In the 1989 film Dead Poets Society, Todd Anderson, a student at Welton Academy, has an older brother who graduated as the Valedictorian. He then went to Yale, and became a lawyer. Todd attends Welton because his parents want the same from him. They want Todd to follow his brother’s footsteps so he can become a “leader”. In a speech made by William Deresiewicz, called Solitude and Leadership, he explains how solitude and leadership seem like polar opposites, but if someone has both, they can build up on each other. He also says to become a leader, do not be afraid to break tradition. Deresiewicz brings up these concepts because tradition can no longer work after a period of time. In these two works, a leader is a person who can make wise
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from Princeton, but what makes him a thinker is not that he has a Ph.D. Or that he went to Princeton or even that he taught at West Point… No, what makes him a thinker—and a leader—is precisely that he is able to think things through for himself.” Whenever he says this, he is stating that Petraeus is not a leader because he got a Ph.D in an Ivy League school, but rather that he is not willing to subject himself to tradition and follow the old ways. Petraeus wants to come up with his own, unique, effective ways. Contrasting this, in Dead Poets Society, Mr. Nolan says, “At these boys' ages? Not on your life! Tradition, John. Discipline. Prepare them for college, and the rest will take care of itself.” The meaning behind Mr. Nolan’s reply, is that tradition is what prepares people. Tradition makes discipline. The fault in this reply, is that whenever he says, “...The rest will take care of itself,” he is saying that whenever they get into college, their tradition will cause them to become disciplined, which will give them the possibility of being able to think for themselves. Ingraining tradition into their minds will cause them to follow that tradition, which will make it nearly impossible to teach them to think for themselves. The tradition becomes a habit, which becomes nearly impossible to
from Princeton, but what makes him a thinker is not that he has a Ph.D. Or that he went to Princeton or even that he taught at West Point… No, what makes him a thinker—and a leader—is precisely that he is able to think things through for himself.” Whenever he says this, he is stating that Petraeus is not a leader because he got a Ph.D in an Ivy League school, but rather that he is not willing to subject himself to tradition and follow the old ways. Petraeus wants to come up with his own, unique, effective ways. Contrasting this, in Dead Poets Society, Mr. Nolan says, “At these boys' ages? Not on your life! Tradition, John. Discipline. Prepare them for college, and the rest will take care of itself.” The meaning behind Mr. Nolan’s reply, is that tradition is what prepares people. Tradition makes discipline. The fault in this reply, is that whenever he says, “...The rest will take care of itself,” he is saying that whenever they get into college, their tradition will cause them to become disciplined, which will give them the possibility of being able to think for themselves. Ingraining tradition into their minds will cause them to follow that tradition, which will make it nearly impossible to teach them to think for themselves. The tradition becomes a habit, which becomes nearly impossible to