Links
-
Class Pics
O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths - for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Hear Captain! dear father!
The arm beneath your head!
It is some dream your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shore, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O me! O life!
O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring.
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish.
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and
who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle
ever renew'd.
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around
me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring -- What good amid these, O me, O
life?
Answer That you are here--that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
-WALT WHITMAN
-1819-1892
To the Virgins,
Make Much of Time
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today,
To-morrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
and while ye may, go marry;
For having lost just once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.
-ROBERT HERRICK
1591-1674
Excerpt from Walden - Henry David Thoreau
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear, nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."
The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair;
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, And I-
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
on the Book
Make Your Lives Extraordinary
Keating begins his unorthodox teaching methods by showing his students
pictures of previous Welton graduates. He says:
"Now I'd like you to step forward over here. They're not that different
from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible,
just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined
for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope,
just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their
lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen,
these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close,
you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen,
you hear it? ... Carpe... hear it? ...carpe, carpe diem, seize the day
boys, make your lives extraordinary."
Each of those people had graduated from Welton and had "made their
lives extraordinary." The pictures were the "legends" of
the school - those who had died, but had contributed a verse that would
not be forgotten. Those who had "seized the day" by contributing
something special to life and whose memory would not be easily forgotton.
Here, Keating explained his core philosophy to his students - to contribute
a meaningful verse, so that when it came time for them to die, they would
not "discover that [they] had not lived." He explains that they
are all going to die eventually, so it is up to them to make the most
of their lives - to seize the day before it is too late. In other words,
live now so when you look back upon your life near its end, you won't
regret the choices you made and what you've achieved in your lifetime.
- This sample was found at: http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/movies/dps_keating.asp
Symbolism:
Neil seems to symbolize his kneeling down before everyone - such as his
father (who takes away all control Neil tries to have - such as the editor
of the newspaper) and the school. Perry seems to be symbolic for "perish"
and death, foreshadowing Neil's suicide later in the movie. I think that's
why Todd and Neil got along so well. (On the first day of Keating's class,
Keating states that they are all going to die. Neil looks incredibly disturbed
while considering this.) Neil could control Todd, and that was the only
thing in his life he felt he had control over. Also, in a way, I think
Neil saw himself in Todd, because Neil acted towards his father the way
Todd acted towards everyone. By trying to help Todd, he thought maybe
he could help himself. Neil claims, "the meek might inherit the earth,
but they don’t make it into Harvard," and he's right - he's
meek, and he never makes it into Harvard.
- This sample was found at:
http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/movies/dps_neil.asp
Neil's Death
After Neil's death, Todd stares into the eyes of his madman. He first
says, "It's beautiful," referring to the way that the blanket
of truth (representing romanticism) is covering his face (representing
realism). Then he starts crying and screaming, "It was his father."
(This was Todd's first real experience with romanticism.) At this point
he realizes his madman (passion) is mumbling truth, but it isn't enough.
Todd is forced to deal with his passions knowing they will never give
him the covering and comfort he needs.
Todd was the most upset and emotional of the group after Neil's death,
which is ironic because Nwanda and Knox were the romantics, so they might
be expected to be the most upset. They, however, remained calm, not fully
understanding why Neil would have committed such an act. Todd did - he
remembered his poem, and he was left cold and exposed in the snow - just
the way he predicted it in his poem. At that moment, he realized exactly
what Neil was facing the moments before his death. The romantics present
couldn't understand because up until that point nothing especially bad
had happened because of their passion. The realists present couldn't understand
because they under-emphasize their emotions and would rather rationalize
the situation than experience it.
- This sample was found at:
http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/movies/dps_todd.asp
- Constructed by Griffin Romigh
- Under the direction of Mrs.Hinkle-Hunt