Todd Anderson Influence

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Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir is a complex and thought-provoking film. The protagonist of the film although elusive to most viewers is Todd Anderson. Todd is strongly influenced by Mr. Keating; we see that Todd grows into himself; and finally, we see him get a Todd Anderson, is a character that through the course of the film is heavily influenced by Mr. Keating. We see, Todd take all the advice and encouragement that is offered by Mr. Keating and is one of the few that really understood what he taught in class and grasped hold of the teachings and encouragement that Mr. Keating gave him. A particularly defining moment of this is, when Mr. Keating tells Todd to create a poem spontaneously, and with Mr. Keating’s promptings he creates a poem, about the Sweaty-Toothed Madman: “I close my eyes and this image floats beside me/The sweaty-toothed madman with a stare that pounds my brains/His hands reach out and choke me/And all the time he’s mumbling/Truth, like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold./You push it, stretch it, it will never be enough/Kick it beat it, it will never cover any of us…” After…show more content…
Todd grows from a timid and reticent boy to a young man that can voice his own opinion. This is shown through his words when he tries to explain to Mr. Keating why he signed the paper that would condemn Mr. Keating: “Mr. Keating! They made everybody sign it…You gotta believe me. It's true... But it wasn't his fault! ...” It is also shown in Todd’s actions when in the same scene he stands up on his desk, and through a barbaric yawp says "O Captain! My Captain!" to Mr. Keating as a sign of respect as well as a final salutation, and most of the class follows his lead. It is undeniable that Todd is the protagonist of the film, he will no longer be the same bashful and diffident boy he was at the start but a young man with his own opinions and
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