Compare And Contrast A Separate Peace And Dead Poets Society

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Character Comparison A Separate Peace and Dead Poets Society revolve around a group of young boarding school attendees who form groups during their sessions. Although the book and the movie have different plots, they portray similar ideas as well as include some of the same scenes. The characters in these works; Todd, Gene, Phineas, and Neil have numerous similarities though their personalities and behaviors. Gene is a well-educated, athletic individual. He takes his school work seriously and keeps to himself, meaning he doesn’t favor standing out or being in the spotlight. He is a follower, especially when it comes to his best friend, Phineas. Throughout the book, he often compares himself to Phineas and talks about how perfect Finny is. …show more content…

In the book, Phineas is a very outgoing character who plays by his own rules. He does not care about what other people think about him and is very good at charming his teachers. Neil also has these characteristics, he is a leading figure to the other boys in his friend group and does not let anyone defy him, not even his father. A big similarity between these two characters is the fact that they both was to form prohibited societies. Phineas forms the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. He makes the rule that him and Gene must always jump from the tree into the lake before every meeting. If one of their friends wanted to become a member, they too had to jump from the tree (page 31). Neil reformed the Dead Poets Society, originally formed by their teacher, Mr. Keating. Both Neil and Phineas knew that if they were caught they’d be in trouble, but this did not stop them. In both stories, these characters passions are taking away from them and they respond in similar ways. When Phineas broke his leg, he could no longer play sports. Playing sports was his passion and since he could no longer play, he told Gene “…if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me…” (page 85). Neil loved acting, but his father wanted him to go to medical school to be a doctor. After Neil stars in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, his father tells him he’s enlisting into a medical school and can no longer participate in acting. This was Neil’s passion, and because he knew his father would never let him continue, he killed

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