Writer’s Craft Blog 5
Scene from Dead Poet’s Society
John Keating: Close your eyes, close your eyes! Close 'em! Now, describe what you see.
Todd Anderson: Uh, I-I close my eyes.
John Keating: Yes.
Todd Anderson: Uh, and this image floats beside me.
John Keating: A sweaty-toothed madman.
Todd Anderson: A sweaty-toothed madman with a stare that pounds my brain.
John Keating: Oh, that's *excellent*! Now, give him action - make him do something!
Todd Anderson: H-His hands reach out and choke me.
John Keating: That's it! Wonderful, wonderful!
Todd Anderson: And all the time he's mumbling.
John Keating: What's he mumbling?
Todd Anderson: Mumbling truth.
John Keating: Yeah, yes.
Todd Anderson: Truth like-like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.
John Keating: [some of the class start to laugh] Forget them, forget them! Stay with the blanket. Tell me about that blanket!
Todd Anderson: Y-Y-You push it, stretch it, it'll never be enough. You kick at it, beat it, it'll never cover any of us. From the moment we enter crying t-to the moment we leave dying, it'll just cover your face as you wail and cry and scream. [long pause then class applauds]
John Keating: Don't you forget this.
Respond to this scene in 250 words.
In this scene Todd finds his inner poet. Before this scene he never really knew how to write poetry, and he never really tried to write it. This scene is where he realizes he can write poetry, and he can do really good poetry if he just looks deep down. Its like if we all look deep down we can discover something about our self that we never knew we could do. Maybe sometimes we need someone to push us to do this. John Keating pushed Todd to look deep down and discover his hidden talent. Maybe we all need someone like John to be able to do this. This scene can also teach us that we can do anything we set our mind too. You just have to believe in yourself. If you are always negative about everything you do then you will never be able to do something you would be proud of. If you are telling yourself you can not do something you are automatically shutting down. When really if you actually believed in yourself and had a positive attitude you would be surprised at what you can accomplish. I don’t think that before this scene Todd really believed in his writing, but once he had someone else encouraging him, and believing in him he began to believe in himself too and became a good poet. All you have to do is believe you can do it, and have your mind set. You might not get it the first time, but if you keep trying you can do anything you set your mind too.
ReplyDeleteMeagan Howe
Todd is the new kid at school, so like anyone would be, he is shy. When Mr. Keating invites Todd up in front of the entire class he is very hesitant to go up but of coarse Mr. Keating being the man that he is, forces Todd onto the stage to show him and the rest of the class that everyone has the ability to be a poet. This was the absolute best thing that Mr. Keating could of done, he made Todd feel comfortable and safe and allowed him to let his inner emotions out. When a teacher is so involved and caring like Mr. Keating is to his class, and in this scene Todd, it really allows the student to open up and perform at the best of their ability. After Todd was able to get his feelings out and felt comfortable with his classmates he began to be more involved with his friends and the Dead Poets Society. Mr. Keating is a wonderful person, he doesn’t live by the rules, he does what he feels is the right and he does what is best for his students to help them get the most out if life. Mr. Keating’s class can be related to Writers Craft in a way because like Mr. Keating’s class Writers Craft allows the class to open up their emotions and express how they are feeling about an issue, we are able to open up our imaginations and write what we feel, not what we looked up and got facts about, we are learning how to look in ourselves and find feeling and passion, just like Mr. Keating’s students. This scene was one of the important scenes in the movie because it showed Mr. Keating’s passion for poetry, and it showed the students, especially Todd, that it’s perfectly fine to show any emotion you are feeling.
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Keating’s method of getting his students to come out of their shell is kind of strange, but clearly effective. Todd really needed that extra push, and wasn’t used to someone forcing him to focus on the images in his mind, to block out everything else going on around him. His mind seems quite twisted though. He said he saw a sweaty-toothed old man whispering to him. What does it mean to be sweaty-toothed anyways? His analogy for truth is really thought provoking though. The thought of there not being enough truth to completely cover you, to provide you comfort as a blanket would. It suggests that no matter how far you get in life, you will never know the full truth about everything around you. Someone is always lying/withholding information. Another point about Mr. Keating’s method is that it seems similar to the method of those who meditate. They block out everything else around them, and focus on one single thought in order to reach relaxation. Although, what Todd was doing seemed to be on the opposite pole from relaxation. He looked stressed, confused, but then relieved. So maybe he did feel relaxed afterwards. Maybe he was keeping twisted thoughts locked up inside him, so when he released them, he felt a sense of relief, and in return relaxation. However it was that Mr. Keating managed to tap into Todd’s “inner poet”, it worked and it seems as if it was a huge turning point in Todd’s life.
