okay let’s talk about charlie nuwanda dalton
on the surface he’s like every other pretentious privileged white hetero male, he’s smug, he’s entitled, he’s cocky and a show off. and it’s so easy to just leave his character there. but let’s talk about charlie some more because honestly everyone only seems to care about todd and neil because they’re the most messed up but no let’s look at dalton for a sec:
one of the first things he does is tells neil to tell off his parents. ‘okay so i don’t like it any more than you do’. just because we don’t see a full back story doesn’t mean there isn’t one there. there’s no way charlie has an easy ride at home w a line like that come on
he’s so desperate to be the centre of attention that he’ll literally go out of his way to get it like he makes the effort to make jokes w keating and w the boys he even chanGES HIS FREAKING NAME because he just craves the love and attention it gives him
keating and dalton have a relationship just like neil and keating do, keating is the first teacher who allows charlie to be himself and praises him for it, remember dalton is the first to rip out the front page of the poetry book, also he ‘exercises his right not to walk’ to which keating says ‘you just demonstrated the point of the exercise’ they get each other they’re on the same wavelength unlike neil and keating neil needs keating to be a guiding light and mentor dalton just needs him to be an equal and keating gets that
also keating does give dalton advice probably the best advice he’ll ever get about being daring and how there’s a time and a place for it and he knows he over stepped the mark but keating still jokes with him he doesn’t take it all away he just reminds him ‘sucking the marrow out of life doesn’t mean chocking on the bone’
‘dammit neil the name’s nuwanda’ is actually really sad why does no one realise this like ‘hey neil i obviously am hurt not only physically but mentally too and i can’t deal right now so leave me alone but you know this poetry thing helped me too i would never rat you out i’ll take the fall as always im prepared to but i can’t show any true emotion so i’ll live up to this stupid bravado i’ve created for myself’
if you don’t think the poetry helped him i think you’re forgetting that dalton is the first boy to write and share an original poem in the cave like hello that takes guts again just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen i genuinely believe dalton had the same kind of scene as todd when he was trying to write and ahhh
also the sax dalton plays the saxophone and he messes around in the cave like ‘ahahah jokes’ and then he actually plays and it’s beautiful and sad and none of his friends seem to know he plays and like obviously music is his escape and he just shared it with them that’s pretty damn special
also back to parent trouble ‘my parents made me take clarinet for years’ you can guarantee he did not wanna be there and that he fought with his parents over it
he’s the only boy who cries when neil dies (bar todd but that’s afterwards). neil was his best friend and the only thing dalton cares about is his apprearence but he can’t keep up pretences for neil he has to let his emotions out and you can bet your sweet ass that charlie was the first one who was told about his death and that he went around and woke up every single one of the other boys to tell them and that he saved todd till last because he knew it would be the hardest but he still insisted on doing it himself and not having one of the other boys tell him
he also let’s todd cry. in the snow the other boys awant to run after him and are shouting for him but charlie shouts 'no!! leave him be’ he understands the pain but can’t show it like todd because he’s so damn broken
he punches cameron square in the mouth even after hes told not to even after he turns away and think about it this boy is so calculated he knows exactly what he’s doing at all times he knew the consequences but he does it anyway and do you know what he doesn’t even care that he gets expelled im sure his parents and teachers put him through hell after the film ends and he’ll never have another teacher like keating or a friend like neil
to conclude, yes, charlie nuwanda dalton has the exterior self centred arrogant prick but he’s so much more than that. i really hope after the film ends he goes on to live a full and happy life because he deserves it just as much as the others (somehow i doubt it but this text post is long enough as it is)
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