Novel - DEAD POETS- SOCIETY

DEAD POETS' SOCIETY

A novel by N.H. Kleinbaum

Mrs. N.H. Kleinbaum, a graduate of the Medill School of Jounalism at the Northwestern University, is a newspaper reporter and editor. She lives in Mt. Kisco, New York with her husband and three children.

Her other novelizations include the Bantam Starfire title 'grawing pains' and 'D.A.R.L.Y'.

THE MAIN CHARCTERS:

Tood Anderson:         a very shy boy. In school lessons nobody could get a word out of him.

Neil:                           he is a cheerful boy and his biggest wish is to become an actor

Knox Overstreet:       he has fallen in love with a girl, who has already got a boyfriend but he tries to win her over to his side

Mr. John Keating:      the new Englishteacher at Welton Academy. He has challenged them to make their lives extraordinary.

THE SUMMARY OF THE STORY:

A new schoolyear had started and all boys were very exited. One day they all waited for their Englishteacher and suddenly there stood a new one in their classroom. Each lesson was extraordinary and very instructive. Mr. Keating turned the boys on to the great words of Byron, Shelley and Keats, they discovered not only the beauty of language but the importance of making each moment count.

He devoted his attention to each boy and soon he knew all fears and wishes of each individual.

Todd Anderson, a 16 years old boy, was very shy. Nobody could get a word out of him. Mr. Keating devoted his attention to him and Todd learned to forget his fears. All of these boys had been impressed and they wanted to know more about his previous life. They rummaged through all old annuals and they found an article. They read that he had set up a club, which was called 'Dead poets' society'. They all got very inquisitive.

Mr Keating started to tell them about this secret organization. Mr. Keating met his friends, they read poems and discovered the beauty of language. Neil was fascinated and founded such a club.

Neils wish grew to be an actor. Without his parents permission he applied for an acting part. He counterfeited the signature of his parents and so he got the best part because he was very talented.

The play was very successful. But for Neil it was the worst day in his life. Because his father came and he was very angry about the forged signature and he took him out of school.

Neil's whole world collapsed about him. He couldn't live without playing and he committed suicide. His father accused Mr. Keating of the death and also all the teachers were against him. The pupils were forced to sign for the dismissal of Mr. Keating. But in their heards they stood behind Mr. Keating.

MY COMMENT:

I like the book 'Dead poets' society' very much because the story has been written in an interesting style. It shows very well the feeling of each person.

What I found shocking was the reaction of Neil's father. His dream has been to study medicine and so he imposed his will on his son.