I believe Neil still would have suffered very much even if Keating never came into his life. Over time Neil's feelings would have boiled over into possibly the same thing. I think Neil was living a life of too much pressure so this finally made him chose the option to kill himself knowing he would never get to do what he loved.

I would say the Bravest would have to be Neil or Todd. Neil fought for what he believed in, and that was acting. However, when he was faced with pressure and the fact that his father said that he could not follow his dreams, he did commit suicide. This does not mean he wasn't brave, but was just faced with too much for one kid. I would honestly say none of the boys were cowards. They all tried to do their best to follow their dreams.

I believed that Keating probably put the book in Neil's room. I don't think Keating did it out of spite, but he did it to show the boys they can all be something bigger. That the society could help them all get closer to their dreams