53 pages • 1 hour read
N. H. KleinbaumDead Poets Society
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1989A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Welton Academy
Welton Academy is a symbol of the isolation experienced by its students. The school is placed in the middle of the hills of Vermont, out of reach from those who might challenge the societal and academic expectations of this particular, traditional group of people. The school is described as a series of “[w]eathered stone buildings and a tradition of austerity isolated Welton from the world beyond” (6). The students, like the school itself, are sheltered from any thinking that contradicts the thinking at Welton.
If Welton is a symbol for being trapped within a particular mindset, Knox and Neil’s frequent excursions away from the school are symbolic of Keating’s teachings, which allow them to escape from Welton, metaphorically, and to expand their minds. Likewise, Charlie’s willing expulsion from the Academy is symbolic of him leaving that world behind for good, just as the boys standing on the desks at the end proves that they are willing to follow Charlie’s lead if it means preserving freedom of thought.
“Carpe Diem”
One phrase the boys learn from Keating is “Carpe Diem, […] Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary.” (26-27). Those words are repeated throughout the novel as they fight for opportunities to live life to the fullest. The boys sometimes use the idea incorrectly (Charlie seizing the cave instead of it being a group decision, or Knox seizing Chris’s breast). However, in the end they learn that seizing the day is ultimately about remembering what it means to be alive.
The boys discover there is so much more to them than their achievements, than their parents’ wishes, or their siblings who always overshadow them. Each of them has a part to play and words to contribute, words and ideas that can make a difference in the world. The idea of Carpe Diem becomes a guiding principle for the Dead Poets Society as they set off to challenge their old ways of thinking and open their minds to new possibilities.
“O Captain, My Captain!”
On Mr. Keating’s first day of class, he tells the boys, “In this class you may refer to me as either Mr. Keating or ‘O Captain! My Captain!’” (24). The phrase is in reference to a Walt Whitman poem about Abraham Lincoln. Initially, the phrase appears to be one that acknowledges Keating’s leadership. However, taking on the moniker also foreshadows Keating’s removal from the school, since the Captain in Whitman’s poem is dead.
The poem expresses gratitude for the leadership and a bittersweet goodbye to an admired father figure. Though they have returned from a voyage victorious, the speaker of the poem will no longer be privy to the leader’s teachings, and the teacher cannot enjoy the fruits of his labor because he has fallen dead on the deck of the ship. This idea plays out in the last scene of the novel in that the boys acknowledge that Keating has been victorious in changing their thinking, and they thank him for his leadership, but they will no longer have him as their guide.
Standing on the Desk
One of the key symbols in Dead Poets Society is the act of standing on top of a desk. This idea is first introduced toward the beginning of the book, in one of Mr. Keating’s classes. He stands on the desk and faces his students, telling them, “I stand on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly force ourselves to look at things differently” (60). He then invites the students to take turns doing the same.
At the end, when all of the students stand on their desks in an “overwhelming tribute to their former English teacher” (166), it is symbolic of the students pledging to continue looking at life from a different perspective. It is their promise to Mr. Keating that they will never stop asking questions and thinking critically.
