Dead Poets Society

     "Carpe Diem," is one of the many lessons taught by Mr. Keating in Dead Poets Society by Peter Weir. A new English teacher teaches a group of young men some important life lessons. Mr. Keating inspires his students through his love of poetry and shows them that being and individual is important, sometimes you just need a different outlook, and mostly that in order to get the most out of life and the experiences in it you have to seize the day.

     The boys at Welton Academy go from class to class with the idea that what is important in life is the job you have and the goal to become a doctor or lawyer. It isn't until Mr. Keating shows them his side and idea of what learning is that they realize it is alright to be an individual. The way he teaches his class and his methods go against everything they are used to. Mr. Keating has a very different way of teaching poetry and proves him self as an individual in the school. He shows the boys that it is encouraged to be different and pursue what you love. His student Neil Perry especially takes to Mr. Keating and goes against his father to preform in the play "A Mid Summer Nights Dream." Mr. Keating encourages Neil to tell his father about his passion for theater and follow his true dreams becoming and individual.

     When the boys have trouble understanding Mr. Keating he stands on his desk and exclaims that sometimes you just need a different view of things, he then has each of his students come and stand on his desk and look. The way Mr. Keating teaches his class is very different from any other class of theirs, because of his outlook on the education system. All of his students really start to understand him as he shows them where his point of view comes from. This helps a lot of the boys find themselves and what they really want. Mr. Keating has all the boys rip out the text books definition of poetry because he feels they should all enjoy it and not try and learn it in the same concept as math or physics. He has a different view of poetry and once his students learn to see things the same as him they all really start to have fun and be creative with writing and understanding poetry.

    In his very first class teaching at Welton Academy Mr. Keating gives the boys a lecture about how they must seize the day before it is too late. He encourages them to do what they truly want to. A group of students who especially take to him create the "Dead Poets Society" just as Mr. Keating and his friends had in their days at the academy. He inspires them and brings passion to what they do. Neil Perry followed carpe diem and preformed in the play when he knew his father would be upset. The boys all learn and do things that they most likely wouldn't have imagined they could really do. They learn to inspire each other and push each other to "seize the day."

     Mr. Keating truly proved himself to be an inspiring role model of an educator as he taught his students many life lessons. He set an example of himself and showed them that being an individual is important which is why he was able to inspire them in such a different way. He also told them that sometimes you just need a different outlook on something, and that's what he gave them. All his students changed the way they look and English class and their education. Although he taught them a lot the lesson he showed them the most was carpe diem. They all learned how to make the most out of everything while they still can, which is what Mr. Keating did during his short period of time at Welton Academy. The lessons taught in the movie were all strong themes, though these seemed to stand out the most as all the characters learned them.
    

Discussing Poetry

What Woman Deserve

     Women deserve better is the powerful message delivered by Sonya Renee in her poem What Women Deserve. She speaks about how we are said to be a feminist country and that everybody has rights, when there is still a lot of discrimination against woman. The theme is clear in that society says woman's rights are being heard and met, when in reality they usually aren't. "With no chance of getting a better job, because you can't have infants at the university" is one of the many realistic quotes of Renee about how hard it is for teen mothers. The poem sets a strong mood of empowerment and it leaves you wanting things to be better for women. What I especially liked about this poem is the way she describes everything. Sonya Renee speaks with a strong sense of reality and everything is in a modern, relatable manner that reaches out to people. 

Sierra DeMulder

     "Did you put your own heart in the freezer next to the thought of me?" Sierra DeMulder asks the son she hypothetically speaks to and speaks about in the unnamed poem she preformed at the national poetry slam. She is constantly asking him and herself questions of what she did for him to become this. "Did [she] teacher [him] to pluck families apart like flower petals?" Questioning every aspect that she did while raising him to see what she did that he would grow up to be a murder. The strange mood and concept of the poem is what I find so exciting about it. It is unlike any other poem that I have come across. DeMulder sets the theme of the poem when she asks if  "will be forgiven for the sins [she] did not commit, but created." The theme is that is it just the way her son is or is there anything she could have possibly done that would cause him to be the way he is. What I enjoy about this poem is the unusual thrill I get with each line she reads.

If I Should Have a Daughter

Sarah Kay speaks a creative and original list of what she would do as a mother in the poem If I Should Have a Daughter. She comes up countless analogy's of how she's going to guide her daughter through the rough times of growing up. Kay says she will prepare for her first heartbreak by always keeping rain boots and chocolate around "because there is no heartbreak that chocolate cant fix." There is a few present themes throughout the poem but the main one being that you will always have some one there for you no matter what, which is why Kay says "instead of mom she's going to call [her] point B." She says this so her daughter can always find her way back. What I like about the poem is how Kay discusses what she will do to help her grow up and how she will be there for her daughter no matter what. The mood is quite compassionate because she makes us all feel like that's what were going to do and puts our mothers in a new light. Sarah Kay's detail of exactly what she will do is enticing and relatable.

Mona Lisa

Alexis Brooks
2315 McGraw Street
Penticton, B.C
V2A 7P3

March 14th 2014

Inspector Clouseau
Chief of Police
123 Rue Justice
Paris, France
1A2 R3T

Dear Inspector Clouseau;
     I have written to inform you why I decided to save Ada Artlover. As the room began to fill with smoke I thought to myself, do I save the Mona Lisa, or do I save this sweet old lady I had just gotten to know. I feel I have done what any humane person would have. It is true that the Mona Lisa is a priceless piece of historic art, but how do you put a price on some ones life. You can't. That is why I carried Ada out of the fire while letting the painting burn. When I was deciding what to do I just thought about what if that was my mother or my grandmother... I couldn't bear the thought of that poor family finding out some terrible person saved a silly painting rather than a life.
    
