Dangers Of Non-Conformity in The Dead Poets Society

 
   In The Dead Poets Society, conformity is everywhere. Starting with the all boys prep school, called Welton. The teachers are all old white men, that are exactly the same except that their names are different, that only teach by the textbook. There is no innovation in how they teach and there probably never will be. The boys at Welton are under so much pressure, by their teachers and parents to conform. The teachers and parents want the children to all attend Ivy League schools for college to become doctors, lawyers, or bankers. The boys at Welton are discouraged if they attempt to think for themselves or live their dream, until a new English teacher is brought into the mix.
     The new English teacher at Welton, Mr. Keating, is different from the norm at Welton. He is younger and has a new way of teaching the boys and he believes in helping them achieve their goals. Mr. Keating urges the boys to be non-conformists, and think for themselves. "Carpe Diem" he tells them, seize the day. The students in his class heed this information and reconvene "The Dead Poets Society" club. They all have their own goal that they become inspired to achieve because of the Mr. Keating and the other members of the club. For Neal Perry, that dream is acting. He went against his father's wishes, but he did not care. He was good and he loved it. Ultimately his father, pressured Neal to do what he wanted, which was to be a doctor. Neal could not take it any more so in his final act of non-conformity and freeing himself, he committed suicide. The blame was put on Mr. Keating for encouraging him to act. The "Dead Poets Society" boys were also punished for having the club. The dangers of non-conformity are present because the school and its administration were so against transcendentalism and in the end Mr. Keating was fired for teaching and inspiring the boys to be non-conformists.

Transcendentalist T-shirt Post

     After I had made my shirt which starred the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' faces on a pizza on the front of my shirt, I was not sure how my day was going to play out. I know it was not very transcendentalist of me, but I was getting pangs of anxiety, wondering if people would think I was totally weird. However, after I went to English class and saw everyone else's shirts I decided to embrace this new experience.
     At the end of the day I realized how easy it was to wear the shirt. I did not get any questions or strange looks. I was usually the first to tell people about why I was wearing a crazy looking shirt with Leo, Donny, Mike and Raph front and center. Looking back on the whole experience, I would most definitively do it again and I would add even more of myself to the shirt.

Transcendentalism Post

                Transcendentalism cannot be clearly defined; there would not be a right or wrong answer. A modern day transcendentalist could be anyone, as long as one wholeheartedly believes it. In the modern day pop culture, Betsey Johnson can be considered a transcendentalist.

Betsey Johnson is a clothing designer that creates magnificently wacky pieces that she and girls all around the world adore. She definitely rocks her own one-of-a- kind style; she will always be found with bleach blonde bluntly cut hair, bright red lipstick, and an outfit that is extremely over the top. She is also known for doing cartwheels at the end of her fashion shows. Betsey is most definitely and individual. She inspires girls to make their own fashion choices and dress in a way that makes them feel confident and beautiful.

Betsey did not always have success, but she kept doing what she knew she did best and now she owns and runs a multi-million dollar company. All of her hard work and belief in herself also rewarded her with a Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement in Fashion in 2009 given to her by The National Arts Club. Betsey’s determination and trust in herself inspires many young designers and women to succeed and live their dreams, while dressing however they choose.

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Walden Essay

        

           People have forgotten what it means to live a simple life. Spending time with family and relaxing at home is now considered a luxury, compared to earlier days when it was not. Henry David Thoreau is a strong believer in simplicity. He would be shocked if he saw the world today. Technology has become a huge part of our everyday lives and people of today could not imagine living without it.  Technology has become such an important part of our society and so advanced, that people are not able to simplify their lives in the modern age.

            People cannot simplify their lives in the modern age because of technology. Technology has become such an important part of everyday life. It is agreeable that times were much simpler back in the day. There were not any cell phones; there was no facebook or twitter to distract from the more important things in life, like spending time with family for instance. People forget that simplicity is beautiful. “Let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand…keep your accounts on a thumbnail” (Thoreau 491). This quote from Thoreau’s Walden is completely relevant to today. Our world runs on the pace of a cheetah. Everyone had has at least five different tasks going on at once and a million things to do. Simplicity while using the technology of the modern day is dead. People are so attached to technology that it has become a major factor in their lives however, they are constantly having to learn something new.

            Always having to learn something new with the technology of today makes it nearly impossible to simplify lives today. Most of the human race has trouble keeping up with what it the “new” technology. There seems to be a new amazing tool out on the market before one can learn how to use the old product efficiently. With man always having to compete, they always want the newest, best, or coolest items. “Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion” (Thoreau 491). Thoreau goes to the extreme with his ideas on simplicity, but he is right when it comes to how excessive the human race has become. The people of the world all want more and more material goods. Life cannot be simple with everyone becoming obsessed with technology and improvement. Man has lost the sense of a down-to-earth way of living.

            Technology has become so complex and such a significant part of the world today, that people are not able to simplify their lives in the modern age. Humans cannot stop using their technology for long enough to obtain simplicity in their lives and they cannot learn and master the technology they have before something new is out that they must have. People need to listen to the words of Thoreau and set down their iPhones and take a look at the simplistic beauty all around them.