摘 要

死亡诗社作为教育类电影，其体现的追求自由反对传统的教育精神一直对教育制度的变革起着不可磨灭的借鉴意义。以往的研究重点在于浪漫主义与现实主义之间的关系、教育制度的变革、情感教学的意义等。而本文在阅读与借鉴先前文献的基础上进一步从人物微表情，动作， 语言等角度研究人物的心理变化与情感特征，进而探索出悲剧人物形象产生的根本原因。本文共分为四部分，第一部分为简介，第二部分分析电影主要人物的性格特征，第三部分分析电影次要人物的性格特征，最后总结。结论认为尼尔死亡的真正原因在于不愿向传统主义屈服,基廷的悲剧原因在于其有限的能力无法改变整个局势,传统主义代表们的悲剧原因在于思想上的悲哀，面对新思想的崛起，仍然固守制度，不懂得变革。

关键词：死亡诗社；微表情；浪漫主义；传统主义；悲剧人物

Abstract

Dead Poets Society as an educational film, the pursuit of freedom and the opposition of traditional spirit in the film play the role of indelible reference in educational system reform. Previous studies have focused much on the relationship between romanticism and realism, the transformation of educational systems and the significance of emotional teaching. On the basis of reading and referring the preceding literature, this paper further studies the psychological changes and emotional characteristics of characters from the perspective of micro-expression, gesture and language. Then the paper explores the root causes of the tragic characters This part has been divided into four parts. The first part is an introduction. The second part mainly discusses the main characters. The third part analyzes the supporting role. The last part is a conclusion. In conclusion, Neil's death lies in the reluctance to submit to traditionalism. The tragedy of Keating is that his limited ability cannot change the whole situation. Narrow mind causes the traditionalists’ tragedies, facing new concepts, traditionalists still stick to the old-fashioned system and do nothing to change.

Key Words: Dead Poets Society; micro-expression; romanticism; traditionalism; tragic characters

Contents

1.Introduction 1

1.1 The movie Dead Poets Society 1

1.2 Literature review 2

1.3 Layout of the paper 3

2 Interpretation of Major Tragic Characters 4

2.1 On Neil and his father 4

2.1.1 First clash: the union conflict 4

2.1.2 Second clash: drama conflict 5

2.1.3 Third clash: freedom conflict 5

2.2 On Keating and Nolan 6

2.2.1 Keating’s class 6

2.2.2 Nolan’s obstacle 7

3.Interpretation of Other Characters 10

3.1Cameron’s traditionalism 10

3.2 Other’s realism 10

3.2.1 Charlie’s free soul 10

3.2.2 Tod and Knox’s change 11

3.3 Role of the minor characters 11

4 Conclusion 13

References 14

Acknowledgements 15

Interpretation of Tragic Characters in Dead Poets Society

1 Introduction

1.1 The movie Dead Poets Society

The movie Dead Poets Society is based on the novel of the same name in 1989. It was directed by the director Peter Weir, mainly performed by Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and so on. When firstly screened in America, the movie strongly shocked the audience and won several high-profile awards such as Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best picture, Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Original Score Motion Picture. Meanwhile, it was widely claimed as one of the most well-know and influential educational movies of the twentieth century, and its dialogues are always quoted in teaching.

Characters are the vital factors in a movie, and the hero's emotions often resonate with the audience and have a few impact on the real world. Dead Poets Society is an educational-themed movie which includes the conflict of realism and idealism, tradition and freedom, education system and individual development. All these conflicts lead to the tragedy of the characters.