Seperate Peace vs Dead Poet's Society

Essay by simplegirl123 May 2008

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Coming of age is an immense and one of the most important stages in an adolescent's life. At this point, an individual develops his personality and intellectual traits through his experiences, and the novel Separate Peace by John Knowles and, the movie Dead Poet's Society directed by Peter Weir, portrays this point in all possible ways. Novel and movie might have similarities within the theme, but differences do exist as well. These two works of art not only share the distinctive all boys boarding school environment but, also contribute to some definite use reflective setting, concepts of contrastive characters, and conformity.

Each of these two epic tales of boyhood friendships had some interesting reflective settings within. In Dead Poet's Society, a very firm and strict environment was created. The story takes place in 1959 in a school called Welton, whose motto is "tradition, honor, discipline, and excellence". However, that discipline starts to change as soon as Mr.

Keating joined the school, and took a different approach of teaching his students, which was unusual also appealing. Having followed by Keating's alluring and distinctive techniques by boys of Welton can cover a variety of attitudes and changes in their lives. On the other hand, Separate Peace was set around 1958 with the flashbacks of 1940's in New Hampshire. Two rivers run through the Devon's school campus, however, they both had more meaning than just physical bodies of water. The Devon River is a cool, clean stream that came to Devon from the inlands, passed through the school's property, and then threw itself over a small waterfall and into the Naguamsett River. The fresh-water Devon River suggests the idyllic nature of the school - the sense of it as a kind of Eden. Indeed, the river, flowing clear and unpolluted,