Dead Poets Society Chapters 1 + 2 + 3

Dead Poets Society

Chapters 1 + 2 + 3

Analysis

Author

Who wrote the book? The book is a written novel by N.H. Kleinbaum

When was it written? The novel was written in 1989

Narrator

Narrator: third-person narrator, also known as writing from an omniscient perspective.

Setting – Welton academy is a private preparatory school only for boys – it is highly regarded. Only top students are accepted to attend the school.  After they graduate, 75% of the boys attend ivy-league schools – like Brown, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell or Columbia.

The school is very conservative, and there is a lot of pressure on the students, both from their parents, their teacher and also they pressure themselves, because they must strive for only the best, so they don’t let anyone get disappointed.

Time: 1959

Place: New England area of The United States

Environment: It is a beautiful large place with endless trees and flowers; it is very idyllic and filled with beautiful statues, old pictures and very impressive architecture. The psychological environment is very snobbish and fierce, they wear preppy uniforms and there is enormous expectations.

Characters

Who is Mr. Keating?

·         He is the new English teacher at the school; he also graduated from Welton academy.

·         He is young compared to the other teachers.

·         He looks remarkably like Robin Williams.

·         He taught at Chester school in London before.

·         Mr. Keating also has brown hair, he is medium height, his look is average – he does not really stand out.

Why is he called my captain?

Because of the poem ‘’oh captain my captain’’ written by Walt Whitman. The poem is about the earlier president Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Keating wants to be called either by ‘’Mr. Keating’’ or ‘’my captain’’ because he sees himself as a leader: just like Abraham Lincoln.

Who are the boys? Students at the school – there is Charlie Dalton, Neil Perry, Todd Anderson, Knox Overstreet, Steven Meeks and Richard Cameron.

Todd is a transfer student – he was not good enough in the beginning so he had to work on his grades before getting in to Welton Academy. His older brother was the top student of his class, so there is a lot of pressure on him, both from the school and his parents.

Neil is the smartest – there is also lot of pressure on him because his father wants him to become a doctor.

They all have many expectations and pressure on them, they have to strive and work hard to accomplish the best results possibly. Their parents are very elite themselves, they are lawyers; doctors etc. and only expects and accepts the best of the best from their boys.

What do you think the Dead Poets’ Society is? A secret organization where they read poems in a garden.

What is the secret Mr. Keating is about to tell the boys?

The boys finds the senior annual of the year Keating attended the school and they ask into what ‘’dead poets society’’ is and Keating responds and explains what it is, and afterwards tell them to burn the annual and never to reveal the secret of ‘’dead poets society’’.

Questions:

1. What extracurricular activities is each of the boys taking? Rowing, sports, school paper, chemistry club, math club

2. What is the father´s opinion on Neil´s extracurricular activities? Neil was going to be the editor of the school paper until his father says that he should wait until next year, because his father means that Neil has taken to many extracurricular activities, even though Neil really wants to be editor of the paper and promises that it will not reflect on his grades.

3. What are the planned futures for the boys? The boys’ parents have their life planned out for them, especially Neil, whose father really controls everything. He wants Neil to go to Harvard after Welton, and after Harvard, he wants Neil to become a doctor. He commands Neil to drop the school paper and when he finds out about Neils acting, he gets furious and almost declares him out of school.

4. How is life at the school? Is it a good place for the boys? – (why/why not)

Well, this is a tricky question because there is both advantages and disadvantages with Welton Academy. It is obviously a good school based on the academics – they can absolutely get into any school of their preferences afterwards; however, it is a terrible and unhealthy school with the pressure.

5. What are the four pillars? Traditions, honor, discipline, excellence. 

6. What are the Ivy League schools? Ivy League school are some of the finest Universities in America, they are viewed as very prestigious to attend and graduate from.

7. What is a preparatory school? A preparatory school is a school that prepares you to attend college and universities.

8. Do girls attend the school? No, girls do not attend Welton Academy, even though Charlie Dalton suggest it several times.

9. Do you think Todd likes being at Welton? (why/why not?) In the begging he obviously hates the school and the pressure and expectations there is for him, but along the way we think he likes and enjoys it, as well as the other boys, it gets better and better though the book.

1. Make a sentence with each of the following words:

Chuckled – ‘’le så det klukker’’ – he chuckled while she told the joke

Recognition – ‘’genkendelse’’ – she recognized her idol when though she had a costume on

Flatters – ‘’smigre’’ – she was flattered by his compliment

Misery – ‘’elendighed, sorg’’ – he was in misery after she broke up with him

Disappointment: ‘’skuffelse’’ – her parents was disappointed when they found out she lied

2. Give an English definition in your own word of the following words:

Demerit: fejl, mangel

Dorm: kollegieværelse

Roommate: rum-bo

Study group: studie gruppe

Valedictorian: afgangselev

Achievement pin: noget man har opnået

Refresher: drink

Extracurricular activities (define and give examples): fritidsaktiviteter. For instance rowing, dancing, singing etc.

Merit: fortjeneste, værdi

3. Translate the following words into Danish:

Swathe (vb): svøbe, forbinde

Venerable (adj.): ærværdige

Husky (adj.): hæs, sløret

Dais (n): forhøjning, podium

Preppy (adj.)(look): klassisk, dyrt, stilfuldt

Octogenarian (n): firsårig

Haughtily (adj.): arrogant

Brogue (n) (Scottish): irsk dialect

Booby prize (n): trøstepræmie – præmie givet til den der klarer sig dårligst for sjov

Brownnosing (n): røvslikkeri