Neil Perry

In the film “Dead Poets’ Society”, the protagonist, Neil Perry is an independent, friendly,
kind and passionate teenager. He is in his final year at Welton, surrounded by good friends
and lots of problems, typical of the people of his age. We see that Neil is pretty much the
leader in his group of mates. And as soon as Neil gets acquainted with the new literature
teacher, Mr. Keating, and his way of teaching, he immediately has a desire to follow the
hints of the mentor (наставник). As a result he brings back the Dead Poets’ Society- a secret
club for teenagers to read and to listen stories and verses and to live the hidden life.

Moving further, we find out that Neil’s father has many expectations of his son; for instance,
he wishes that Neil grows up to be a doctor. Unfortunately, Neil does not want to listen to
Mr. Perry and he is willing to take up acting and performing for audience. He even says:
“For the first time in my whole life, I know what I wanna do! And for the first time, I’m
gonna do it! Whether my father wants me to or not! Carpe diem!” The main character also
wants to live his own life without his father always telling him what to do. Finally Neil starts
to take more control of his life, with the help of Mr. Keating who tells him to seize the day.
The teenager goes and tries out for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” against the anticipation
of his father.

As film goes on, it becomes more obvious that Neil has a very dynamic character. First off
all, in the beginning, Neil really cared about the wishes of his family and if his father would
approve of what he was doing. But, towards the end, the main character changes his mind.
He becomes more rebellious and confident. But Mr. Perry turns him down when Neil tells
him about the play. Although the boy was allowed to play on the stage that evening, Mr.
Perry turns out to be really furious and he gets Neil back home and forbids even to think
about the career of an actor. And, speaking about this last talk, it brings a young man to
death. Neil commits suicide.

That shows a huge impact of the parents on our life. And in this case, it was really difficult to
stand against the will of the parents, as they were firm, steady and heartless. As for me, I
really liked Neil, and sometimes I even got to know myself from his actions. His death was a
great loss and this character teaches us to never give up, to move forward and to listen to
your heart.