Dead Poets Society

“[Mr. Keating] appeared to be respectable and scholarly, but Neil Perry’s father eyed the new English teacher with suspicion.”

N. H. Kleinbaum establishes Mr. Keating and Mr. Perry as opposing forces from the beginning of the novel. Mr. Keating, who attended Welton himself, was a Rhodes scholar, and taught students in England, has every appearance of fitting in with the uptight, rigorous culture of high achievement at Welton Academy. However, there is something about him from the start that Mr. Perry senses, something that might be a threat to his plan for Neil’s life.

“Beads of sweat broke out on his brow, and he clenched his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white.”

This is the first instance in the book where the severity of Todd’s social anxiety is described. Todd isn’t merely a shy student, he has a physical reaction to his fear, which stems from his feelings of worthlessness. In this case, Todd wants desperately to get out of soccer as his extracurricular so he can do rowing instead, but his nerves prevent him from saying as much.

“‘Then don’t tell me how to talk to my father when you’re the same way,’ Neil snapped. ‘All right?’” 

When the other juniors try to comfort Neil after Mr. Perry withdraws him from the school annual, they tell him that he should start standing up to his father more. This infuriates Neil, who finds the comment hypocritical. All of them are following the exact plan their fathers have for them, so they have no right to comment on Neil’s situation.