NOVEL - DEAR MR. KILMER

IT’S A FINAL COUNTDOWN

IT’S A FINAL

COUNTDOWN
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PAPER 2 ( SECTION D – NOVEL)
Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff

ELEMENTS OF THE NOVEL

a. THEMES and MORAL VALUES

Theme is the central or main ideas of a piece of writing while moral values are lessons or
messages the author wants to deliver to the audience. More often than not, themes and
moral values are treated as two different things. In reality, they are actually two different
sides of the same coin.

Themes can be identified by a word or phrases summarising the story. Moral values are
usually written in imperative tone, often begin with phrases like, “We should...” or “We
must...”

Patriotism Xenophobia Love amongst
( fear of foreign Family members

people )

The Importance Themes In Self versus
Of Dear Mr Kilmer community

Education War

Popularity Fairness And
Equality
Friendship

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1.Xenophobia
- The vandalism of Prairie Haus was because of anti- German feelings

2. Love amongst Family members
- The Knights and The Schermers

3. Self versus community
– Richard’s beliefs against the people around him. He stands by his beliefs although many

others in the community practice discrimination out of ignorance and fear.

4. War
- The First World War took place during the time of his story.

5. Friendship
- Richard’s friendship with Hannah and Joyce Kilmer.

6. Fairness and equality
- Mrs Hansen’s selection of winners for the essay-writing competitions.

7. Popularity
- The other students’ opinion that Peggy and Abner should win.

8. The Importance of Education
- Pa’s wish for his sons to have an education.

9. Patriotism
– Joyce Kilmer and Otto Schermer fighting in the war.

b. MORAL VALUES

1. Stand firm in what you believe in – Richard was friends with the Schermer despite receiving
a lot of pressure to stay away from them.

2. Family Relationships- The knights and the Schermers care about each other’s safety and
worry about each other’s safety.

3.The gift of friendship – Richard and Hannah supported each other when their classmates
were unkind to them. Richard also received moral support and encouragement from Joyce
Kilmer.

4. War benefits no one- Many lives were lost and the people of Turtle Lake were divided. Unity
was lost because of discrimination.

5. The value of education-Pa insisted that Gus finish his high school education before joining
the army. Ignorance caused discrimination, as seen in the community’s misconception of
Germans.

6. Be creative – Poetry writing is a form of creative expression which brings comfort to both
Richard and Joyce Kilmer.

7. Respect for others – Some residents of Turtle Lake did not respect the Schermers simply
because they were of a different ethnic background.

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Below are examples of how themes and moral values, and how both can share the same answer
when answering the questions:

THEMES MORAL VALUES YOU SHOULD RELATE TO
- Richard was being discriminated for his interest,
Discrimination / We should not belief and principle (his love for poetry and
prejudice discriminate or prejudice standing up for the Schermers)
against anyone with
different race/creed. - Hannah Schermer was being scorned for
winning the role of Lady Liberty fairly only
because she is a German-American.

- The Schermers were being discriminated and
accused of being German spies, their tavern was
vandalised because they are German-Americans
and they still practise German traditions.

- When Hannah’s book cover was sprawled with
‘Dirty Hun.’ Show how Richard defended Hannah

when his other classmates badmouthed her.

Standing up for We must be brave to - The signing of sympathy card for the
what is right stand up for what is Schermers when their tavern was vandalised.
right Show how Richard was brave to sign the card
despite being threatened by Abner and Harry.

- When Hannah was being scorned for winning
the role of Lady Liberty fair and square. Show
how Richard defended her and finally turned
down his role as the Doughboy in order to show
his support for her.

Being kind / We should be kind / - Richard’s treatment towards Hannah when she
concerned / concerned / thoughtful
thoughtful to others was being discriminated, e.g. her book cover was
sprawled with ‘Dirty Hun,’ her family’s tavern was

vandalised, she was being scorned at for winning

the role of Lady Liberty.

Being mean - How majority of Turtle Lake people discriminate
unfair / We should never be and was being prejudice against the Schermers

mean or unfair to others because they are of different race and creed.

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b. Characters

RICHARD KNIGHT

• Pale, slender and tall with blonde hair, resembles his mother.
• Kind, sympathetic , a nature lover and true to his principles
• Hardworking, humble and helpful
• Courageous

-send card to Hannah and having fight with Abner and Harry
• Diligent and Helpful

-He always help Pa in farm and Angie in the kitchen doing the house chores.
• Selfless

-turn down the role after Hannah
• Sensitive

-Could not kill the buck even having a chance to do it.
• Mature,Open Minded

-not sided with people who disturb Hannah
• Poetic, creative and artistic

-borrow book from Mrs Hansen
-write poems and keep it in drawer
• Quiet
-Love being alone and not like to talk to much.