     I know that I destroyed a piece of history and I cannot apologize enough for that, but I am not sorry for my decision because at the end of the day I'm the one who has to sit down and think about what I did. There is not a single feeling of regret that I have for that day. At the time I had thought of how much easier it would be to save the painting and become the hero, but the thought of a family thinking of me as a murderer made no amount of praise and glory worth it. Inspector, try to understand what I went through and where I'm coming from. I only did what anybody in that situation would have. Besides the story of a young girl saving an old lady instead of the Mona Lisa may go down in history just as well as the painting itself did.

     The fact that the Mona Lisa is gone is devastating and she will forever be missed, but its not like she will never be seen again. The amount of imitation paintings there are, nobody will go without seeing what the painting was like, even if it is just through a photograph with hundreds of other cameras in the bottom of the shot. That mysterious smile of hers will never be forgotten. When the Louvre burned, tragedy struck, but imagine if lives were lost along with the art. That is why I decided to save Ada Artlover instead.

Sincerely,

 Alexis Brooks

Alexis Brooks

Waiting Room

The tension in the room builds as we hear the footsteps coming closer and closer down the hall. With each click his steps make, I become more aware that I'll have to face reality. A tall slim figure in a long, white coat appears, although I seem to be the only one aware. His rough cough shatters the deafening silence and suddenly everybody's eyes are pinned to him. My dad approaches the doctor with a fear I have never seen in him before. The glisten in his eyes is heartbreaking. He’s trying so hard to keep a brave face, because if he loses his cool, the rest of us will. As I'm looking around the room I can't help but feel trapped. It's as if I'm being surrounded by a mass of options and results. Suffocated by my thoughts I snap back into reality. My chest feels hollow and finding my breath again is proven difficult. Feelings of nausea and dizziness cast over me. I need to sit back down; although as soon as I do my dad summons me towards the doctor and himself. Light headed and pale faced, they ask if I’m alright. Not wanting to cause a scene, I lie. I know today, right now, is all about my mom. I clench my lips between my teeth and listen quietly for the results. I can’t focus on what he’s saying, but watching my father’s eyes dwell with tears and a smile cover his face, I can tell the news is good. “She’s going to be okay.” Suddenly everything I was feeling diminishes and all I feel is relief.

Bluffing

A short story about a young adventurous couple who unknowingly run into some trouble in the woods and find great danger is "Bluffing" by Gail Helgason. Gabriella and her boyfriend Liam are on a hike to have some lunch by the lake. After Liam is attacked by a bear the story switches back into the hospital. Throughout the story the setting switches into the past of what happened at the lake and the present of Gabriella visiting Liam. When he's finally awake long enough to speak to her, he claims "[he] meant the bear to come after [him] instead of [her]." It's hard to tell if this is the truth or not seeing as how they don't have the most honest relationship. Liam insists that she use a homemade cleaning solution while Gabriella decides she doesn’t like it but she doesn’t bother to tell him "she'd stopped using it." Liam is a liar and will say anything to get his way. If he doesn’t want to share a destination with other hikers, he lies to scare them off with an imaginary "elk carcass" that’s clearly from a grizzly. Another reason Liam isn’t telling the truth would be how excited he is to "get by for three months over the winter" and live in a van all so him and his friend Clive could head down south and explore some "good, technical rock." Why would he give that up now to save Gabriella when he would be leaving her for a long time anyways. The final reason that Liam’s bluffing when he told Gabriella "[he] wasn't trying to run up there" is that he is incredibly selfish. He has a keen eye for his future and has many goals not involving his beloved girlfriend, who happens to have the same interests and goals. All he wants to do is explore with his friend while Gabriella waits and tries to set up a future with Liam. Why would he bother to risk his life that he planned so many great adventures for a girl who wanted a commitment.

Stories Untold

As she inhales another breath of her cigarette, a look of serenity covers her face. At the age of sixty three you can tell she’s had a good, long, adventurous life. Each wrinkle on her forehead tells a tale, an experience she had many years ago. The deep grey tan left on her face, showing she spent her time in the sun. Skin dark and worn out sags down from her face. A hat to hide her eyes that are full of mysterious stories she dares not to tell. Her body language, the way she carries herself shows her lifetime of elegance and etiquette. Through her perfectly perched lips, a bitter expression comes while releasing some  smoke. The necklace overlaying her wrinkled neck matches perfectly with the rings on her fingers. Gems that appear to be as old as she is. A soft breeze blows and her thin, brittle hair is brushed away from her face. She is an untold story dying to be read.

 

Physical Soul



As the heat of the stage lights illuminates her nervous smile, it reminds her that these are the moments she lives for. This is why Lexi spent the last fourteen years of her life hidden in her studio. The next three minutes are it. The only time she has to show everything she's worked for, for the past year. She must show every detail of how she's grown and changed. As the music starts all her inner emotions and thoughts flow throughout her body. Expressing herself the only way she knows how. Movement. When Lexi is on stage it is clear that this is all she wants to do. The beat of the music takes control of her body and carry's her throughout the stage. As the music stops she engulfs the feeling and realizes she has never felt more like herself. Dancing is her physical soul.