ReplyDeleteMr.Keating is a true teacher. He knows how to get students to open up and let out their inner poet. He is not just a stuffy man who assigns textbook pages to read, he truly loves to teach and watch children enjoy learning. This is not just shown in this scene, it is shown throughout the whole movie. Even when the whole class is out playing soccer while yelling lines of poetry, or when they are tearing parts of the textbook out. With Mr.Keating, the students actually want to go to class and learn, he makes it exciting. That is a hard quality to find in a teacher. Some of them you can tell don't even want to be there. Although I haven't seen teachers do anything like what Mr.Keating did to Todd Anderson. Even though it was pushing Todd's boundaries, it broke his fear of speaking out loud to a crowd. Mr.Keating made a large impact on Todd's life by truly teaching him something. If a teacher can impact and change a students life like that, the teacher will never be forgotten. To look at Todd's face after Mr.Keating pushed him to break out of his shell, was truly amazing. He was happy and amazed himself. When he walked up to the front of the class, he never knew that his teacher was going to break his fear. At the end of the scene I was left a little speechless. The acting, the intenseness of the scene and everything else made it perfect. Even though it is near the beginning of the movie, that scene was the best scene in the movie. To be honest, it was even possibly one of the best scenes I've seen in a movie.
ReplyDeleteThis scene invokes many emotions in me, particularly admiration for Mr. Keeting and pride in Todd. I have so much respect for Mr. Keeting, to be able to extract that passion from within Todd when he had been so inverted before. That is the duty of all good teachers, to inspire greatness in their students. Like he says, an education is not about molding the kids to conform to traditional ideas, but teaching them to look at the world with a critical and creative eye, and to form their own opinion on the world.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first see Todd, his painful shyness is very obvious. As Mr. Keeting says, Todd feels like he is worthless, and that everything he has to say is not worth saying. This is of course not true of anyone, and Mr. Keeting knows that there is more to Todd than what he seems. By using his incredibly interactive teaching methods, he breaks through to Todd, possibly changing his life forever. This scene displays the true power our teachers and mentors have over us, their students. They have the capability tear down our walls of self-consciousness, and let our true brilliance really shine.
This scene demonstrates a major turning point for Todd Anderson in both his life and writing abilities. Todd was hesitant about the assignment. He was frightened about having to read his own works and share his feelings aloud to the class because it would show everyone how vulnerable he is. He was afraid of being laughed at and ridiculed for his ideas and Mr. Keating knew this. That's why he pushed Todd. Mr. Keating’s teaching techniques were unconventional and surprisingly beneficial. He brought out Todd’s creative potential and helped him break free of his shell. Mr. Keating helped him learn something about tapping into his emotions in order to write confidently. When he lets his guard down, he realizes that he can go deeper within himself and convey his emotions without feeling stupid or embarrassed. He not only helped Todd complete the assignment, but he brought out his confidence. He showed him he can do anything if he puts effort into it. He also realizes that doing the things that scare you most are often the most rewarding when completed. In doing this, Mr. Keating not only shows Todd what he is capable of, but he teaches the class the same lesson, which is why they clap. They respect Todd for getting up there and not holding back, even after they laughed at him. The rest of the boys now have sense of what poetry is like and if their fellow classmate can step up in front of everyone and say what he is thinking, why can’t they?
ReplyDeleteThis scene proves that every single person is a poet; we just have to search for it. It seems as though Todd was unsure of him self and was not demonstrating his full potential in Mr. Keating's class. Mr. Keating is a very wise man and excellent teacher. He knew that Todd was capable of much more than what he was showing and decided to use a technique in order to force Todd to open up. Mr. Keating's method of doing so was a bit strange but necessary. Just like most students, Todd was afraid to open up in front of his classmates. He was afraid of being laughed at if he expressed his true emotions which would show just how vulnerable he was. Mr. Keating forced Todd to search for his inner emotions in a way that Todd has never experienced before. Mr. Keating is obviously an extremely talented and experienced teacher. By forcing Todd to find his hidden talent, Mr. Keating completely changed Todd’s life forever. Todd has realized that he has the potential to be a magnificent writer and an amazing poet. Mr. Keating makes a point that every single person has it in them; however, the way of finding it can be different for everyone. Mr. Keating then says to Todd, “Don’t you forget this.” This shows that Mr. Keating is well aware that he made a life changing breakthrough in one of his student’s life, and he is proud of that. Everyone is talented in their own way and has the potential to be anything they want to be – how you find that talent is up to you. Mr. Keating clearly gets a sense of self-fulfillment by helping his students and has a passion for poetry. I believe there should be many more teachers like Mr. Keating. A teacher who is real, humorous but serious and passionate about the subject they teach.
