Carpe diem dead poets society how to#

While Neil’s misinterpretation of “carpe diem” leads to his death, Keating inspires many of his other students to lead lives structured around their own unique passions, ignoring the dictums of their parents and other Welton teachers.Peter Weir's 1989 film Dead Poets Society is frequently mentioned as an inspiring viewing experience for educators. Keating’s “carpe diem” philosophy is, above all, a celebration of life over death. Neil’s tragic mistake is to twist Keating’s idea, “because we’re going to die, let’s live life to the fullest,” into a far grimmer idea: “because we can’t live life to the fullest, we should die.” Perry, finds out that Neil has been neglecting his studies for theater, he forbids Neil from performing, and Neil is so distraught that he kills himself. Neil Perry, one of Keating’s most eager disciples, begins a career as an actor, inspired by his teacher’s encouragement to “seize the day.” But when his father, Mr. The tragedy of Dead Poets Society is that some of Keating’s students misinterpret his celebration of life, originality, and the “carpe diem” mindset to mean that a life without creativity and originality is worthless and not worth living. In short, Keating’s goal as an educator is to teach his students to think for themselves (see Education theme): to explore their passions and live accordingly. The best way to make the most of life is to be creative and original-to seize the day-and not simply to repeat one’s parents’ and grandparents’ lives. Because life is all-too short, students should make the most of their time on the earth.

Therefore, he argues, a good life should resist sameness and blind conformity.

On the first day of class, Keating tells his students that one day, no matter what kinds of people they become as adults, they’re going to be “food for worms.” In other words, where Welton Academy sees sameness as the basic condition for a good life (that is, obeying the same rules and desiring the same things as everyone else), Keating sees sameness as the basic condition of death-i.e., something to fight against.

In stark contrast to the cyclical, “one size fits all” philosophy of life that Welton offers its students, Keating’s philosophy of life is grounded in one simple fact: we are all going to die. Essentially, all Welton boys are supposed to obey the same rules and live more or less the same life, just as their fathers did before them, and their fathers’ fathers before them. Students are expected to work hard, follow the rules, go to good colleges, find lucrative jobs, marry and have children, and eventually raise these children in the same manner that they were raised themselves.

Carpe diem dead poets society how to#

At the prestigious Welton Academy, the students are indoctrinated to believe in a simple, straightforward model of how to live their lives. Right away, Keating’s words ring true to his students because they represent an alternative to the ideas they’re used to hearing from their teachers and parents. Professor John Keating delivers these words to his students on the first day of school at Welton Academy, symbolizing his unorthodox approach to education and his desire to inspire his students to “make their lives extraordinary.” It’s important to understand what Keating means by “seize the day,” what kinds of lives Keating wants his students to live, and how Keating’s philosophy of life is different from that celebrated at Welton Academy. The most famous quote in Dead Poets Society is “carpe diem,” which means “seize the day” in Latin.