Main Characters:

NEIL:
Neil's greatest wish is, to become an actor. His parents are not as rich as most of the other parents, so they want him to even more to focus on school and on his work.
MR. KEATING:
He is the new English-teacher of Neil's class and he brings life to Welton. He teaches the students to be extraordinary - but that's exactly what the other teachers and the parents want to avoid. Incredible as it may sound, Mr. Keating was once a student at Welton.

Summary:

The book is placed at the famous Welton-academy an exclusive college-preparation school. The whole school is based on tradition and only tradition. There is absolutely no place for new ideas and independent thinking. Neil Perry's class has just got a new English-teacher, Mr. Keating. He makes his students think and act independently and introduces incredible new teaching methods at Welton. In an old Year-book, Neil and his friends discover an entry about Mr. Keating and the 'Dead poets society'. Back in Keating's days as a student, he and his friends regularly went to a secret cave in the woods and there read poetry. The guys spontaneously decide to bring the Dead poets society back to life and often meet at the secret cave. In the meantime, Neil discovered his real love to acting and gets a great part in a school's act. He needs a letter of approval of his parents, but he knows he can't ask them and fakes the letter. Unfortunately his dad finds out the day before the play and forbids Neil to act. Neil talks to Keating about the incident with his dad and he tells him to talk to his dad and to convince him that he loves acting. But Neil is far too afraid to talk to his dad and so he decides to just ignore his dad and to do what he wants. He acts in the play, but his father also watched the play to check Neil was not there. Back home Mr Perry tells Neil his decision that he will send him to a different school for another few years and then he will go on and become a successful doctor, just as planned. Neil can't cope with that and commits suicide. Of course Neil's school takes action and promptly find a culprit - Mr Keating. They force Neil's friends to sign a paper against Mr Keating, but when they last see Keating they show their respect by standing on their desks. Even with the headmaster telling them not to.

"Carpe diem, Keating whispered loudly. Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary."