Korkmaz 1

Doruk Korkmaz
Tae Kyung Sung
Writing 39B
04.27.2017

Commencement Speech of Steve Jobs and Dead Poets Society

"Carpe diem" is a Latin phrase, which can be translated into English as "seize the

day." Seizing the day means enjoying the present instead of trusting in the future. Carpe

diem is a theme which is frequently used in literature. There are many songs, poems,

speeches and films which contains carpe diem theme. One of these literary works is the

speech, which is given by the chief executive officer of Apple Inc, Pixar and NeXT, Steve

Jobs, at Stanford University during the 114th commencement in 2005. During his fifteen-

minute commencement speech Steve Jobs focuses mainly on his personal life and tells three

separate stories from his life. The first story is about connecting the dots. In this story, Steve

Jobs explains that he dropped out the school because it was too expensive and this decision

helped him to take classes which are interesting for him. This included a calligraphy class

which led to build the Mac, the first computer with beautiful typography. The second story is

about love and loss. In this story, Steve Jobs explains that he was fired from his own company Commented [DK1]: good example

when he was thirty years old but this did not discourage him and he continued to do what he

loved. At the end, he built two very successful companies, NeXT and Pixar. The last story is

about death. In this story, Steve Jobs explains that he was diagnosed with cancer and how he

was close to death. Another of these literary works is the film, Dead Poets Society, which is Commented [DK2]: explans what he thought of carpe dem

about an entertaining and unorthodox English teacher, John Keating and group of high school

boys who attend all-boys preparatory school, which is famous with its success of sending

most of its graduates to Ivy League colleges. Mr. Keating tries to convince high school

students, who are under pressure of their parents and the school about studying, that they

should go for their own dreams instead of their parents.

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In this essay, the commencement speech of Steve Jobs and Dead Poets Society will be

compared from the aspect of having the similar idea about the secret of success in life, giving

mortality as a reason for seizing the day and changing the way people think. According to the

speech and the film, life is short and therefore, it should not be wasted seeking money or

living the life of someone else. It should be spent doing what one loves. We should do what

we love. This will also bring success.

The purpose of the first section is to examine the idea which Steve Jobs and Mr. Commented [DK3]: Clarty,clarty,clarty!!! <chuck

Keating tries to give and show that their thoughts are similar about how to succeed in life.

Steve Jobs and Mr. Keating believe that the secret of success in life is to love what you do.

According to them you should do what you love and you should give your best. If you do not

love what you are doing, you cant give your best and therefore you will not be able to

succeed. Life is too short to follow someones dream. You should believe in yourself and you

should go for your own dreams without giving up. Do not lose your desire and be determined

to finish it. These are the key factors for being successful. This purpose will be demonstrated

by explaining one of Steve Jobs stories and the first day speech of Mr. Keating to his

students.

Steve Jobs explains the secret of his success by mentioning his story about love and

loss. He states that he discovered what he wanted to do at an early age and he built

multibillion-dollar company, Apple, with this passion for computers. Despite his success, he

was fired from his own company. Although this may seem like a very negative situation for

most of the people, Steve Jobs believes that getting fired was the best thing that could ever

happened to [him] because after he was fired, he started two famous companies named

NeXT and Pixar. He explains his secrets of his success with the following words: Im

convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. Youve got to

find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is
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going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you

believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you

havent found it yet, keep looking. Dont settle. As with all matters of the heart, youll know

when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll

on. So, keep looking until you find it. Dont settle. It is obvious that Steve Jobs thinks that

everyone should try to look for what they love and when they find it, they should never give

up and they should always go for it. They might face with some difficulties, they might fail or

they might lose everything but if they do what they love and if they never give up, they will

be successful like him.

Similarly, Keating gives do what you love message by showing his students pictures

of previous Welton graduates. He says: Now Id like you to step forward over here. Theyre

not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you.

Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe theyre destined for great

things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it

was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you

see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. 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. The pictures that

Mr. Keating shows are extraordinary graduates from Welton Academy. They are the stars of

Welton Academy. They did exceptional things and therefore, they will be remembered for a

long time. Although they are dead, they are not forgotten because they should carpe diem.

He repeats carpe diem several times and he tries to emphasize that fear should not stop the

students to try new things. They should believe themselves. They should do what they love. In

order to be special like the graduates, his students should follow their dreams and they should

not limit themselves.

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In conclusion, Steve Jobs and John Keating gives the idea that only way to be

successful is to love you do. As a proof, Steve Jobs shows his own successes in his life and

Keating shows successful graduates of Welton academy. Steve Jobs states that he found what

he loved, he went for it and he didnt give up. This helped him to be a very successful person.

Keating emphasizes that if you want to be remembered, you should be extraordinary and if

you want to be extraordinary, you should do what you love.

The aim of the second section is to explain how death is used as a reason for Carpe

Diem. Steve Jobs and Mr. Keating emphasizes that our life is precious because it is limited.

We will all die at the end. There is no other choice than accepting this reality and living with

it. Since someday we will die, we should make our own decisions. We should follow our

heart and make our own decisions.

Steve Jobs describes how he was near to death by another story. He explains that he

was diagnosed with very rare form of cancer but after series of surgeries, he was cancer free.

He mentions about his disease to give the message: Your time is limited, so dont waste it

living someone elses life. Dont be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of

other peoples thinking. Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner

voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Steve Jobs

wants to emphasize that life is short and all human beings will die at the end. You do not

know how much you have. It is obvious that you will not live forever. You should stop

following other peoples principles in your own life. Do not do what others are forcing you to

do. Do not try to become what others want you to become. You should go for your dreams

instead of someone elses. You should seize the day because you are mortal!

