1. Even if Neil had not met Mr. Keating, I believe he eventually would have committed suicide. Mr. Keating was not the problem, Neil's father was the problem. Neil's father would have continued to press his son in a direction he did not want to go for the rest of his life until he had finally had enough. Mr. Keating told Neil to talk to his dad, he never told him to go behind his father's back.
2. The bravest of all the boys was probably Knox Overstreet. He was going against all of the strongest guys in that girl's school to talk to her and not only that, he kissed her forehead at the party with them. Then, after they beat him up for that, he still went back and got the girl.
3. I believe Keating put the poetry book in Neil's room. I think he did it because he wanted the boys to see the beauty in learning to "carpe diem" in their own lives. He knew that it may not have been the popular opinion, but it was the right thing to do if he really was living up to the standards he called his students abide by. #collegetransition