Friday, November 4, 2011

Dead Poet's

What does Dead Poet's Society say about the power of literature, its purpose, and the way in which it should be read? How do these ideas compare to your own experiences with literature, both academically and personally?

11 comments:

  1. Dead Poet's Society says that literature, specifically poetry, is the human way of expressing emotion and passion, and we should read it not only from the author's point of view, but also from our own. The power of literature is shown in how it completely changes Neil and allows him to do that which he always wanted, yet could never find the courage to pursue. The idea that literature has deep and powerful meaning has been pressed upon us academically from a young age, yet not very many of us truly understood what we were being told. Until being told to look into literature with personal experiences has recently changed my outlook on poetry and literature in general.

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  2. Literature, as portrayed in the Dead Poet's Society, is powerful. It has the ability to inspire, teach lessons, and change a person. It can be motivation, enjoyment, or even hope. It can even be life changing. Literature is what you make it. To some, it might be lame or worthless, but to the others, it can be beautiful and loved. It also has a different purpose, depending on the person. It can be used for fun, to help strengthen a point, for education, for motivation, for inspiration, or even a seat or doorstop. With all of these, there is only one way it can be read, and that is on your own and the thoughts should be yours. Anybody can tell you what they think or help you interpret a piece, but what it should come down to is what you think. Everybody has there own opinion, and literature is no different. Everybody looks at a different way and can get something different out of it.
    I've dealt with most of these ideas. I do enjoy reading, but sometimes, i read things and feel the should be used as a doorstop. I get different things out of different types of literature whether it be motivation, education, or enjoyment. I also always have my own opinion when reading. I don't always agree with some interpretations or meanings, and feel differently about a piece of literature then others. So i strongly agree that literature is what you make it.

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  3. Thanks for remembering to post on such a busy weekend!

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  4. Dead Poet's Society shows that literature has the power to change lives. Literature can open doors, reveal secrets, and provide knowledge of all kinds. It also allows people to express their true feelings in ways that would otherwise be impossible, such as through poetry. In the movie, Robin Williams' character strives to teach the boys that literature is what they make of it. He wants them to use their own experiences and knowledge to form opinions and judge each work's value. He understands that not everyone likes the same things, because they haven't had the same experiences.

    I completely agree with what Dead Poet's Society says about the power of literature. I've found that literature speaks differently to each person. In school, some people like history, while others like reading. It just depends on your experiences. In our AP Lit/Comp class, everyone has their own taste in literature. Some like poetry, others cannot stand it. Some want to read a war novel, others would rather not. It just depends on what speaks to each person. For free reading, I love many different genres. Some books just speak to me. I love reading a book I can connect to, because I enjoy and understand it more. Robin Williams' character understands this concept, and he shows it well throughout the movie. Literature is an art form, filled with different genres and styles. There is something for everyone, because literature is all about the experience.

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  5. Before Robin William's character became a teacher at the school, the boys were taught by the book. They were taught not to have an individual personality and to fall into old tradition/way of thinking. But when Robin William's character came into their lives suddenly the boy's live got turned upside down. This teacher opened the boy's lives to a whole new world of expression. Reading literure of loe and passion gave Neil the courage to take on the world and his father by joining the play. Unfortunatly literature also open up a dark side of expression of emotion for the boys. This may have a part in leading to Neil's death but his home life also impacted greatly into his decision.

    Before taking AP Literature I believed books were books and there was nothing behind the story, but I soon learned I was greatly misken. Robin William's character stated how poetry is raw human emotion for the world to see, and I definatly agree. A world without literature is like a world without another essatinatly piece of art.

