TRANSCENDENTALISM REVIEW DEAD POETS SOCIETY Key phrase Carpe

TRANSCENDENTALISM REVIEW

DEAD POETS SOCIETY • Key phrase: Carpe Diem- Seize the day!! • Important scenes: – Mr. Keating has the students climb on their desks to see from a different perspective – Mr. Keating has the students rip the pages from their books because he think the author missed the whole point of poetry – The boys walk in the courtyard (in their own individual ways) because Mr. Keating wanted to illustrate non-

DPS SYMBOLISM • Crown of thorns in the play: Jesus • Open window when Neil commits suicide: his freedom The goal of the DPS was to experience life

TRANSCENDENTALISM • Founder: Ralph Waldo Emerson – Wrote “Self-Reliance” • Focused on individuality, nature, and non-conformity – The individual is more powerful than ANY institution • Henry David Thoreau was the most well-known protégé to Ralph Waldo Emerson – He lived for 2 years by Walden Pond and wrote a book about his experiences – The goal was to find harmony with nature without any material goods – He also wrote Civil Disobedience • Citizens must challenge and attempt to change the wrongs of the state • Individuals have a responsibility to disobey laws that are unjust – In “Where I Lived and What I Lived For” he wrote about how technological advances do not lead to a better life