HANNAH SCHERMER

• Richard’s classmate : beautiful with blue eyes and blonde hair ‘like corn silk’
• Patient

-still strong even her tavern had been vandalized
• Intelligent and helpful

-always helping Richard with good ideas and suggestion to complete his poem.
- one of the best writers in the class
- won the essay competition and helped to revise Richard’s poem.
• Sensitive and supportive
• turns down the role of Lady Liberty when she knows it will upset many people
• goes with Richard to the newspaper office.
• Appriciative
-thanked Richard for sending her the sympathy card
• Generous and Kind Hearted
-She bakes cookies for Mr Kilmer
-Invited Richard for supper

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SERGEANT JOYCE KILMER

• An unseen character
-the reader only knows him through his letters to Richard

• A poet / Poetic
-Works for The New York Times
-A father of five and a sergeant in the American armed forces.
- write numerous of poet. One of his poet is tree

• Kind, thoughtful, encouraging and brave
- Tells Richard not to keep his poetry a secret.

• Honest
- Admits his fear of going to war and his sadness that he cannot be home for
Christmas.

• Understanding
-he understands Richard feelings and feel not awkward when communicating by the
way of writing letter.

• Helpful
-give Richard advice and motivation through letter

• Patriotic
-joined the war eventhough he is a famous poet.

c. EVENTS

Other than simply reading through the novel chronologically, there is another way to look at the
event. When doing revision on important events, we should focus on these two things:

i. character-defining events,
ii. character-changing events, and
iii. plot-turning events.

CHARACTER-DEFINING EVENTS

Character-defining events are events that introduce and elaborate the characteristics of
the main characters (and sometimes, minor characters). Below are examples of character-
defining events in this novel:

EVENTS CHARACTERS CHARACTERISTICS
Richard Loves nature
The Knights went out hunting Thoughtful
(Chapter 1) Gus
Pa Rude / Boastful
Protective
Hannah’s book cover was Richard Reserved
sprawled with ‘Dirty Hun’ Abner, Harry and Blanche Kind
Rational
Mean
Prejudice

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IT’S A FINAL COUNTDOWN Richard Hardworking
Thoughtful
During summer school break Pa Sensitive
when Richard helped Pa Observant
doing work at their farm Johann Schermer Reserved and distant
(Hannah’s father)
Richard had dinner with the Frieda Schermer Optimist
Schermers (Hannah’s mother) Appreciate arts

Pessimist
Appreciate arts

CHARACTER-CHANGING EVENTS

Character-changing events are events that develop the characters. It can be the
changes to both the main character(s) and the minor characters. Below are character-changing
events in this novel:

EVENTS CHARACTERS

Richard exchanges letters Before After
with Mr. Kilmer
Richard has no confidence He becomes more confident

as he cannot fit in with others to share his poetry

Richards shares his poetry His classmates are prejudice Richard earns the respects
and Mr. Kilmer’s letters with towards Richard because he from some of his classmates

his classmates does not fit in with others

Richard signs the card and Hannah was angry and bitter Hannah became close
sends it to the Schermers after her family’s tavern has friends with Richard

been vandalised

PLOT-TURNING EVENTS

Plot-turning events are events that change the plot, either causing a problem or
solving a problem. Below are plot-turning events in this novel:

EVENTS WHAT HAPPENED? CONSEQUENCES

World War I In April 1917, America has Turtle Lake residents become
declared war on Germany. prejudice and discriminating
towards the Schermers because
they are German-Americans.

Signing a sympathy Mrs. Hansen asks her students Other students especially Abner
card for the to sign a card to show their
Schermers sympathy for the Schermers and Harris begin to discriminate
because their tavern has been
Richard. Richard is labelled
“Hun’s Lover” and get into a

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Lady Liberty and The vandalised but only Richard brawl with Abner and Harry.
Doughboy selection signed the card
Mrs. Hansen held an essay Richard also declined his role as
writing competition to select The Doughboy to show his
students for the roles of Lady support for Hannah. However,
Liberty and The Doughboy. people began to call him traitor
Hannah won the role fair and and unpatriotic. Richard was
square but it has caused a riot later being scolded by Pa after
among Turtle Lake people. She Abner’s father, Ike Lewis,
decided to turn down the role. complained to Pa.