Moreover, Steve Jobs uses mortality to make decisions. He asks himself, If today Commented [DK4]: Good connect - chuck

were the last day of my life, would I want to do what Im about to do today. He also changes

his life according to answer of this question, whenever the answer has been, no for too

many days in a row, I know I need to change something. His aim in this life is to do what he
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wants. He wants to avoid things that he does not want to do. He also concludes,

Remembering that Ill be dead soon is the most important tool Ive ever encountered to help

me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything: all external expectations, all

pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just fall away in the face of death

leaving only what is truly important. He asks himself some questions every day and he uses

his answers to improve his life and to give some decisions. It is obvious that he seizes the day

and the idea We will all be dead soon motivates him to seize the day.

Likewise, Keating believes that human beings are mortal and everyone will all die one

day; therefore, we should enjoy as much as we can. He talks about passing away just before

showing the pictures of the successful Welton graduates, We're food for worms,

lads! Because we're only going to experience a limited number of springs, summers, and falls.

One day, hard as it is to believe, each and every one of us is going to stop breathing, turn cold,

and die! Antiromantic.com site explains this quote very well when they are making analysis

of John Keating, He explains that they are all going to die eventually, so it is up to them to

make the most of their lives to seize the day before it is too late. In other words, live now so

when you look back upon your life near its end, you wont regret the choices you made and

what youve achieved in your lifetime (John Keating as a Romantic Character).

To sum up, Steve Jobs and John Keating emphasizes that we have limited days in this

life and we should be very careful while we are spending those limited days. We should live

the moment and we should do what we want to do because it might be too late. They give

being mortal as a reason for carpe diem.

The goal of the third section is to show that the commencement speech of Steve Jobs

and Dead Poets Society are very successful because they impacted many people and they

changed peoples way of thinking. They helped people to ask themselves some questions such

as Am I living my own life or someone elses? and they caused people to make some

changes to their life.

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The commencement speech of Steve Jobs is a very effective speech and it still inspires

ten years later. One example is what Bradley Gauthier wrote to his blog with the title

Connecting the Dots: How Steve Jobs Changed My Life He explains the situation he was in

before watching the video with the following words, Up until I watched this video, I had

never given full consideration into what got me to where I am. And to where I was going. I

had not yet considered the dots, let alone connect them. At that time, I had just left my well-

paying job in a Fortune 200 company to re-enter the world of entrepreneurship. I had looming

student loan debt. And I was completely over my head. After watching the commencement

speech of Steve Jobs, he starts to think about his life and tries to connect the dots. He starts

from his childhood, continues with his passion for modifying cars, helping for his dad,

skipping classes in college, taking corporate job in Chicago, destroying his financial statement

and working with hundreds of businesses. At the end, he concludes, Had I not have you in

my life I would not be where I am today. (Gauthier) Steve Jobs speech helps him to view

his life from another perspective and he starts to understand how his life connected when

he looks backwards. He understands that he should look everything from a broader

perspective. Although same stuff may seem like a failure at the beginning but it can help you

to succeed in the long term because you might learn from your failures. He is only one of the

thousands which thanks Steve Jobs, Thank [Steve Jobs] for helping me connect the dots.

Mr. Keating changed some of his students life and helped them to do what they want.

Mr. Keatings ideas are very different for the students of Welton Academy because they

believe in a simple, straightforward model of how to live their lives. Students are expected to

work hard, follow the rules, go to good colleges, find lucrative jobs, marry and have children,

and eventually raise these children in the same manner that they were raised themselves.

Essentially, all Welton boys are supposed to obey the same rules and live more or less the

same life, just as their fathers did before them, and their fathers fathers before them. (The
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Theme of Life, Death, and "Carpe Diem" in Dead Poets Society) Neil is a great example

who is impacted by Mr. Keatings ideas.

One of the students which is influenced by Mr. Keating is Neil, who wants to pursue a

career in the performing arts, instead of medicine. After Mr. Keating lessons, Neil realizes

that he has his own lesson and he is not living for his father. He wants to get rid of his fathers

impact on his life and decides to do what he wants to do, 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! There is only one problem he is afraid of his father and he doesnt

know what to do. At this point, Mr. Keating gives support and tells him that he should explain

his passion for acting to his father. If his father does not let him to act, then it is not a big

problem because he is going to graduate soon and he will be free to make his own decisions.

Mr. Keating.

To conclude, the idea of Steve Jobs and Mr. Keating, which states that you should do

what you love because life is short and it is the key for success, is an inspirational thought

which changes many peoples life. Gauthier is influenced by the commencement speech of

Steve Jobs and he started to see how life is connected when you look backwards. Neil is

influenced by Mr. Keating and decided to pursue a career in performing arts although his

father is totally against this idea.

Works Cited

Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. By Tom Schulman. Perf. Robin Williams, Robert Sean
Leonard, Ethan Hawke. Everett Theatre, 1989. Film.

Peestandingup. "Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005." YouTube. YouTube, 06

Mar. 2006. Web. 01 May 2017.

LitCharts. "The Theme of Life, Death, and "Carpe Diem" in Dead Poets Society." LitCharts.
N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2017.

"Connecting the Dots: How Steve Jobs Changed My Life." Bradley Gauthier. N.p., n.d. Web.
01 May 2017.
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"John Keating As A Romantic Character." AntiRomantic.com. N.p., 12 Sept. 2014. Web. 01

May 2017.