Transcendentalism refers to a literary and philosophical movement that developed in the United States.Basically, " to transcend" means " to go beyond human's limits and society, not physically but mentally. It was believed in order to comprehend the divine, God, and the universe one must transcend or go beyond the physical and emotional description of normal human thought. Transcendentalism focus on being one with nature, explore the greatness within each individual and express free ideas against social prejudice. Henry David Thoreau, Raph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman were great transcendentalist of their time, whose influence still remain in modern days. At present, the ideas of transcendentalism appear in various forms of art, including music, movies, and literature. One famous example of Transcendentalism s inspiration is the 1989 movie, Dead Poet Society. The movie reflects the spirit of Transcendentalism in modern day setting.
The film set in 1959, at Welton Academy, …show more content…
From the very beginning of the movie, Mr. Keating shows his students the importance of non-conformity, one of the most important element of Transcendentalism. In his first class, Mr. Keating asked his students to tear off the first page of the book, which is the essay Understanding Poetry by Dr. J. Evans Pritchard. He encouraged students not to follow any standard and believe in what they feel themselves. As he response the headmaster after being questioned about his teaching method: "I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself." His ideas share many similarities to Emerson and Thoreau ‘s Transcendentalist beliefs, praising individuality and non-conformity. To this statement, Mr. Nolan, a symbol of conformity argued: "Don't fix what isn't broken. Prepare them for college and the rest will take care of
The film set in 1959, at Welton Academy, …show more content…
From the very beginning of the movie, Mr. Keating shows his students the importance of non-conformity, one of the most important element of Transcendentalism. In his first class, Mr. Keating asked his students to tear off the first page of the book, which is the essay Understanding Poetry by Dr. J. Evans Pritchard. He encouraged students not to follow any standard and believe in what they feel themselves. As he response the headmaster after being questioned about his teaching method: "I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself." His ideas share many similarities to Emerson and Thoreau ‘s Transcendentalist beliefs, praising individuality and non-conformity. To this statement, Mr. Nolan, a symbol of conformity argued: "Don't fix what isn't broken. Prepare them for college and the rest will take care of