Question: Keating is both an inspiring person and someone who has to take responsibility for what goes wrong in the film.
An idealistic teacher stirs up the conformed waters of a 1959 prep school, inspiring his students to "suck the marrow out of life". The Dead Poets Society is a film that explores the world of amusement, genuineness and self exploration, through a story of boys finding out, who they really are and being able to discover the world up-front. Our main character Keating (Robin Williams), introduces a new inspiring manner of teaching and as a consequence has had to deal with the death of Neil Perry.
The way Keating teaches his students in a manner that allows freedom and discovery of themselves and their surrounds creates no means to blame death on him. The very first scene that we are introduced to Keating is in the chapel, welcoming the students and staff back to Welton Academy. Keating is portrayed as a very respectable and official teacher that obeys the rules and passes those rules onto his students. .
Nolan gives us a positive impression when he introduces Keating as himself a graduate of this school. And who, for the past several years, has been teaching at the highly regarded Chester School in London. But this seems to change. The next few scenes introduce us to the other faculty on the campus, who seem to be overly excited about their return! The following assignments will all be due in class tomorrow. Let me remind you, anyone failing to turn in their homework assignment will be penalized one point off their final grade. The pace of the film as it guides us through and then suddenly stops to show a class room, with the students casually talking to themselves, unlike the other classrooms where they were silent and motionless. The students quickly quieten down as Keating emerges from the other room, whistling the 1812, Overture. He walks up the length of the classroom and out the door without a word.