The death of Mr. Richard wrote a letter to ask Mr. Richard wrote a poem entitled “In
Kilmer Kilmer about how poets and Memory of Sergeant Joyce
poetry can make the world Kilmer” and published it in Turtle
better but Hannah told him Lake Weekly. Pa was moved by
about Mr. Kilmer’s death the poem that he kept repeating,
“A world is dead and gone!”
because it reminds him of his
dead brother, Roland. Pa began
to open up with Richard.

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN DEAR MR. KILMER (Not following chronological order)

EVENTS NOTES
Hunting VS Poetry Shows that Richard
Richard didn’t kill the buck because he hates has different belief and
violence. principle regarding life.

PROBLEM Gus advised him to fit in (be normal like others)
FITTING IN but Richard disagreed.

Hannah was bullied Shows that Hannah is
Hannah cried in the hallway because her book being discriminated
cover was sprawled with “Dirty Hun.” only because she is a
German-American.
Abner, Harry and Blanche badmouthed Hannah
because she is a German-American.

SIGN THE Prairie Haus was vandalised Shows that Turtle Lake
SYMPATHY Mrs. Hansen wanted her students to sign a card children are prejudice
CARD to show sympathy for the Schermers towards German

Nobody signed except Richard. Richard was firm with
his principle.

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Sending the card to the Schermers Shows that Richard is
Richard offered to help Mrs. Hansen to deliver the physically strong even
card to the Schermers.
though Abner called
Abner and Harry tried to stop Richard but they him ‘sissy.’
were subdued by him.

Hannah and Richard became friends
Later, Hannah apologised to Richard for being
rude to him

Hannah wondered why people do bad things.

Richard explained it is because “people are
scared.” Other kids in their class did not sign the

card because they were afraid.

The poem “Tree” Inspires Richard to
Mrs. Hansen read Mr. Kilmer’s poem to class write a letter to Mr.
Joyce Kilmer.
Abner said poems and poets are “sissy stuff.”

Mrs. Hansen explained that Mr. Kilmer is brave as
he volunteered to fight for the country.

FIRST Received letter from Mr. Kilmer Richard now has the
confidence to share his
CORRESPON Richard asked Mr. Kilmer’s advice about sharing poetry with others.
DENCE
his love for poetry with others.

Mr. Kilmer encouraged Richard to write and share
his poems with others.

Sharing his poems with his family
Pa and Angie were indifferent.

Gus felt disgusted. He called poetry “sissy stuff.”

Gus warned Richard not to let others know he

writes poems because people already called him
“Hun Lover.”

Sharing his poems with Mrs. Hansen
Mrs. Hansen was proud of Richard and helped
Richard choose a poem to send to Mr. Kilmer.

She wanted Richard to share his poems and Mr. 9
Kilmer’s letters in class.

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SHARING Richard shared his poems and letters Some students began
POEMS AND Richard read the poem he sent to Mr. Kilmer and to show respect to
LETTERS the latest letter received from him. Richard.

Hannah helped improved a poem Richard wanted
to send to Mr. Kilmer.

WHAT IS Mr. Higby’s lesson Shows that most
HUN? Mr. Higby told the students that American troops people misunderstood
were arriving in France. the term “Huns” due to
propaganda by the
He explained the correct usage of “Huns.” Allies.

DURING Richard helped Pa at the farm Shows that Richard is
SUMMER Richard loved school but loved farming more. hardworking.
HOLIDAY
Richard spent a lot of time helping Pa at the farm. Shows that Pa is
reserved and distant.
They spent the entire days together but there was
a strange barrier between them.

Essay writing contest
There was a patriotic programme to help sell
Liberty Bonds to finance the war.

Mrs. Hansen held an essay writing contest to
choose who will play Lady Liberty and the
Doughboy.

Richard won ‘the Doughboy’ role
In his essay, Richard suggested to write to young
American soldiers to show support.

LIBERTY Most of the students clapped but some were
BONDS disappointed.
INCIDENT

Hannah won ‘Liberty Lady’ role Shows how
In her essay, Hannah talked about making peace. discrimination and
She said the real enemy is war itself. prejudice are
widespread in Turtle
She suggested civilians to wage war against Lake
prejudice and hatred and learn to accept others
regardless of caste, creed and colour.

Abner, Harry and Peggy disliked her.
Nobody clapped except Richard.

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Declining the roles Shows that Hannah is
Everyone at school talked about Mrs. Hansen’s considerate
decision to choose Hannah as Lady Liberty
Shows that Richard is
Some parents complained to the principal. thoughtful and kind
Hannah decided to decline the role.