ReplyDeleteMr. Keating shows Todd Anderson the poet inside him. You could see the fear in Todd Anderson’s eyes as his name was called. Mr. Keating saw something in Todd and pulled his true poet out for everyone to see. He gave him prompts, which continued Todd’s train of thought to create poetry. Todd had the thought that he could not come up with poetry, and Mr. Keating showed him what he was truly capable of. You see the care he has for his student when that class starts to laugh and he tells Todd to forget them, which puts Todd right back on track with his thoughts. Mr. Keating gave Todd everything he had in that moment which helped Todd to grow not only as a poet, but also as a person. You could really see the passion coming from Todd as he continued his poem, but also Mr. Keating as he watched his student overcome something that he had doubts about. When Todd was finished, Mr. Keating told him not to forget what had happened. I believe that Todd left the class feeling great about himself, knowing that he is really capable of more they he really thinks. A teacher like Mr. Keating would be a privilege to work with, and would be very inspirational to me. He shows his students that he cares, which is something that I feel is a very important part of being a good teacher.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in which Mr. Keating provokes Todd to come up with poetry on the spot is by far the most beautiful scene of the movie. Even the poem Todd comes up with is beautiful, haunting in the sense that it can relate to virtually anyone. Although Mr. Keating's method was unorthodox to say the least, it was extremely effective in bringing out the poet in Todd and helping him realise his full potential. A real teacher doesn't let their students sit back and fail, but does what they can to help that student open their eyes and put to paper talent they never knew they had. Mr. Keating recognized that talent in Todd, and strove to release it, all the while showing him that the thoughts of his peers mattered not; It was his own that really count. I've had so many excellent teachers through the course of my highschool years, but one in particular helped to achieve the effect Mr. Keating did with Todd in me - just in an entirely different subject area. The way Todd opened up reminded me of myself, thus making the scene particularly stand out for me. What really struck me though was how the students applauded his efforts when he finished, despite having laughed at the beginning. The affirmation that Todd had really produced something beautiful most likely boosted his self-esteem, making him a more confident, well-rounded individual overall. And while I never got applause for my efforts, I did walk away with that same satisfaction. High five, Todd!
ReplyDeleteThis dialogue is the most moving part of the film. Mr. Keating was able to break Todd out of his shell. This portion of the film shows great character development, as Todd becomes an active member of the Dead Poets Society when previously, he was shy and rarely spoke. Todd finds that within himself is a confident, intellectual, poetic spirit. I personally found this moving because I can relate to it. I used to be pretty shy, and now I am very outgoing and not afraid to speak with anyone. Mr. Keating is a very influential teacher. You can tell that he has made an impact not only on the education of these young boys, but on their lives. Robin Williams fits the role perfectly. I could not see anyone else playing this part in the film. At first, the class snickers at Todd’s improvisation. By the end of his poem, the class sits in silence and is able to realize that Todd just stepped out of his comfort zone, and put himself out there for all to see. He did a great job, and his classmates realize this, reassuring him with a round of applause. Mr. Keating ends this by saying “Don’t forget this”. This is moving because he just made Todd realize what he is capable of, and I’m sure that very moment would stick with Todd for the rest of his life, and help mould his personality into something it never was before. The lesson that should be learned from this is that you can do anything if you put your mind to it, and never let fear get in the way of being great.