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  6. Dead Poet's Society says many things about the nature of literature. The most poignant thing that stood out to me was the message that literature holds power and can have a vast impact. While it can be argued that Neil's death was caused by his father, the chain of causation perhaps does not stop there. By looking at the series of events leading up to Neil's death from an unbiased perspective, it becomes quite clear that, had Neil not started reading in poetry, he would not have killed himself in such a symbolic method, not only symbolic of Christ sacrificing himself, but also symbolic of many great artists of the past who could not go on in their insensitive worlds. This, perhaps, starts to explain the power of literature over those that care to read it.
    The purpose of literature is not to lead to the suicide of artists and young adults, for that would be a cold and cruel purpose. No, the purpose of writing, and its very nature, is one of expression. Through all forms of art, artists use their respective mediums to convey that which they otherwise cannot, and writers are no different, only they are using a pen rather than a canvas. Literature gives writers a voice that speaks their message to whoever might read their works.
    However, not one person will read a written work the same way as another. Each individual reads and analyzes literature differently, often reaching different conclusions and experiencing different epiphanies through their analysis. Because of this, each individual must read literature not only for what the writer is trying to convey, but also for what they, the reader, might find within the words.

    My friends and I have fairly similar taste in novels(as evidenced by the four copies of Inheritance in class on Friday), but often reach different conclusions about what we have read, and we similarly make contrasting predictions and connections. This is evidence to support my formerly flouted claims about how people read literature. In class, we often have discussions about the myriad of literature that we have read, which has led to a cacophony of voices and ideas that, when dissected, shows our many different ideas that have come from these pieces of literature, each idea different from the next. This is proof that despite what the writer is trying to convey, readers are always taking many thoughts and ideas away after reading.

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  7. Dead Poet's Society portrays literature as more than just something to be taught and learned, but as something to be felt and conveyed. Mr.Keating shows the boys how to express themselves through the very things they had found boring and purposeless before. He shows them the beauty in literature, and how you can not be taught how to read it.He conveys to them the importance of having your own perceptions and opinions when it comes to a work of art, such as writing.Mr.Keating has them perform many exercises in the classroom that are meant to show the boys, and us as an audience, that literature is not something that can allow conformity and that in order for us to truly be a part of the literary world we need to be the free-thinkers that the boys portray in the movie.
    The movie in and of itself was an example of someone's passion for literature,and an expression of who they are through their art.The writer of the script,the director,the actors, and ect. all expressed themselves one way or another because of how powerful their need for expression was.The writer obviously put him or herself behind the script because the movie has such emotion, it's not something that just be simply made up. The actors would not be in the movie if they had not connected to the characters and the story.They all felt that it has a message that needed to be shared.It the end it all comes back to that, the feeling in different forms of art, and the artist desire to share it with an audience.
    To me, literature is another form of art with which the artist expresses their most powerful afflictions,inclinations, and emotions.I love literature, its allure is more than just a simple tale to tell, but a story with a message and a person behind it all. A person who is dying to reflect their truest emotion.
    My personal experience with literature has seemed to remain consistent since before I could remember. I have never had a teacher tell me, "Look at this piece from a purely analytical and technical standpoint", or if I have then I neglected to listen. I always relate literature to feeling and emotion, whether it be how I feel about the piece, or how I think the author was feeling when they created it.
    Literature is a wondrous thing, and I am constantly exploring its many avenues, writing,singing,reading, and acting are among my favorites.There are so many ways in which to discover and express yourself or things that have meaning to you from a literary standpoint. Personally I love all of the aspects of literature, but I especially love acting. Taking an author's work and your perception of it and the character your playing and making something magical for yourself and your audience.It creates a feeling like none other to portray to an audience the utter importance of the story you're telling, and even more so when you are playing the person's whose story you're telling, for at that point you have become them.
    In conclusion, I totally agree with every message conveyed in Dead Poet's Society,literature is an expression of self and means.It is a reflection who you are,what you feel, and what has meaning to you.

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  8. Dead Poet’s Society put a meaning and purpose to literature, particularly to poetry, that I had never considered before. The movie described poetry as something more than just words to be read. Instead, it described it as a passion, a force that should be allowed to consume its reader. Once one understands the power that it has, one can use literature as a channel into deeper emotions – emotions that can give meaning to life, that can give someone courage, and that can change the world (however small that change may be).

