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Schule > Englisch > N.H. Kleinbaum, The Dead Poets Society - description and analysis

Klausur im Fach Englisch, Thema: Growing up/ Education
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N.H. Kleinbaum, The Dead Poets Society

Assignments:
Comprehension:
1. Describe Neils and his fathers behaviour in this scene.

Analysis:
2. Refering to this scene and to your knowledge of the whole novel, analyse Neils relationship towards his father.

1.
- Neils father is sitting at his sons desk when Neil returns to his room. Since Neil has not expected his father, he is completely shocked: Neils face turned white with shock (page 117)

- Neils father seems to be in a fury because Neil started to play in A Mids. N. Dream against Mr. Perrys will.

- He orders his son to quit this ridiculous play immediately (page 112, lines 2, 3)

- As Neil tries to explain to his father why he can not stop playing then, Mr. Perry interrupts him, saying Dont you dare talk back to me.

- Neil again tries to show his father that he has done this to surprise him and assures him that he has not neglected his work for school.

- Mr. Perry tells him how he has found out about his acting and how embarrassing this situation has been for him.

- At the end of their conversation Neil tells his father that he has one of the main parts and that the performance of the play will be the next day., so that he really cannot quit the theatre group at that moment. The other actors would depend on him.

- Mr. Perry does not give in and leaves his son alone.

- Neil breaks down and cries.

2.
- Neil is a very emotional boy; he is full of passion for his new hobby

- Neils dream: acting; acting means to him living many interesting peoples lives (feel what they have felt etc.)

- He wants to feel alive (lines 8-9)

- For the first time he gets the chance to play one of the main parts in a Shakespeare play. This is what he always dreamed of.

- Unfortunately, his father is not willing to accept his sons acting business (lines 41). The way he talks about his sons activity is already very devaluating.

- My son isnt in a play, he says to Mrs. Marks (lines 51/52) which shows us that a play for him means something childish and thus rather foolish. For him the theatre group is a waste of time (lines 40/41)

- He is furious that Neil has wasted his precious time because for Mr. Perry Neils school career is more important than anything else. The reason for this very strict is the fact that Mr. Perry did not get the chance to attend such a good college when he was young.
- He and his wife want Neil to appreciate this at any moment of his school life. Therefor Mr. Perry does not allow his son any amusement or fun, although has already very good marks in all subjects.

- There has always been a bad reputation of acting and the people who work as actors in society and to play an important role in the high society (i.e. among the wealthy and important people) is what Mr. Perry always aims at. (lines 52: You made a liar out of me, Neil, he says.)

- Neil has never been able to live his own life. He always acted like a puppet, directed by his parents, who of course only meant the best.

- For the first he has the courage to do something forbidden by his father. The courage he has now might be a consequence of Mr. Keatings philosophy.

- Mr. Perry seems to feel that Mr. Keating exercised a bad influence on his son: Who put you up to this? That Mr. Keating? (lines 45/46)

- This is one reason why at the end of the novel Keating has to leave school.

- For Neil, it is fatal, that his father is not able to accept at least one performance, where his son would play the main part. Neils dram of becoming an actor has died and all his feelings are dying at the same time.

- He does not feel understood by his parents and thus feels completely alone and lost. Nobody can help him now. He knows that is totally dependent on his parents who pay for his education:
Ive made great sacrifices to get you here, Neil. You will not let me down, his father says in lines 65/66. This can be called emotional blackmail.

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