Walt Whitman’s message to become a free spirit and to break away from the “normal” social rules so that a person can express themselves in their own way has a heavy influence on the film Dead Poets Society. Whitman is an advocate of observing the world through one’s own eyes instead of being told how to see it and this is one of the main ideas of the movie. The behaviors of the characters in this film represent many ideas of Whitman whether the character is a free spirit, or a controlling nuisance. Also, the theme of the film shows how people can break away from conformity so that they can look at things in a different way. The screenwriter’s authorial intent is to show how being too controlling can negatively affect other people and may even lead to a major tragedy such as suicide.
Whitman is referenced to many times in this movie and a character in the movie named Mr. Keating embodies Whitman’s ideas and values. Mr. Keating is a teacher at Welton Academy, an all boys school, which follows a strict curriculum and strongly enforces many rules. Mr. Keating disagrees with this narrow-minded curriculum and teaches his class what real poetry is instead of what a good poem should be. His unorthodox teaching methods have a major influence on his students to pursue their dreams and “seize the day.” Mr. Keating believes that poetry can come from anything and that there are no limits for poetry, and this broadens the student’s perspective on life. Mr. Keating also promotes another idea from Whitman which is that words and ideas can change the world. Mr. Keating believes in Whitman so much that he told his students to call him “Oh Captain, my Captain,” which is a reference to one of Whitman’s works.
The other characters from the movie also display the ideas of Whitman through their behavior. One of Mr. Keating’s students, named Charlie Dalton, is an excellent example of a free spirit because he embraces life, which is one of Whitman’s ideas. Dalton “sucks the marrow out of life,” because he isn’t afraid to express himself or speak his mind and this is different from most of the other students at Welton Academy. Another one of Mr. Keating’s students, named Neil Perry, displays another one of Whitman’s’ ideas which is to follow your dreams no matter what odds are against you. Perry wants to become an actor but his authoritarian father wouldn’t allow him, however Perry acts in a play and does a phenomenal job which reassures him of his decision to act when he grew up.
There are also several characters in this movie that represent the evils in society whose behaviors are not influenced by Whitman at all. Neil Perry’s father, Mr. Perry, is shown throughout the movie as being a controlling person. This does not reflect the ideas of Whitman because being controlling causes others to lose their ambitions. Another teacher in the movie, named Mr. Nolan, represents the restrictiveness of society because he set many strict rules at Welton Academy and he blames others when the school is about to get in trouble (like when he uses Mr. Keating as a scapegoat after Neil Perry’s suicide). Mr. Nolan’s teaching methods are completely different than Mr. Keating’s because Mr. Nolan follows a stringent curriculum which hasn’t changed for many years.
Walt Whitman’s ideas and values have a great influence on Dead Poets Society which is shown through the characters and theme of the movie. Many characters in the movie express ideas which Whitman promotes like following one’s dreams and expressing one’s emotions freely. Mr. Keating teaches his students many ideas from Whitman and these ideas change the students’ outlook on life. The theme of the movie also expresses the ideas of Whitman because the theme is about living life the way one wants to and not being told how to live their life. Some characters in the movie represent the opposite ideas of Whitman because they portray stern, controlling, and often boring people who don’t express themselves. In conclusion, Dead Poets Society is a great example of Walt Whitman’s ideas and values because it promotes the idea that people should celebrate themselves and embrace life.
