DEAD POETS SOCIETY

N.H.Kleinmann

1989, Bantam Books

AUTHOR

N.H. Kleinbaum, a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, is a former newspaper reporter and editor. Her other novelizations include the Bantam Starfire title Growing Pains and D.A.R.Y.L. She lives in Mt. Kisco, New York, with her husband and her three children.

LITERARY TYPE / GENRE

Dead Poets Society is based on the motion picture written by Tom Schulman, so it is the novelization of this film.

SETTING

The story is set in the US in the US at Welton Academy, which is the best preparatory school in the US, in the fifties (to be exact 1959) and covers about four months of a school year.

NARRATOR

The story is told in the form of a third-person narrative. He or she is omniscient.

PLOT (and its development)

The teacher of English John Keating inspires Todd Anderson and his friends to recreate the Dead Poets Society, a secret club where members are free from everyday compulsions and the expectations of their school and parents. They read poems to each other, discover the beauty of language and understand the meaning of "Carpe Diem" - to make life extraordinary, to make each moment count.

Mr Nolan dissolves the Dead Poets Society after Neil after Neil, a member of the club, shoots himself because his parents forbid him to fulfil his biggest dream: to become an actor.

In the end Mr Keating is suspended for neglecting his responsibility.

The action is presented chronologically with no leaps of time forward (foreshadowings) or backward (flashbacks). There are subplots which deal with the dreams or activities of Mr Keating's students. This makes the action a bit complex.

The novel has an exposition dealing with the beginning of a new school year. The climax is Neil's dramatic death. The story has more or less an open ending. Mr Keating is suspended and so the members of the Dead Poets Society are without a real parent figure. It is not clear what the boys are going to do. Will they forget the concepts of their English teacher or will they stand up for Mr Keating?

CHARACTERS

Neil Perry: one of Mr Keating's students, purposeful, he has strict parents who want him

to become an academic, but his biggest wish is to become an actor, in the end

he commits suicide because his patents are uncompromising with regard to

his dream job

Todd Anderson: he joins his friends at Welton a year later because he has had to pull up

his marks at another school, he suffers from the existence of his elder

brother , who is a "genius", so he has some big shoes to fill, he is

ignored by his parents, he is shy and he isn't confident, he is Neil's best

friend

His character changes in the course of the story because of the Dead

Poets Society and Mr Keating, who helps him to gather some inner

strength, self-confidence and courage

Knox Overstreet: he is a dreamer, he loves Chris but she still has a boyfriend, she finds

herself infatuated with Knox in the end

Charlie Dalton: he plays the sax, he wants to be called "Nuwanda" by his friends, he is a

bit of a macho

These four boys are about the same age (they are peers) and they are good friends. All in all they are the main members of the Dead Poets Society. Other members are:

Mr John Keating: English teacher, breaks the old traditions of the school, addressed "Oh

Captain! My Captain!" by his students  (echoing by Whitman, who

wrote about Abraham Lincoln), self-confident, understanding, loves

poems and teaching profession, wants the boys to make their lives

extraordinary, intents to make free thinkers of them, inspires his

pupils to reintroduce the Dead Poets Society, he was a member of the

First Dead Poets Society, he was a former student from Welton, he is

in his early 30ies, he has got a sharp sense of humour

Richard Cameron: his own advantages are most important for him, he is an egoist.

Mr Gale Nolan he is the headmaster at Welton, he is a strict man and in favour of the

four pillars at Welton which are tradition, honour, discipline and

excellence, these pillars should become the cornerstones of the pupils'

lives, conservative

The characters are portrayed in an indirect way. The reader gets a picture of them through their actions, their speech and their dreams.

LANGUAGE

In the main the novel in written in direct speech . The sentences are not too long and not too difficult with the exception of the poems and a few scenes of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The language often creates a special atmosphere - sometimes a melancholy or sad one

"One by one, and then in groups, others in the class followed their lead, stood on their desks in silent and saluted to Mr Keating who stood at he door, overcome with emotion. "Thank you boys," he said. "I .. thank you..")

or a dramatic one filled with anguish and grief

"Todd hears about Neil's death. He runs across the room, screaming painfully, "Neil! Neil!" Falling against the wall he starts sobbing again and the other boys leave him alone, sitting on the floor and crying out his grief."

Two principles pervade the whole book: Mr Nolan's four pillars (tradition, honour, discipline, excellence) and "Carpe Diem", Keating's motto. "Carpe Diem" is Latin and paraphrased in a poem:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old time is still a flying:

And this same flower that smiles today.

Tomorrow will be dying.

PERSONAL APPRECIATION

N.H. Kleinbaum writes about the life of 16-year-old boys at Welton Academy. She criticises the way teenagers are educated at this school. The principle of Welton's education is to follow "the four pillars" and you will succeed in life. Mrs Kleinbaums message is that we should think about "Carpe Diem" and maybe live by this motto. We should set ourselves a goal and do everything to achieve it. We should realise our dreams. Maybe we will succeed, maybe we won't. It is the try which is important. The author of the book challenges us to make our lives extraordinary.

Mrs Kleinbaum made me think about the motto "Carpe Diem". She inspired me to organise my life according to my personal priorities. First we must be happy and satisfied with our life, no matter how. And then we can think about our career and success.