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dull days did not exist to john keating.
john walked in between the rows of bored students, lecturing about word choice.
"a man is not very tire, he is exhausted. and don't use very sad, use-" his voice boomed throughout the classroom as he pointed to the back of the classroom. "come on, mr. overstreet, you twerp." scarlett and parker shared a look as hushed giggles escaped their lips.
"morose?" knox guessed.
"exactly! morose." john smiled as knox sighed in relief. "now, language was developed for one endeavor, and that is?" john stood in front of todd's desk. "mr. anderson? come on! are you a man or amoea?" todd looked up at john, his face covered in a sheet of white. he stayed silent. john paused for a moment before he looked away.
"mr. perry?"
"uh, to communicate."
"no! to woo women." the sound of boys whistling and laughing echoed through the classroom. the three girls shared a look as they rolled their eyes. "and to break men's hearts. today we're going to be talking about william shakespeare." neil and scarlett's eyes lit up at the sound of the famous writer while the rest of the class sighed.
"i know. a lot of you looked forward to this about as much as you look forward to root canal work. we're gonna talk about shakespeare as someone who writes something very interesting. now many of you have seen shakespeare done very much like this," john held out his right arm dramatically as he began to speak in an exaggerated british accent. "'o titus, bring your friend hither.' but if any of you have seen mr. marlon brando, you know, shakespeare can be different. 'friend, romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.' you can also imagine, maybe, john wayne as macbeth going, 'well, is this a dagger i see before me?"
✰
as the students sat in their seats, john stood on top of his desk.
"why do i stand up here?"
"to feel taller." charlie shouted.
"no!" john said as he rings a bell that was on his desk with his foot, which made the class roar with laughter. "thank you for playing, mr. dalton. i stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. you see, the world looks very different from up here. you don't believe me? come see for yourself!" students quickly rise from their seats as john jumps down from his desk. neil and charlie stand on the desk and look around the classroom.
"just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try! now, when you read, don't just consider what the author thinks. consider what you think."
neil and charlie jump down from the next as scarlett and rory take their place.
"boys and girls, you must strive to find your own voice. because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. thoreau said, 'most men lead lives of quiet desperation.' don't be resigned to that. break out!"
