Dead Poets Society

1. Why exactly did Neil take his own life? Why didn’t Neil talk to his father like Mr. Keating suggested?

2. Could Neil have found another way out of his predicament? Was suicide his only answer?

3. With similarly screwed up parents as Neil's, why didn't Todd take the same way out?

4. Who was really the bravest of Keating's boys?

5. What happened to the original Dead Poets Society? Why did it cease to exist?

6. 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?

7. In the initial screenplay, Todd specifically does not sign the paper at the end. In the movie, we are not told one way or the other. Did Todd sign it or not?

8. Dead Poets Society: The Next Day... What happens next? What does the future hold for Keating and the boys?

9. Who really was to blame for Neil's death?

10. Mr. Keating said that the Dead Poets Society “wasn’t just guys reading poetry.” A) What did he mean by that? B) Explain what the members did other than reading poetry that was motivated by their membership in the Dead Poets Society.

11. What is the meaning of the “Carpe Diem” philosophy (in good or bad ways!) Give examples of how each of the following characters tried to live by the “Carpe Diem” philosophy.

12. Why does Todd stand on his desk at the end of the film? B) Not all the boys stand. Why do you think the writer presented the scene this way- what do the boys sitting represent?

13. Why is Mr. Keating fired? Comment on this occurrence. Do you feel that he was used as a right to be fired? Do you feel that he should have been fired? Who was truly at fault? What would you do for Mr. Keating (your teacher)? In your opinion, why isn’t something done to save Mr. Keating's job?

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

15. In the space below, create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Welton Academy with our school.

16. What, if anything, is missing from the boys’ education at Welton Academy? What do you feel is overemphasized?

17. What are the three most important functions of a high school education? How well do you think Welton Academy does or does not fulfill these purposes?

18. How much parental involvement is healthy in a child or teen’s life?

19. Compare and contrast the Dead Poets: Neil Perry (suicidal actor), Todd Anderson (sky kid who initiates standing on desk at the film's end), Knox Overstreet (romantic type who is obsessively infatuated with Chris), Charlie Dalton (wild child who is ultimately expelled), Richard Cameron (tall, red-head “finker”), Stephen Meeks (less tall, likable redhead), and Gerard Pitts (tall dark nerd).