Line #5 TearJerker/DeadPoetsSociety


1	!!Expect unmarked spoilers. Best if you read this page after you have seen the movie.
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3	* It's small compared to what comes later, but Neil finding Todd sitting alone in the dark on his birthday after his parents got him the same terrible present as last year. Neil initially tries to justify the gift, but stops, realizing how bad [[{{ParentalNeglect}} Todd's parents truly are]]. No wonder Todd is so insecure and miserable for most of the film.
4	** The original script is even worse, as Todd outright states that his parents don't love him the way they love his brother and he'll never be good enough for them.
5	* Everything about the boys' reaction to Neil's death, particularly Todd's.
6	** Todd after hearing the news. He walks in the snow, looking around and commenting on how beautiful it is... before ''vomiting with grief'' and then charging away across the field ''screaming'' Neil's name.
7	** The other poets waking Todd up to tell him the news: the usually unflappable Charlie is in tears, and the rest are clearly shell-shocked. When they see how distraught Todd is, they try to comfort him, but end up huddled in the snow crying as well.
8	** Later, there's a brief shot of Todd sitting alone in his room. Neil's side is completely bare, and you realize Todd is trapped living in the room he and Neil shared together, with constant reminders of what happened and who he lost every single day.
9	** Overall, how shy and scared Todd started out, and that Neil was the main person who encouraged him, including him in the Dead Poets Society, telling him he could be more, and refusing to be pushed away. Just as Todd's gaining confidence and looking happier, he loses Neil, and you're left wondering how he'll keep going without him.
10	** When Keating sits at Neil's desk and flips through the book that he himself used as a member of the original Dead Poets Society, he eventually breaks down and starts weeping.
11	** A very subtle one occurs at Neil's memorial service at the school: the Poets are seen in a line, singing wistfully -- all except Charlie, who stares forward, angry, un-moving, and silent, dreading that Cameron is informing Dean Nolan of the DPS's activities.
12	* When Neil talks with Keating about his dad forcing him to withdraw from the play, Keating urges Neil to talk it out with his dad, only for Neil to lie to Keating about doing so. He feels dejected, and Keating senses disappointment when Neil can't bring himself to tell Keating or his dad the truth about his feelings.
13	* Everything about Neil and his father.
14	** Neil's sadness when his father tells him "I don't care if the world ends tomorrow night, you are through with that play!" It's topped only by his suicide.
15	** Neil's father turning up at the opening night for the play, waiting until it's done, then taking him back to their house without a word of congratulation. The others try to tell him that his son has done well, but Keating tells them dejectedly "don't make it worse than it already is." He obviously agrees with them, but knows it's too late.
16	** When Neil's father has just finished chewing him out and Neil is sitting with his mother, he has a completely spaced-out and in-the-clouds look on his face as he says, "I was really great, wasn't I?" During the conversation, his father is clearly having an ItsAllAboutMe moment, while his mother looks genuinely distraught.
17	*** If you look really closely at Neil's father after the play, when he's berating Neil about wanting to be an actor and asks him why he wants to do it, he looks more frustrated than angry, as if he really wants to know why. This makes his reaction to Neil's suicide that much more heart-wrenching, because you wonder if he actually wanted to fix his relationship with his son, and now he's lost his chance.
18	** Neil's mom screaming, "He's all right, he's all right!" when she finds Neil's body.
19	** According to Creator/KurtwoodSmith, at the film's premiere, he saw a father domineering his son in a similar manner as Mr. Perry, and after the film ended, Smith saw the same family leaving, but now, [[JerkassRealization the father was weeping in realization that he was acting the same way]].
20	* Welton blaming Keating for Neil's death, including Nolan forcing the Society to publicly turn on him. After an entire movie of Keating encouraging the boys and admitting how much he loved teaching, it's a kick in the gut.
21	** Another subtle one for Todd. Remind yourself that Keating was the parental figure he sorely lacked when you see Todd forced into signing a confession that gets him fired. He has to help fire the first adult who ever showed him kindness.
22	** Sadly, a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs for Charlie, and he gets expelled, presumably for punching Cameron and being outed as the ringleader of the Dead Poets Society.
23	* The final scene:
24	** As Keating leaves his classroom for the last time after the school fires him, [[GrewASpine Todd]] and Knox say "[[OneLinerEcho O Captain! My Captain!]]" while standing on their desks. The other members of the Society silently stand on their desks in solidarity with them and Mr. Keating. There are even members of the class who WEREN'T part of the Society who join them, meaning that it wasn't JUST the DPS that took Keating's message to heart. Doubles as SugarWiki/{{heartwarming\|Moments}}. Keating proudly smiles and thanks these students, and the movie ends with Todd looking at his former teacher.
25	*** Robin Williams' death in 2014. Fans paid their respects to the late legendary comedian by using the above aforementioned scene as a tribute.
26	** The audio commentary says Keating blamed himself for Neil's suicide and fell into a deep depression, and without the boys standing up for him, he might have never recovered.

Context TearJerker / DeadPoetsSociety