In the film Dead Poet's Society, there is an environment created that is firm and strict. At Welton Academy, a private preparatory school for boys who desire to go off to the Ivy Leagues, there are four pillars of ideals that students must adhere to and follow. These are excellence, honor, tradition, and discipline. When the school year begins, a very traditional ceremony occurs during which a new English teacher, Mr. John Keating, a former student at Welton, is introduced. The film focuses on the new teacher and on a group of his students: Neil Perry, Knox Overstreet, Charlie Dalton, Meeks, Cameron, and Pitts, who have known each other for quite a few years, and a new one, Todd Anderson. With his unorthodox teaching methods, Mr. Keating inspires the students to act as individuals. He encourages them to think for themselves. Mr. Keating introduces the Latin phrase "cape diem"...
             "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..." Carpe diem is the Latin phrase meaning, "seize the day" which can also be interpreted as "live life to the fullest" or "suck the marrow out of life". It can be argued that this idea of carpe diem is a positive philosophy for the boys in Mr. Keating's class. Knox Overstreet, a young man who attends Welton Academy, abides by all the rules as everyone else. But, after a few of Mr. Keating's classes, he changes his outlook on life. Knox has an attraction towards a girl, Chris Noel, and falls madly in love with her, but it violates school guidelines to have women on campus. With the new saying of Carpe Diem in mind, Knox ignored the rules and pursues Chris relentlessly off campus as well as on, driven by romantic ideals and carpe diem. He attends a party that she invites him to where he discovers she has a boyfriend. He is still determined to chase her and make ...