconformity will forever demonstrate the importance and necessity of self-discovery and individual growth to new generations of teenagers to come. For me this was not just a book, for it was a very important lesson, because it gave me a lot of important tips to enjoy life at its maximum. I truly believe that this book can help other readers to see the best part of life and teach them how to follow their dreams. That is why I recommend everyone to read it, they will be amazed with its lessons.
5) Appendix:
1. Information about the author:
Nancy H. Kleinbaum graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, is a former newspaper reporter and editor. Her other novelization include the Bantom Starfire title Growin Pains and D.A.R.Y.L She lives in Mt. Kisco, New York, with her husband and three children. The Dead Poets Society is a book based on the motion picture from Touchstone Pictures. It was produced by Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas. The book is based on the motion picture written by Tom Schulman and directed by Peter Weir.