"An older, more experienced teacher questions whether 15- to 17-year-old kids are really ready yet to handle Keating's brand of freedom. 'Gee, I never pegged you for a cynic,' says Keating. 'I'm not,' says the other teacher. 'I'm a realist.'… Although there's a carefully placed scene in which Keating tries to make the distinction between unfettered self-expression and self-destructive behavior, the principles behind the re-formation of the Dead Poets Society eventually lead to catastrophe. It becomes clear that at least some of the boys really aren't emotionally equipped to incorporate into their own lives the kind of freedom and nonconformism that Keating is selling" (Emerson 2010). The extremity of Neil's reaction shows the vulnerability of his unformed adolescent emotions and his inability to deal with his resistance to his father in a rational fashion.

However, for all of his faults, by the end of the film, Keating's students have clearly...
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