老師在一陣學校對學生嚴厲的調查後被革職,最後令人動容的一幕,Todd在校長面前站在「教室的屋脊上」,發出自己真誠的感激心聲:
“O captain, my captain!”
隨即所有學生也都站上書桌,向Mr. Keating表達了崇高的敬意。
I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately.
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.
To put to rout all that was not life, and not,
when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.
我來到森林因為我想從容地過活,
我想活出意義擷取生命的精髓,
拋開一切與生命無關的雜務,
不要等到行將就木時才發現白活一場。