Dead Poets Society

breaking down, and he went into his room, quietly closing the door. Todd stepped back into his room and leaned against the wall. He was shaken as he realized that Knox had been broken. Then he heard his own name called.
    “Todd Anderson.” It was Dr. Hager. He waited at the end of the hallway. Todd took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. He opened the door and walked slowly toward the teacher.
    Dr. Hager shuffled across the campus, huffing and puffing from the obvious strain of all the running back and forth. He stopped outside the administration building, caught his breath, and walked in.
    Todd followed Hager up the staircase leading toMr. Nolan’s office, feeling like a man climbing to the gallows.
    Nolan sat at his desk, and Todd was startled to see his parents seated nearby.
    “Dad, Mom,” he said.
    “Have a seat, Mr. Anderson,” Nolan ordered.
    Todd sat in the empty chair that had been placed in front of Nolan’s desk. He looked at his parents, who sat steely-eyed and grim. A drop of perspiration fell from his brow and stained his shirt.
    “Mr. Anderson, I think we’ve pretty well put together what’s happened here. You do admit to being a part of this Dead Poets Society?” Nolan asked.
    Todd looked at his parents and at Nolan. He closed his eyes. Before he could nod “yes,” his father spoke.
    “Answer him!” Mr. Anderson said angrily.
    “Yes,” Todd said faintly.
    “I can’t hear you, Todd,” Nolan said.
    “Yes, sir,” Todd answered, not much louder than before.
    Nolan looked at Todd and his parents. He held up a piece of paper. “I have here a detailed description of what went on at your meetings. It describes how your teacher, Mr. Keating, encouraged you boys to organize the club and use it as a source of inspiration for reckless, self-indulgent behavior. It describes how Mr. Keating, both in and out of the classroom, encouraged Neil Perry to follow this obsession of acting when he knew it went directly against the explicit orders of Neil’s parents. It is Mr. Keating’s blatant abuse of his position as a teacher that led directly to Neil Perry’s death.” Nolan handed the paper to Todd. “Read this carefully, Todd,” Nolan added. “If you don’t have anything to add or amend, sign it.”
    Todd took the paper and read it, spending a long time doing so. By the time he finished, his hands and the paper were shaking. He looked up. “What... what is going... to... happen... to Mr. Keating?” he asked Nolan.
    His father stood up and shook his fist. “What does that have to do with you?”
    “It’s all right, Mr. Anderson,” Nolan said. “Sit down please. I want him to know.” He turned to Todd. “We are not yet clear as to whether Mr. Keating has broken any laws. If he has, he will be prosecuted. What we can do—and yours and the other signatures will help to guarantee it—is see to it that Mr. Keating will never teach again.“
    “Never... teach...?” Todd stammered. His father stood again and moved toward Todd. “I’ve had enough,” he shouted. “Sign the paper, Todd.”
    “Please, darling,” his mother said from her seat. “For our sakes.”
    “But... teaching is his life! It means everything to him!” Todd cried.
    “What do you care?” Mr. Anderson shouted.
    “What do you care about me?” Todd shouted back. “He cares about me! You don’t!”
    Todd’s father stood over him, white with rage, and picked up the pen. “Sign the paper, Todd,” he ordered.
    Todd shook his head. “No. I won’t sign it.“
    “Todd!” his mother cried out.
    “It’s not true! I won’t sign it.”
    Todd’s father grabbed the pen and tried to put it back in Todd’s hand. Nolan stood up.
    “That’s all right. Let him suffer the consequences,” he said. He walked around his desk to stand in front of Todd. “You think you can save Mr. Keating?” Nolan asked. “You saw it, boy, we have the signatures of all the others. But, if you don’t sign, you’re on disciplinary probation for the rest of the year. You’ll do work duty every afternoon and every weekend. And, if you set foot off campus, you’ll be expelled.”
    Todd’s parents and Mr. Nolan watched Todd, waiting for him to change his mind. Todd sat silent. “I won’t sign,” he said softly but firmly.
    “Then I’ll see you back here after classes,” Nolan said, turning his back. “Leave.”
    Todd stood and walked out the door. Nolan looked at Todd’s parents. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nolan,”