Jonathan Wroblewski

Composition 2

Prof. Mitchell; Section DH

Gender Roles Propagated by Welton Academy

There are many claims in modern society concerning how men and women arrive

at their gendered states of mind. Some say societal influences determine gender roles,

while others say that gender roles are taught in schools. Karin A. Martin maintains that

gender roles are taught in schools, and the movie Dead Poets Society upholds that view.

Mr. Keating, a new teacher at Welton Academy for boys, brings with him a new

method of teaching; he defies the school’s conventional practices of discipline, and

tradition, and instead encourages free thought. He suggests that the boys confront and

question authority figures, for true knowledge comes from questioning. His message to

“seize the day” and “make the ordinary extraordinary” embodies this ideology—the

notion that people should not conform to an authority’s worldview, but that they should

create their own.

The first instance of questioning authority comes at the very beginning of the

movie when, with the first instructions Keating gives his students, the preface of the

students’ poetry books—which instructs the reader on how to accurately judge a poem’s

greatness according to particular structural qualities—is torn out. By ripping out the

pages the students question the author’s authority over poetry. What gives him the right to

tell anyone how to determine something so subjective as a poem’s quality? Of course, the

author’s claims suggest that poetry is not subjective, but Keating disagrees.
 Another instance of questioning those in power comes when Neil Perry wishes to

pursue acting. His father strictly condemns these wishes, and Neil seeks Mr. Keating’s

advice on the situation. Keating suggest that, if acting is truly his heart’s desire, he should

articulate that to his father. Confronting a strong authority figure with whom one has a

disagreement is certainly no easy task, and it would certainly be viewed by (I assume) the

majority of people as a masculine act. Females will generally avoid confrontation; they

are risk-averse individuals. Men are taught that they must take what is rightfully theirs—

by force, if necessary. That is nearly identical to the sentiment that shared by Keating.

Furthering the idea that women are generally more risk-averse than men, Keating

encourages the boys to be risk takers. Again, his motto “carpe diem” (“seize the day”)

encourages risky behavior. The simple encouragement of ideas signifies that schools are

attempting to engender the students with masculinity. That is not enough, though, because

if the boys did not follow the suggestions of the teachers, the theory would not hold up

very well. They do, indeed, follow Keating’s encouragement of risk taking. The boys

reconvene the Dead Poets Society—a group that meets in a cave, well after lights out, to

read and recite poetry. They step outside the boundaries created by the academy, and in

doing so risk expulsion.

Though reading poetry is not generally seen as a masculine activity, the daring act

of leaving the school outside permitted times, and Keating’s reasons to read it most

certainly are masculine. He suggests that by reading poetry the young men can learn to

swoon girls. The evolutionary goal of every male on earth is to attract a mate to

reproduce; if he cannot do so, in the words of pick up artist and social psychologist Erik

von Markovic, his “genes will be unapologetically weeded out of existence.” Keating
pushes the most dominant male agenda by propagating use of poetry as a tool to attract

women. The impact of this message is undeniably present in the movie. In the first

instance Knox Overstreet writes a poem for a girl he had just met. He enters her high

school, finds her seated in class, and reads the poem he wrote to her aloud in front of all

of her peers; Knox believes that males are supposed to attract females, and reciting poetry

is the best way to do so; Mr. Keating taught him that. Whether or not that tactic actually

works is another matter. The second instance occurs in the cave during a meeting of the

Dead Poets Society. One of the boys brings along several girls to listen to the poetry

readings, and all of the boys attempt to seduce a potential mate. Again, the boys conform

to the masculine gendering of Mr. Keating.

Mr. Keating is not the only influence advocating masculinity; the academy itself

gears the boys toward masculine activities. They participate in classically male sports,

such as rowing, and fencing. The curriculum is designed to create alpha males: the main

characteristics of which include being strong, confident, and powerful. Rowing is more

than a teamwork exercise; it is a brutally physical exercise, and anyone who has ever

spent time on a rowing machine in a gym can attest to that. It takes concentration, and use

of several muscles throughout the body to properly row, thus creating strong individuals.

And fencing is nothing more than a sophisticated form of fighting. Alpha males must be

able to dominate other males in order to reproduce—no female animal is willing to bear

the seed of a weak male.

Mr. Keating teaches his students to become powerful, dominant, alpha males. He

teaches them to be creative, risk taking individuals that confront authority head on. In
fact, the entire curriculum at Welton Academy does the same thing, and the boys’ actions

attest to the effectiveness of said gendering.