Transformation from a Romantic to a Realist

Essay by TCMwonderfulHigh School, 11th gradeA+, June 2005

download word file, 8 pages 3.0

Downloaded 22 times

A romantic is someone who envisions the idealistic, has an imaginative thought process and most importantly is an individual. The opposite of a romantic, a realist is someone who looks only at the facts and what is in front of them, a person who is against those that break away from the norm. As a romantic, it is one's fate to experience a catharsis that shakes the core of one's values. The event must affect what the romantic values most and with this occurrence a romantic will evolve into a realist. In Poet's Society, Mr. Keating an English teacher transforms from a romantic to a realist as a result of a student's . Montag, a character from Fahrenheit 451, as a result of the ing of his former city, goes from a romantic to a realist. The character that had the largest growth from a romantic to a realist was Finny, from A Separate Peace.

His motivation was falling from a tree and shattering his leg.

In Poet's Society, Mr. Keating represents a transition from a romantic to a realist. In the first day of English class Mr. Keating makes it apparent he is not just a teacher of literature: "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." (DPS, 12).