In the world today, people live solely based upon the rules of society. Instead of an individual having their own ideas and making their own opportunities, they become a conformist. The movie Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir, is the story of an English teacher named John Keating, who teaches his students to question authority and to be their own man. The play The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, written by Jerome Lawrence, describes how Henry Thoreau stood up to the government by refusing to pay taxes. Creating his own work called “from Walden” Thoreau writes about stepping away from society and journeying into the woods to get a new view on life. The story “from Self-Reliance”, by Ralph Emerson, talks about how individuals should avoid
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During a lesson Mr. Keating explains to the boys the importance of believing in their own ideas: “Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular” (Keating). Mr. Keating rebels against the usual curriculum and the authority of the school to give the boys the opportunity to think for themselves. Keating's teaching methods show the boys how to make their own decisions and to go against society and the authority in their own lives to achieve what they want. Going against a source of authority can help others but can get oneself into trouble. Henry Thoreau refuses to pay his taxes: “I will not pay one copper penny to an unjust government”(Lawrence 60). As a graduate of Harvard, Henry Thoreau is a highly thought of man in his community. When he questioned supremacy by not paying taxes and going to jail, he makes the other people in the community think. He gives the other people in the community the opportunity to question authority themselves. It also makes people question how taxes affect the people and the need for them to be distributed to the wealthy and the poor accurately. Going directly against authority gives oneself and others the opportunity to create their own thought and
During a lesson Mr. Keating explains to the boys the importance of believing in their own ideas: “Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular” (Keating). Mr. Keating rebels against the usual curriculum and the authority of the school to give the boys the opportunity to think for themselves. Keating's teaching methods show the boys how to make their own decisions and to go against society and the authority in their own lives to achieve what they want. Going against a source of authority can help others but can get oneself into trouble. Henry Thoreau refuses to pay his taxes: “I will not pay one copper penny to an unjust government”(Lawrence 60). As a graduate of Harvard, Henry Thoreau is a highly thought of man in his community. When he questioned supremacy by not paying taxes and going to jail, he makes the other people in the community think. He gives the other people in the community the opportunity to question authority themselves. It also makes people question how taxes affect the people and the need for them to be distributed to the wealthy and the poor accurately. Going directly against authority gives oneself and others the opportunity to create their own thought and