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Puck’s Crown
In John Keating’s first and last scenes in the book, characters stand on desks in his classroom: in his first scene, he stands on the desk, and in the final scene, his students do—an apt symbol for how Keating passes on his own spirit and wisdom to his young disciples. Standing on the desk, as Keating says explicitly in the book, symbolizes seeing the world from another point of view; that is, challenging traditional ideas and stereotypes in order to be free.
Standing on the Desk Quotes in Dead Poets Society
The Dead Poets Society quotes below all refer to the symbol of Standing on the Desk. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4
Quotes
He jumped dramatically onto his desk and turned to face the class. “O Captain! My Captain!” he recited energetically, then looked around the room.
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Chapter 15
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As Nolan started down the aisle toward him, Knox, on the other side of the room, called out Mr. Keating's name and stood up on his desk too. Nolan turned toward Knox. Meeks mustered up his courage and stood up on his desk. Pitts did the same. One by one, and then in groups, others in the class followed their lead, standing on their desks in silent salute to Mr. Keating.
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Standing on the Desk Symbol Timeline in Dead Poets Society
The timeline below shows where the symbol Standing on the Desk appears in Dead Poets Society. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...English. Mr. Keating walks into class without a jacket. Without wasting a moment, he jumps onto his desk and shouts, “O Captain! My Captain!” He explains that the phrase is from a poem...
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Chapter 7
...that humans must learn how to let their true natures speak. Suddenly, he jumps up onto his desk , saying, “We must constantly force ourselves to look at things differently.” He invites the...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...you, Todd.” Nolan orders Keating to get out of the class immediately. Tearfully, Todd stands on his desk and calls, “O Captain! My Captain!” As Nolan shouts for Todd to step down, most...
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