    In the movie, poetry changed the lives of several of the boys. The most notable changes were evident in Knox, who was given the courage to “seize the day” and chase after the girl of his dreams, and in Neil, who broke the rules to discover his passion for acting. However, the movie has also personally influenced me. From the very first day that we began this movie, fueled by our classroom’s excitement for “carpe diem”, I’ve been inspired to really invest myself in literature, especially in poetry. Though I’ve always had an interest in poetry, I’m learning how to really read it, and I’m finding myself feeling more emotionally connected with myself after reading or writing poetry. I’m grateful to have seen Dead Poet’s Society and to have learned its beautiful message, and I hope the learning only continues on from here.

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  9. What does Dead Poet's Society say about the power of literature, its purpose, and the way in which it should be read? How do these ideas compare to your own experiences with literature, both academically and personally?

    The Dead Poet's Society is a prime example of literature being strong and over powering. To many it is a way of life. Everyone sees different perspectives of literature and everyone has different uses for it. The purpose of literature is to create feelings and stories with writings. Literature is not just history, literature is a type of art, you are creative with writing and the way one reads it is creative as well, since everyone sees it differently. Literature is not to be read in any specific way, it is to be read how the reader wishes to read it, it is to be read to which ever way the structure instructs the reader to read it. If the writing has feeling, read with more feeling, if the writing as stanzas read them with pauses. It all depends on the situation and the type of writing that is being read, and the emotion that is expressed in the writing. It all may also depend on the reader themselves,since every reader gets different ideas out of writings.
    In my personal experience this is how I see literature. Literature is a huge part of my life. I do not see myself letting go of this creative, fun aspect of my life. Reading it and writing it is just as amazing to me, if not more than painting and drawing. I have a love for this field of knowledge and I believe that anyone should invest time into learning about literature if not maybe even to write and read it. Literature is a huge part of this world today and it is the now, the way we learn of the past in a simplistic way. Literature is academically very important to me, and personally it is as well. This learning of literature helps me with my historical views, racial views and a lot more. This is a very important part of my academics, I wish that everyone were to be required to take just a literature class. At first I had the mind set that I would not enjoy just a class on reading and discussing novels and literature, but I honestly believe this class makes me think and challenges my mind and character more than any other class I have taken. Literature has became a second language for me, not just a thing that I enjoy.

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  10. In the Dead Poet's Society the literature had really changed several of the boys lives. Knox seized the day(carpe diem) and Neil found his love for acting. Neil gave up his life for his love for acting. His love was that strong that he chose to do something he had a strong compassion for or to die. He died for his love.

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  11. Literature and poetry can be perceived in many different ways. Before Mr. Keating came into the boys' lives, everything they read had only pattern and one meaning, the author's meaning. He exposed the boys to a different perspective. He not only gave them a different kind of poetry and literature to read, but he made them live it. To have meaning, poetry needs to be read with passion and from an individual perspective. Good literature SHOULD have more than one meaning....the author's meaning as well as your own. Though this idea was shut down by the school and most of the boys' parents, Mr. Keating was still able to impact their lives. Though most of them tried to blame him for Neil's death, he could only be blamed for showing him life.
    Each of the boys "seized the day" in their own way. They learned passion by reading literature and learned that they should always be standing on their desks looking at the world from a new point of view. An author may write literature but how it is understood is all from whomever is reading it.
    Literature has transformed in academics. For some people it has transformed life. For me, personally, it has given me a new way to see and understand things. Seeing things from my own perspective has given me new ideas and changed my way of thinking completely. Anything can be seen differently, no matter what the circumstances. In no case will I ever understand anything in the exact same way as everyone else. If no one ever looked at literature, as well as life, from their own point of view, who knows how our world would be different today.

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