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电影中的Todd就是这样的一个学生。表面上他对家长和老师言听计从，但其实却漫不经心，内心里他渴望激情和舒展的生活。幸运的是，他遇到了能够发现他内心压抑的能量的朋友和老师。
在百般纠结后，Todd没有完成Keating老师留的作业，怎么也写不出一首满意的诗。
于是，在课堂上，上演了我们即将听到的一段：
Mr. Keating: Now, who's next? Mr. Anderson, I see you sitting there in agony. Come on, Todd, step up. Let's put you out of your misery.
Todd: I-I didn't do it. I didn't write a poem.
Mr. Keating: Mr. Anderson thinks everything inside of him is worthless and embarrassing. Isn't that right, Todd? Isn't that your worst fear?
Well, I think you're wrong. I think you have something inside of you...that is worth a great deal.
"I sound...my barbaric...yawp...over the rooftops...of the world." W.W.Uncle Walt, again.
Now, for those of you who don't know, a yawp is a loud cry or yell.
Now, Todd, I would like you to give us a demonstration of a barbaric yawp.
Come on, you can't yawp sitting down. Let's go. Come on, up. Got to get in yawping stance.
Todd: A-A yawp?
Mr. Keating: Not just a yawp. A barbaric yawp. Todd: Right. Yawp.
Mr. Keating: Come on. Louder. Todd: Yawp.
Mr. Keating: That's a mouse. Come on, louder! Todd: Yawp.
Mr. Keating: Oh, good God, boy, yell like a man! Todd: Yawp!
Mr. Keating: There it is. You see, you have a barbarian in you after all. You don't get away that easy. There's a picture of Uncle Walt up there. What does he remind you of? Don't think, answer. Go on.
Todd: A m-m-m-madman.
Mr. Keating: What kind of madman? Don't think about it, just answer.
Todd: A cr-crazy madman.
Mr. Keating: No, you can do better than that. Free up your mind. Use your imagination. Say the first thing that pops into your head, even if it's total gibberish.
Todd: A-A-A sweaty-toothed madman.
Mr. Keating: Good God, boy, there's a poet in you after all! There. Close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close them. Now, describe what you see.
Todd: Uh, I-I close my eyes...
Mr. Keating: Yes?
Todd: uh, and his image floats beside me. A sweaty-toothed madman. A sweaty-toothed madman with a stare that pounds my brain.
Mr. Keating: Oh, that's excellent! Now, give him action, make him do something.
Todd: H-His hands reach out and choke me.
Mr. Keating: That's it. Wonderful. Wonderful.
Todd: And all the time he's mumbling.
Mr. Keating: What's he mumbling?
Todd: Mumbling truth.
Mr. Keating: Yes.
Todd: Truth is like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.
Mr. Keating: Forget them. Forget them. Stay with the blanket. Tell me about that blanket.
Todd: Y-Y-You push it, stretch it, it'll never be enough.
You kick at it, beat it, it'll never cover any of us.
From the moment we enter crying to the moment we leave dying,
it'll just cover your face as you wail and cry and scream.
Mr. Keating: Don't you forget this.
很长的一段。对于这一段，有人质疑这样做是不是真的能逼出一首好诗来。假如，被逼迫的对象本人就是一滩死灰，那估计是怎么蒙眼睛都不管用的。但是Todd内心是渴望爆发的。在Keating老师的第一节课上，在听到seize the day, make your life extraordinary “抓住今天，让生命不同凡响”这句话时，Todd的眼中已经看的到闪烁的光芒。
不过，他还是没能写出像样的诗句来。老师形容他坐在那里的状态是in agony，处于极度的痛苦，挣扎中。于是激将他说，Todd认为自己的内在是worthless and embarrassing，毫无价值和令人难堪的。还逼着Todd喊Yawp“喊叫”这个词，并且要in yawping stance，stance，站姿，也就是还要摆好叫喊的姿势去喊出这个词。
接下来，Keating老师逼着Todd对挂在黑板上方惠特曼的画像进行描述，要求他free up your mind，free up让……自由，这里指充分发挥想象力，不加限制，甚至可以随便说出the first thing that pops into your head，pop，突然出现，也就是首先跳进脑海里的第一个词儿，哪怕它只是gibberish，胡言乱语。
随后，Keating老师甚至捂上Todd的眼睛，步步紧逼，以激发他的能量。于是有了后面的诗句。
A sweaty-toothed madman with a stare that pounds my brain. Sweaty-toothed 意思是teeth glistening with moisture 牙齿闪着潮湿的光。这样一个疯子还用pounds my brain能够“猛击我心灵”的眼光盯着我。
His hands reach out and choke me. 他的手伸出来掐住我。Choke 有“窒息；阻塞”的意思。我们常常说的喝水呛到了，也用choke这个单词表示。
And all the time he's mumbling. 这个疯子还一直在mumbling，自言自语。Mumble指“咕哝着说话”。Todd说这个疯子嘟囔的是truth, “真理”。其实，在Todd的心中对“真理”是有自己的理解的，我们可以从随后的诗句中听到他的解读。
Truth is like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold. 真理像使你脚发冷的毡子。
You push it, stretch it, it'll never be enough. 你拉它，拽它，它却永远不够长。
You kick at it, beat it, it'll never cover any of us. 你踢它，打它，却永远无法覆盖住任何人。
From the moment we enter crying to the moment we leave dying, 由我们哭着进入此生，到我们垂死离开此世，
it'll just cover your face as you wail and cry and scream. 它都只能盖着你的脸，任你悲叹，哭泣与尖叫。
这样的诗句也一定程度上反映出了理想于现实之间的碰撞。后面一部分诗中，from the moment we enter crying to the moment we leave dying一句，crying和dying都是现在分词作状语，表示enter和leave的伴随状态。哭着enter, 垂死leave。
Todd的表现让所有人吃惊，包括他自己。这正是Keating老师想要的。他走上前，告诉Todd说： Don't you forget this. 我们知道否定的一般疑问句有很强烈的感情色彩，不是真的在问，而是赞同句子中的观点。例如这句，翻译成“千万不要忘了这次经历”就更确切一些。
不得不承认，在现实和理想的对抗中，大部分时候理想会成为祭品。特别是在成人世界。但不管怎样，如同电影中Keating老师所说的那样，医学、法律、金融等等是生活支柱；但同时不要忘了诗歌，激情和对爱的信仰才是生活的精髓所在。好了，如果说Keating老师用自己的激情感染了学生，那么下期我们要介绍的这位老师，却是在如同春日午后般的平和中打开了一闪封闭已久的心门。我们下期再见。
