Dead Poets Society Notes Day 1

-Set in the 1950s at a traditional boys prep school in New England; religious; "best preparatory school in the -US"; boarding school
-Graduated 51the previous year - 75% went to the Ivy League
-The boys seem to have come from wealthy families
-Todd Anderson is the new kid - older brother was valedictorian, well known
-Teachers are shown as tough, and have a rigorous schedule; traditional style of teaching (repeating the Latin Roots back to the teacher)
-Mr. Keating seems relaxed - boys are stunned by his behavior
-Tells the students they could call him Mr Keating or "Oh Captain, My Captain" (Walt Whitman about Lincoln)
- Mr. Keating went to Welton
- Carpe Diem - seize the day: "make your lives extraordinary" - Keating
- Has the students rip out an entire introduction of a book because he didn't want his students to think like the author -- teaching them to think for themselves
- "Words and ideas can change the world" - Keating; even if it does not have much to do with business school or med school, it is still important;
- the human race it is filled with passion - poetry, romance, beauty: these things are what we stay alive for
    - "What will your verse be?"
- Another teacher says Mr. Keating should not be encouraging the students to become artists; Mr. Keating said he is teaching his students to be free thinkers
- Keating was part of the "Dead Poets Society" when he was at Walton; inspires students to start the Dead Poets Society themselves
- Todd is afraid of reading the poetry aloud to the others so he doesn't want to go - Neil tries to convince him to still come and to just listen
- Neil finds "Five Centuries of Verse" in his room - it was Keatings old book for the Dead Poets Society
- They meet in a cave for the Dead Poets Society
- Mr. Keating makes poetry fun for his students  - boys are laughing and enjoying the class
- "don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think" - continues to teach his students to be free thinkers
- Mr. Keating says in front of the class, "Mr. Anderson, don't think I don't know this assignment scares the hell out of you." (assignment is to write own poem and recite it in front of the class)
- Neil wants to act after seeing that Midsummer Nights Dream is being put on
- Knox rides his bike to the public school pep rally to see the girl he thinks is the most beautiful girl he has seen. When he sees her with her boyfriend he gets upset and leaves
- Neil gets the part of Puck in Midsummer Nights Dream but he needs permission from his father and Mr. Nolan (he writes a letter to Mr. Nolan as if he were his father)
- Todd says he didn't write a poem when Mr. Keating asks him to recite his poem; Mr. Keating pushes him until he is able to not just recite a poem but make up a poem in front of the class.
- During a meeting Knox says he is going to kill himself if he can't have Kris; the next scene is him calling Kris surrounded by the boys - she invited him to a party at her boyfriend's house
- Todd's parents gave him the same desk for his birthday as they did last year - Neil makes him feel better about it