ReplyDeleteThis scene shows the strong teaching ability of Mr. Keating. Any student would be a lucky one to have the privilege to be taught by him. He truly cares about his students, and how well they are able to understand certain things, for example poetry. Todd was a shy new student, and as any new student would be, he was very hesitant and nervous to speak out in front of others. Mr. Keating forced the inner poet out of Todd. This proves that we all are poets, and sometimes all we need is a little push. Mr. Keating made a huge impact on not Todd’s life that day. He also strongly impacted the whole class when he gave Todd the ability to let out his true colours and speak in front of the whole class. That is not an easy thing to do for any student. I’m sure having a teacher as great as Mr. Keating made it a lot easier. If I had a teacher like Mr. Keating, I strongly believe I would benefit from an experience such as this one. I think anyone would. Even if the shyest possible kid got up in front of the class and tried to recite poetry, if a teacher like Mr. Keating was there, they would likely succeed. I honestly wish all teachers were as great and cared as much as Mr. Keating. If all teachers were like that, I believe there would be much more successful students in this world. He makes learning fun, and enjoyable. Rather than just a task everyone knows they have to complete. I believe the students in Mr. Keating’s class were very lucky to be taught by him. This is a very powerful scene, and it shocked me to see how easily Todd responded. Sometimes all we need is a little help.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the best scene of this movie because this is when Todd finally breaks through and we get to see what Todd is all about. This scene gives me goose bumps because it is full of raw emotion. Even though Mr. Keating’s methods are unorthodox and corky…they work. I don’t really know how to describe this scene because it is so powerful and moving. This scene really brings Ethan Hawke’s character, Todd, to life and actually gives him a personality. When Todd finally learns to let go of his fears of what people think of him and thinks of this wonderful and powerful poem. This poem about truth that Todd thinks of is so true because the hard truth is often never comforting. What I think Todd’s poem is about is that we always believe what other people think is the truth and it blinds us and stops us from what we really want to do with our life, but we never try to break through and see the real truth.
ReplyDeleteThis scene is what truly made me enjoy the character John Keating, a teacher that actually cared about the success and progress of his students. A teacher that was willing to step out of the box to reach students that otherwise would never know what it was like to reach there full potential. I believe that every student should connect with a teacher like that, should feel how great it is to truly take something from a lesson and see how it feels for somebody to believe in them and see there greatness. Teachers should not only focus on the information that is being given and making sure that students know and have memorized enough facts to pass a test, a good teacher should get students involved so they are interested in truly learning the facts. On another note, I feel I need to mention the greatness of the poem that Todd came up with. For some reason I love the way his poem flowed, whether it was that I fully understood exactly what he was trying to get at, which I don’t believe that I did, or that it just got a strong emotion out of me, like any good poem should. I completely hate the feeling of not having my feet covered by the blanket, and some how the metaphor fit perfect in the scene. I must admit that I am jealous of the creativeness that some people naturally have, like how Todd could pull that poem from nowhere, just by bouncing off what his teacher was saying, something I could never do.
ReplyDeleteIn this scene Mr. Keating does something that many teachers never do through their teaching careers: he shows that he genuinely cares about his students. It is very rare to have a teacher who truly wants you to succeed. Instead, it is always about completing the curriculum. There are many examples of teachers who have adopted an unorthodox teaching method which has been positive to their students. A favourite example of mine is the book and movie “Freedom Writers”, which is about Erin Gruwell, a young teacher who is placed into a multicultural school in which the board is happy if the students even graduate. She is determined to help the students actually succeed, and although everyone is against her she teaches the students valuable life lessons. She and her class assembled some of their personal stories about growing up in the ghetto which is the actual story of the Freedom Writers.
ReplyDeleteThe other side to this scene in “Dead Poets Society” is much more profound; Todd discovers that inside himself he truly does have the ability to create poetry. Mr. Keating’s method of having Todd close his eyes, spinning him around, and making him think on his feet ends up bringing out the best in Todd’s imagination. Todd is forever changed by this experience. He becomes more confident in himself and ultimately believes he has the ability to express himself freely. Mr. Keating had a lasting effect on Todd, which is something that all teachers should aim to achieve with their students.
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ReplyDeleteThis scene is very effective. Mr Keating believes in a student that does not believe in himself. Mr Keating's method obviously is a good one, and proves to the whole class that they too can be poets. They just need to forget about the people watching them, and judging them, and look deep within their minds and souls. Forget about who is listening, and say exactly what their mind is telling them. Mr Keating is a master at teaching this, and it is proven. He turns a class full of doctors and accountants to artists.
ReplyDeleteKeating gave Todd a look at an image. An image as just some old man. He turned that image into a "sweaty tooth mad man with a stare that pounds his brain". I think that is amazing. Not many teachers could inspire a shy student who is unsure of himself to say something like that.
Teachers should be inspired by this movie, and Mr Keating. Students need to have teachers that care about their students, make learning exciting, and give them real life lessons. Rather than what some P.H.D guy says in a text book. Kids don't learn from sitting at a desk and reading.They are not interested in that. An inspired teacher equals inspired students.