Dead Poets Society

One of the main themes in Dead Poets Society is about finding your voice. This is applicable to all of the members of the Dead Poets Society, but it is perhaps the most relevant to the character of Todd Anderson. From the beginning of the novel, Todd is presented as struggling with speaking in front of others. When he receives his extracurricular assignment from Headmaster Nolan, he wants to ask to be on the rowing team instead of doing soccer. When he gets the chance to speak up, however, “Todd [stands] silent. He struggle[s] to say something, but the words just [won’t] come out” (11). As a result, he is kept on the soccer team instead of being allowed to row, like he wants.

Neil gives Todd a hard time about this at first. He says, “Todd, if you’re gonna make it around here, you’ve got to speak up. The meek might inherit the earth, but they don’t get into Harvard, know what I mean?” (18-19). Though Neal teases Todd at first, he later realizes just how difficult it is for Todd to speak in front of others. This becomes especially clear when Todd feels inadequately suited for the Dead Poets Society, because he is too afraid to take a turn reading in front of the others.