1. Would Neil still have committed suicide if Mr. Keating had never come into his life?

After much consideration and acknowledgment of multiple perspectives concerning the influence of Neil’s death, I believe it would be less probable for Neil to have committed suicide if Mr. Keating was not such a strong influence in Neil’s life. However, if Mr. Keating was taken out of the picture, I believe Neil’s passion for acting would have been repressed from his parents, especially from his father, to an extent that he would have possibly considered suicide. Mr. Keating encouraged Neil’s passion for acting but only with parental consent. Notably, he was the main influence in Neil’s life that was reassuring and encouraging about his passion for acting, making him slightly “guilty”, for a lack of a better word, of Neil’s death. Without Mr. Keating’s persistence in Neil’s life, Neil probably wouldn’t have committed suicide.

2. Who was really the bravest of Keating’s boys? Who was a coward?

I think the bravest of Keating’s boys was Charlie. He was the most confident and most rebellious out of all the boys. He is actually recalcitrant and reckless more than anything else. He resists the authority of the school and is ultimately expelled for refusing to sign the document condemning Mr. Keating. He thrives on attention and is very chauvinistic. The coward of the Keating boys is at first Todd. Todd is a introvert but eventually learns how to speak up for himself and Mr. Keating. He’s obedient and studious and can come off as cowardly at some points in the movie.

3. How did the poetry book make it into Neil’s room? (Did Keating put it there?) And if so, why, after telling the boys that the present administration would not look favorably on it, would Keating do that?

I think Mr. Keating put the poetry book in Neil’s room. I also think he put it there even though he knew administration wouldn’t approve or think highly of it because he was gearing the boys to think more for themselves and not rely on traditional teachings and ways of thinking. Keating challenged conventional concepts, some would say to an extreme.