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Richard Cameron
The headmaster of the prestigious Welton Academy, Nolan is a severe, strict man, who governs Welton with an iron fist and has boundless respect for the school’s tradition. Nolan hires John Keating following the retirement of another teacher. While he thinks highly of Keating at first, Nolan begins to doubt Keating’s unconventional methods, and after the suicide of Neil Perry, Nolan seemingly has no qualms about firing Keating to avoid a scandal at Welton.
Headmaster Gale Nolan Quotes in Dead Poets Society
The Dead Poets Society quotes below are all either spoken by Headmaster Gale Nolan or refer to Headmaster Gale Nolan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
As the other boys stared at him, Todd fought back tears.
“You'll like soccer here, Anderson. All right, boys. Dismissed.”
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Headmaster Gale Nolan Character Timeline in Dead Poets Society
The timeline below shows where the character Headmaster Gale Nolan appears in Dead Poets Society. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...into the great hall, many of them accompanied by their parents, as the headmaster, Gale Nolan, prepares to speak. Four of the boys carry banners into the hall, labeled “Tradition,” “Honor,”...
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Once the students have taken their seats, Headmaster Nolan announces the beginning of the ceremony. It is 1959, Nolan proclaims—the 100th anniversary of Welton....
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Nolan asks the students in the hall to name the four pillars of Welton. Most of...
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Nolan proceeds to list Welton’s accomplishments—last year, more than three quarters of graduating students went on...
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Nolan calls on some of Welton’s students to define the four pillars of success. He calls...
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Headmaster Nolan goes on to announce that an English teacher, Mr. Portius, has retired. His replacement, John...
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Finally, Nolan calls to the podium “Welton’s oldest living graduate,” Mr. Alexander Carmichael. Carmichael, a feeble-looking elderly...
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...stiffly by his son. Todd Anderson, whose parents aren’t in attendance, stands alone until, unexpectedly, Nolan approaches him. Nolan tells Todd, “Your brother was one of our best.” Nolan moves on...
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Chapter 2
The junior boys file into Headmaster Nolan’s office, past Nolan’s wife and secretary, Mrs. Nolan. Inside the office, Mr. Nolan greets a...
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As the boys leave Nolan’s office, Neil Perry greets Todd—they’ve been assigned to be roommates. Todd explains to Neil that...
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Chapter 4
...follow Mr. Keating to the Honor Room, where they had previously waited to see Headmaster Nolan. In the room, Mr. Keating asks Pitts to read a poem (written by Robert Herrick)...
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Chapter 6
...the Dead Poets Society, a society none of the students have heard of before. Headmaster Nolan swings by the students and asks Neil how he’s enjoying Mr. Keating. Neil replies that...
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Chapter 8
...for Neil. Neil explains that he’ll need to write a letter of permission to Headmaster Nolan—and in the letter, he’ll need to impersonate his own father.
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Chapter 9
...the courtyard. As the exercise goes on, everyone begins walking in synchronized rhythms. Meanwhile, Headmaster Nolan and Mr. McAllister watch from their windows, amazed. The point of the exercise, Keating says,...
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Chapter 10
...his face, and the other Dead Poets are exhausted and hung over. In the chapel, Nolan announces that there was a “profane article” in the school paper—he commands the “guilty persons”...
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...Charlie, carrying a ringing phone. With exaggerated seriousness, he answers the phone, then says, “Mr. Nolan, it’s for you—it’s God. He said we should have girls at Welton.” Everyone laughs and...
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Nolan marches Charlie to his office, where he asks Charlie who else was involved in writing...
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Charlie returns to his dorm, where his friends are waiting for him. He explains everything Nolan told him, and continues to insist, “My name is Nuwunda.”
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Later that day, Nolan visits Mr. Keating in his classroom and asks him about how his classes have been...
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Chapter 14
...The teachers of Welton attend the funeral, Keating included. Later, at the Welton chapel, Headmaster Nolan makes a speech for the boys, in which he says Neil was “a fine student,...
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...back in their dormitory, Meeks tells the Dead Poets that Cameron is talking to Headmaster Nolan right now—explaining everything about the Dead Poets Society. Charlie nods, realizing what’s going on—Welton needs...
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Chapter 15
...Neil’s death is almost complete. One by one, Dr. Hager marches the students into Headmaster Nolan’s office. Meeks comes back from his meeting with Nolan, crying. Outside Nolan’s office, he explains...
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A few minutes later, Dr. Hager comes outside to bring Todd in to meet with Nolan. Inside the office, Todd finds Nolan waiting with Todd’s own parents. Nolan asks Todd, “You...
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...sign the contract. But Todd refuses. Keating loves teaching, Todd insists—Todd won’t destroy Keating’s life. Nolan turns away, telling Todd’s parents, “Let him suffer the consequences.” Nolan warns Todd that if...
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...the middle of class. The Dead Poets turn nervously and see their former teacher. Headmaster Nolan is teaching the English class.
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Nolan nods curtly to Keating, then asks his students what authors they’ve been studying all year....
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...read the essay. Suddenly, Todd jumps up and says, “They made everybody sign it!” As Nolan shouts for Todd to sit down, Keating replies, “I believe you, Todd.” Nolan orders Keating...
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