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Dead Poets Society Conformity Essay

692 Words3 Pages

Individuals who have the strength to be themselves can withstand the pressure of world that is constantly trying to change them. Peter Weir's 1989 film Dead Poets Society addresses the issue of when conformity takes hold of an individual and reshapes them. This issue is also addressed by Robert Frost's 1916 poem The Road not taken.Both texts use their characters and plots to show the full danger of conformity.

Individuals who have the strength to make their own choices don't conform to what the world wants them to be. IN the text Dead Poets Society , Peter Weir explores the dangers of both conformity and Individuality and how important the balance between the two. During the opening scenes of the movie Peter Weir uses a panning shot to introduce the character Mr Keating, he uses this panning shot to showcase the stress and expectations laid upon Mr Keating to conform to the …show more content…

In the film Dead Poets Society Peter Weir uses foreshadowing in “we expect great things from you this year”, a quote spoke from Mr Nolan to Neil, this quote shows straight away that here is enormous pressure bestowed upon Neil to perform greatly, but it is seen these expectations are not only held by Welton but Mr Perry when he quotes back “He won't disappoint us”. Mr Perry responding for Neil is a metaphor that Mr Perry literally talks for him and basically chooses his life for him, for example when he forces Neil to drop the school annual. Neil is expected to conform the image his father and Welton have created for him and through being forced into this image slowly loses himself to the point where when he participates in a play and plays a character that matches himself he is wearing a costume, this is a metaphor used by Peter Weir to show that when Neil is being himself it feels like a costume on

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