Identity In Dead Poets Society

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In Dead Poets Society, Mr. Keating is a teacher at Welton Academy who encourages his students to make their lives extraordinary and purposeful by teaching them the expression “carpe diem” -- seize the day. He wants them to be independent and to make the most of their time. Knox Overstreet uses this to give himself courage so that he can pursue Chris Noel, and Todd Anderson uses this after Neil Perry’s suicide. At the end of the film, Todd calls out to Mr. Keating in the middle of class and leads the rest of the students in rebellion by standing on their desks. In A Separate Peace, Phineas encourages other students at Devon to live their lives to the fullest. His life is “ruled by inspiration and anarchy, and so he [prizes] a set of rules. His …show more content…
In A Separate Peace, jumping from the tree is forbidden, and visiting the cave in Dead Poets Society is also prohibited. On a more personal level, Gene struggles to separate his own identity from Finny’s, and Neil desires to pursue his own dreams rather than the ones his father imposes upon him. Neil is devastated by his father's disapproval and prevention of his acting dream, ultimately leading to his death. Gene goes through an identity crisis involving Finny. One night he even puts on Finny's clothes, which relieves his guilt about jouncing the tree limb and causing Finny’s fall. Because of his injury, Finny cannot play sports, and he begins to train Gene so that he can live vicariously through him. Gene says that the resulting “sense of freedom [reveals] that this must have been [his] purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas” (Knowles 85). Gene accepts the blending of his and Finny’s identities because he wants to lose himself in Finny. Unlike Neil’s situation which eventually results in his own death, Gene's crisis leads to incidents harming his peers. For example, Gene’s identity is so entangled with Finny’s that he attacks Cliff Quackenbush after he calls Gene …show more content…
After his reconciliation with Gene, Finny dies. Gene is then “ready for the war, now that [he] no longer [has] any hatred to contribute to it. ...Phineas had absorbed it and taken it with him, and [Gene is] rid of it forever” (Knowles 203). He states that he never developed an intense hatred for the enemy, because he had already defeated his internal enemy. This also illustrates a signficant difference in the two stories; underlying the events of A Separate Peace is World War II. The pressure of the war causes students to struggle even more with maturation. Todd Anderson is quiet, timid, hesitant, and has low self-esteem. He is overshadowed by his older brother, a previous valedictorian of Welton. Todd is reluctant to join the Dead Poets Society because he is insecure about reading poetry aloud. His fear prevents him from sharing his poetic creativity. Todd is able to overcome his insecurity after Neil’s suicide. The members of the Dead Poets Society sign a document agreeing that Mr. Keating encouraged reckless behavior, in order to protect themselves from punishment. Although Todd signs it, he later shows his support of Mr. Keating by standing on his desk, symbolizing his transformation resulting from Neil’s death. Other students join him in rebellion, and Todd becomes a leader. Neil’s death inspires Mr. Keating’s students to fight for their own
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