The epitome of his father's belittlement towards Todd reached its peak when he stripped Neil of his first realized passion, acting, and suffocated Neil with the binding, and unavoidable future of him being a doctor. This ultimately lead to Neil's decision to commit suicide; the extent to which his father degraded and denied Neil's identity and the way he overvalued Neil as more of an object to control showed us Neil at his lowest. Neil found it impossible to see himself as able to overpower his father's control, as he associated his father with superiority, specifically compared to him, therefore, when his inferiority complex clashed with his need to live life his way, he felt as though he was issued an ultimatum to either follow his father or to not live at all. .
A stark contrast to his father's domineering, forceful approach in Neil's life, the new English teacher, Mr. Keating influences Neil in a way that encourages self-fulfillment over anything else. In the film, Neil was at a point where he felt capable and eager for the opportunities of life and Mr. Keating was the first person who had a technically authoritative role as his teacher, who actually taught Neil something he valued learning. Mr. Keating told them, "Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!" He also stresses the point of mortality with the boys, that they are "food for worms", as he expressed it. Mr. Keating's teachings influenced Neil's urgency and encouraged a sense of ownership to his right to live life his way. Another significant influence that Keating had on his students, and Neil especially, was the teaching to value art and poetry as the fundamental purpose of life as a human. "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute.