But 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.
This quote demonstrators that Keating appreciates the history and legacy of Welton as much as his fellow faculty members, but that rather than let it intimidate his students, he uses it to inspire them. His view appears to be that the boys should follow in the footsteps of those who came before them not because tradition is the best course of action, but because they are all members of the human race, and the passion and excitement for life that they all share is what makes them special.
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.
One of the movie’s most famous quotes, Keating here acknowledges that many of his students may not care about his preaching about the humanities. After all, Welton prides itself on its ability to churn out doctors, lawyers, and other well-respected professionals. Intuitively, many of its current students are on the path to these careers and so don’t need art and poetry to succeed. Keating therefore reminds the students of why they’re doing what they’re doing, and working as hard as they are. He introduces the radical notion that they’re prestigious and impressive future careers may not actually be the end goal of their lives, but rather the means to living as full a life as possible.
This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls.
A somber moment of foreshadowing, Keating unknowingly references the eventual loss of Neil’s life in this quote. While his words “battle” and “war” refer to many things, they draw a parallel to the fight that many of the boys have with the conservative authority that dominates their life at Walton. Their hunger to break free from this authority becomes a battle in its own right, one that ultimately costs Neil his life and breaks his friends’ hearts.
McAllister: "Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man."
John Keating: "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be."
McAllister: Tennyson?
John Keating: No, Keating.
Keating is undoubtedly different from his fellow teachers in many ways, and this exchange between him and Mr. McAllister illustrates an example of how. While McAllister feels that the Welton boys need structure set out for them, whereas dreams may “fetter” their hearts, Keating argues that they should use their dreams to be free, and does so with an original quote, whereas McAllister’s was borrowed from Lord Alfred Tennyson. Not only does the content of his response demonstrate his alternate views of how the boys should be educated, but the nature of the quote itself does as well.
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!
Neil’s enthusiasm at the prospect of becoming an actor demonstrates both the passion brimming within him and the influence of Mr. Keating to bring it to the surface. This is especially true with his exclamation of “Carpe Diem,” a direct reference to Keating’s teachings. The tragic irony here, of course, is that Neil is ultimately unable to do what he wants as a result of his father’s strict hold over him.
I'm exercising the right not to walk.
Ever the rebel, Charlie demonstrates at many points throughout the film how quick he is to get on board with Mr. Keating’s unorthodox teaching methods. Even before the two meet, Charlie establishes himself as the slacker when the boys discuss their academic prowess in Neil and Todd’s room on move-in day. The above quote is not only consistent with his slacker character, but also demonstrates his understanding of Keating’s lesson in choosing to have his own style of walking be one of stillness.
Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go, 'that's baaaaad.'
This quote nicely sums up what Keating hopes for the boys: that they’ll become individual free thinkers. It’s the lesson that he believes in perhaps most strongly, but also the most dangerous one in the long run, as it’s the one that causes the most friction with Welton’s strict adherence to uniformity and tradition.
Neil Perry: So what are you going to do? Charlie?
Charlie Dalton: Dammit, Neil, the name is Nuwanda.
Charlie’s interrogation by Headmaster Nolan is a crucial turning point in the film because it’s the first time the boys’ newfound hunger to be free thinkers and poets rubs up against the administration’s strict ideologies about conformity and tradition. Here, when Charlie corrects Neil, he indicates that not even a beating from the headmaster could change the fact that he 1. is loyal to his fellow poets, and 2. wishes to keep the name that the Society inspired him to don. It’s a testament to the unity and passion that the group inspires in him.
There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.
Keating’s talk with Charlie and the other boys after the telephone stunt in the sanctuary demonstrates where he draws the line between teacher and preacher. While he establishes himself as an unorthodox faculty member, he is still an authority figure in the boys' lives and wants them to see their education through to graduation, not get expelled following his teachings. Emphasizing this shows that he considers himself their teacher first, before anything else.
John Keating: I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.
Mr. Nolan: At these boys' age? Not on your life!
This exchange between Nolan and Keating is one of several instances where Keating’s unusual methods begin to get him in hot water. Nolan personifies everything Welton stands for: tradition, discipline, and rules that stand the test of time. Keating, on the other hand, while respecting these beliefs, thinks differently, and it’s this alternative thinking that seems to create such conflict between himself and his peers as well as the boys and the administration.
