Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And Dead Poets Society

Often times humans will follow what their hearts want rather than thinking the situation through. In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy, who failed out of Pencey Prep, tries to follow his heart to make everything perfect. Holden assumes that all children are innocent and perfect without noticing the truth. He tries to protect their innocence by following his heart to do good for all children, but always thinking about this shortly made him depressed and it leads him to be admitted into a mental institution. In “Dead Poets Society” Neil followshis heart to be an actor, and with the help of his english teacher at his all boys preparatory school, Mr. Keating, he is the lead in a play. His father does not support his son becoming an actor which leads Neil to tragically commit suicide. Both of these pieces share the common theme of, following one's heart, while important, can also be detrimental.
Holden …show more content…
When Neil finds something that he has interest in he becomes super excited and tells his roommate, Todd. “So, I'm gonna act. Yes, yes! I'm gonna be an actor! Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to try this...my father wouldn't let me. For the first time in my whole life I know what I wanna do and for the first time I'm gonna do it whether my father wants me to or not! Carpe diem!” (Dead Poets Society). After Neil learns about “Carpe Diem,” which means to think about the present and not the future, he realizes without the support of his father, following his dreams would never make him happy.Neil takes a leap and gets a role in a play, despite what his father tells him, Neil still takes part in the play. Neil knows this was against his father's wishes and could not handle the anger that his father had for him. If he simply thought through his actions before acting (literally and metaphorically) he maybe would not have had the same