1.) The most influential person in my life has always been my mother. She has always been there for me and to give me advice when I need it. This may be because she lives with me, but that is beside the point.

2.) I think Mr. Keating says this because he believes that there is some higher purpose to reading and writing poetry. I do not agree, I do, and always think, that poetry is a waste of time.

3.) I agree with Keating in this scenario, that there is always a different point of view, two sides to a story. One must always remember that your view is not always the only one. I do not have a personal story to share at this time.

4.) As of this point in time, I do not really know what my "verse" will be. I only hope that it will be a good one in the coming years.

Dead Poet's Society - More Questions

1.) I believe that Neil would not have killed himself if Mr. Keating had never arrived. If Keating never came, Neil would never have thought for himself and decide to pursue something that he wanted to do, which ultimately led to his death.

2.) I think that the bravest of the boys would have had to been Charlie. It may have been a kind of foolish bravery, but it was definitely there. He stood up for the other boys when all of them were afraid. The boy that displayed the most cowardice would have been Todd, or at least in the beginning. He was really shy and did not want to leave his comfort zone, or participate in activities.

3.) I think that Mr. Keating did, in fact, put the poetry book into Neil's room, as a way to show that he, personally, encouraged them to go and enjoy poetry amongst themselves. I think that he made the comment about how the current staff to off-put and blame that may come onto him if they were caught.

Theme of Dead Poet's Society

 The central theme that is apparent throughout the entire movie is that you need to be an original person and think for yourself. This is first represented by Mr. Keating, when he asks his students to get out their textbooks and read about the poem scale, he tells them to simply tear the pages out. He tells them that they do not need someone, or something telling them how to view a situation, he encourages them be an original person, think for themselves. Keating eventually has them stand on his desk and tells them that everything has a different view to it, there is not just one way to look at something. All of these things, presented by Mr. Keating, are the traits of a free thinker. An individual who has original thoughts, and is not told how to think, as they are free to think for themselves. An example of a student implementing this mindset is Neil. Neil decides to not become the doctor that his father wants him to be, instead, he wishes to pursue a career in acting. There are now confines for the human mind, but only the ones that you put on them.

Dead Poet's Society - Follow Up Character Questions

1.) In my opinion, Todd changed the most throughout the movie. He went from being a shy kid, that had a closed mind to new situations, to being a outspoken, participating individual.

2.) In the movie, a static character would have been the Dean. He was always disapproving of Mr. Keating's new teaching methods, and he did not change his opinion throughout the movie.

3.)Mr. Keating is kind of a static character, as he is the one that changes the students, he doesn't provoke change in himself.

4.) Todd Anderson is extremely shy. He closes himself to the other students by studying almost all the time. Mr. Keating and Neil help him break out of this shell, getting him to partake in things such as the Dead Poet's Society. Neil Perry was afraid of his father. he felt that he always had to do what his father told him, not to think for himself, but Mr. Keating told him that he needs to think for himself, which lead Neil to participate in a school play. Knox Overstreet was afraid of rejection. He eventually overcame this with the help of his friends by calling the girl he liked, and not being rejected. Charlie Dalton did not appear to show any fears, he was always the most daring of the kids. Therefore, he had no fears to over come.

Mona Lisa Smile Questions

Question 1.) In the movie, Mona Lisa Smile, and throughout all of American society at the time, women are looked down upon. Women of the time period were expected to do nothing more than become a housewife. They were expected to behave lady-like, and have proper schooling, but when they married, they were expected to drop everything and become a mother and good wife. One of the girls in the movie got married, and did that exact thing, she began missing a lot of class to be with her husband and to set up their new house.

Question  5.) Betty did, as most other girls at the time, as she was expected to do. She married a well-off man, and missed a lot of class to adjust to her new lifestyle. She son found out that her husband would never have time for her, having to be the man of the house, he was always flying to New York for "big meetings". She quickly realized how unhappy she was and wanted to move in with her mother, who refused to let her stay because it was uncommon at the time to leave and/or divorce your husband. The mother was simply encouraging her to go home, and get over it.