Leaders

1. Probably the most influential leader I have ever had was Mrs. Willingham. She was my third grade teacher and taught me a lot of my personal values. She had such a huge impact on me because she taught me whenever I was at a young age.

2. What Mr. Keating means by this is that we write poetry and have passion for all these things because they are what we love to do. I agree, there are several reasons for us to be living, but the majority of people don't live just so they can go to work. I personally do not care very much for poetry, but I fully understand the reason why we write it, it is a way to filter our emotions through words. We read it, because we enjoy to see what others think about and we love to see other peoples point of view.

3. I personally agree with this quote by Mr. Keating. The reason why is because there are times when a different perspective is necessary. Just because something may not mean much to you doesn't mean its not important, it could mean the world to another person.

4. What I hope to leave as an impact on this world is something lasting that people will use. I would prefer it to be something like a brand new operating system made by me, or if I could construct a new machine that could benefit the human race. Something that would be one of my favorite options, would be if I was to form a chemical compound that could cure certain diseases, such as cancer.

Thursday Blog

1. I believe Neil would have eventually committed suicide, even without Mr. Keating there to show him what he wanted. I just think it would've been at a later date in his life, eventually he would have a successful life and become a doctor, everything his father ever wanted him to do. But then, he would realize that he did not enjoy his life, and that he hated being a doctor. I believe that is the point when he would eventually kill himself.

2. I believe Neil was the bravest of the boys. He stood up to his father, even if it was all for not, he still did it. That is what I think makes him the bravest. I think the most cowardly was Steven, the reason why I think that is because he was the first to rat out Mr. Keating and blame him for everything.

3. I believe Keating placed it in their room. The reason why is because he personally still wished the Dead Poet Society club was still an active thing. He only warned them that the other teachers may not like it. However, he ultimately planned for them to let their interest in poetry grow.

Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement that was developing back in the 1820's and 1830's. A good way to view a transcendentalist is a they are people who believe that people are in their best possible state when they are independent, they also believe that organized religious and political parties hinder a persons ability to be at their best. Their core beliefs are in the inherent goodness that is in both people and nature, and they mainly protest against spirituality in general.

Follow Up Character Questions

1. I think Neil transformed the most, this is because he originally did not think enough for himself and he let his dad live his life for him. However, he progressively  moved more and more towards what he wanted to do with his life, which was acting. Then he finally made the bold decision to change and follow his passion instead of doing what his father wanted.

2. I think Richard is the static character. This is because all he really did throughout the whole movie was just mainly worry about his education instead of everything else. He even did this towards the end when he sold out Mr. Keating to save his time in the school.

3. Mr. Keating is a very positive character in general. He is not really changed by his experience in the film until the end, you could tell when they all stood on their desks for him it really touched him and made him proud to be the teacher he is.

4. Todd - Todd's fear was public speaking. He was very shy and hated speaking in front of people. But then Mr. Keating helped him to learn to come out of his shell.

    Neil - Neil's fear was not being able to live his own life. He overcame his fear by doing what he loved to do, regardless of his fathers opinion. Then he finished it by ending his life rather than living it the way his father wanted him to.

    Knox - Knox's worst fear was rejection. He overcame this by showing the girl how much he cared and getting her to like him.

    Charlie - Charlies worst fear was becoming normal and conforming to all the people around him. He overcame his fear by being different than everyone else and sticking out of the group.

Mona Lisa Smile

From what I saw in the movie, her teachings at first were orthodox. However, later in the movie they became "unorthodox". The reason why is because she did not fully teach from the text book. She at first took that approach but then realized she had to take a different approach to the class. This is because they read the whole text book and memorized what was in it. So her being innovative and coming up with a smarter way to teach was considered different, therefore unorthodox. Within the movie, it shows that women should be faithful to their husbands  and hold the household together. Katherine  believed that a woman should be able to chase her dreams, get an education, and do whatever she would like to do.