Theme Of Challenge In Dead Poets Society

Challenge will never cease to exist, though we may forget about it. From the very first minutes of Dead Poets Society, Mr Nolan’s expectations of “great things” are clearly imposed only Neil. Weir highlights the omnipresent nature of challenge, by centralising these sequences around challenge, before the full plot and settings have been fleshed out. With his father (Mr Perry) pushing for him to get into “medical school”, Neil appears to be well conditioned with the constant pressures of challenge, expressing how he “won’t disappoint” the authorities. In his very next encounter with Mr Perry, Neil simply accepts he cannot “dispute” those in authority, especially Mr Perry, and will do as he “tell(s) him”. Neil’s hasty recovery from being scolded in front of him

Towards the middle of the film, Neil receives the job as Puck in the school play, and then almost naturally commences to forging a permission note. When Todd states Neil is “crazy” to do such an act, Neil dismisses the point and instead commences the forging and laughing. By juxtaposing Todd’s careful personality to Neil’s recklessness (a trait which has been built up by constant exposure to challenge) and placing the sequence towards the centre of the film, Weir conveys the ease in which challenges are forgotten, even if we are being reminded. During Mr Perry and Neil’s final argument, Mr Perry continues to dish out challenges, the high camera angles on Neil demonstrate his powerlessness against these. He then reminds Neil how he is “gonna be a doctor”, a line foreshadowed by Mr Perry’s earlier remark about Neil getting into medicine. By defying his father for a moment, but then commencing to acceptance, Weir reveals how Neil has ultimately not changed much at all. Through Neil’s somewhat lacking changes, Weir reveals to the audience how challenge never ceases, even appearing cyclical to a