Mrs. Hansen was upset to announce Hannah’s
decision. Some students were happy but Richard
was shocked.

Richard also declined his role to show his support
for Hannah.

After school, Richard told Gus that he was invited
to have dinner at the Schermers.

Gus told Richard that people were calling him
unpatriotic and a traitor for declining the role.

Gus told Richard that Pa will find out.

DINNER WITH A family that appreciates arts The Schermers are
THE SCHERMERS Richard met Mr. and Mrs. Schermer. from middle-class
family, unlike most
They loved literature, history and art. people in Turtle Lake
who are farmers.

Hannah’s parents told Richard about their family
and the stories of big cities they have visited.

The Schermers told Richard that he was always
welcome to their house.

Ike Lewis’s accusations
Pa told Richard that Ike Lewis complained that
Richard was siding with the Schermers by
declining the role. Ike also said Richard was
unpatriotic and hopes German will win the war.

CONVERSATION Richard explained the truth and defended the
WITH PA Schermers against Ike’s accusations.

Pa’s advice
Pa told Richard not to side with the Schermers.

Pa said that they are farmers and different from 11
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Pa reminded Richard that Ike and other folks
helped harvest their crops when he broke his leg.

Pa reminded Richard to fit in with the community
and not to stand above everybody.

A quarrel with Pa Shows that Gus was
Gus told Pa he had enlisted in the army and hard-headed, hasty
would join the war after graduation. and inconsiderate.

Pa was angry with his decision but Gus said he
won’t die because he was too tough and smart.

GUS JOINED Pa was offended because it sounded as if Gus
THE ARMY thought Uncle Roland wasn’t tough and smart.

Pa grumbled that Gus always ran away from farm
work by giving excuses (i.e. sports, war).

Gus left for Sioux City Shows that Pa was
Richard tried to calm Gus down. angry but at the same
time worried about Gus
Gus said Pa is disappointed with him because he because he lost Uncle
would never become a farmer. Roland the same way.

Gus was disappointed with Richard because his
head is full of dream and poems.

The next day, Gus left for Sioux City. He tried to
say goodbye but Pa remained silent.

Last letter from Mr. Kilmer Shows that Richard is
Mr. Kilmer was writing “The Rouge Bouquet” in curious.
the trench.
THE BIG
QUESTION He advised Richard to read the works of other
great poets and carry on their work if they die
fighting, because poets play an important part in
the world.

Richard wanted to know what can poets and
poetry do to make the world better?

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Richard received the news
Richard wanted to quickly send his letter,
asking how poets and poetry can make the
world better.

He stopped at Hannah’s house.

Hannah told Richard that Mr. Kilmer has been
killed. It was in the newspaper.

“In Memory of Sergeant Joyce
Kilmer”

Richard was sad to hear the news. Now he

would never know the answer to his question.

Richard did not want to write another poem
again because it did not stop Mr. Kilmer from
being killed, or stop the war.

THE DEATH However, he somehow wrote a poem entitled
OF “In Memory of Sergeant Joyce Kilmer.”
MR. KILMER
Sharing the sad poem
Richard wanted to share the poem but he knew - Shows that
Pa and Angie never understood his passion in Richard is
writing poetry. thoughtful and
considerate
Richard shared the poem with the Schermers.
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The Schermers encouraged Richard to get his
poem published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’ but

Richard was afraid to make Pa angry.

Publishing the poem

Richard and Hannah went to see Mr. Garrison,
the newspaper’s owner.

Richard knew he was an embarrassment to Pa
and was afraid to embarrass him more.

Richard’s poem was published a few days later.

Richard reassured himself that Pa will not be
shocked.

Pa finally opened up

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After the farm work, Pa read the newspaper.
He asked if Richard knew about Mr. Kilmer’s
death.

Pa was not angry. For the first time, Pa talked
about Uncle Roland.

Uncle Roland was killed in Cuba on July 1 but
the newspaper only reported, “American
casualties were slight” but to Pa, Uncle Roland
was the world.

Pa was moved by Richard’s poem because his
poem used the words Pa used when Uncle
Roland died: “A world is dead and gone!”

A HAPPY A happy family
ENDING Both Pa and Richard finally understood why
Richard wrote poetry. Richard now wrote
regularly for ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly.’

Pa now enjoyed Richard’s poems and even
helped to correct or give suggestions with his
farming experience.

The whole family was amused that Gus was still
training for a war that was over.

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ANSWERING NOVEL QUESTION

Unlike essay questions, novel question does not focus on how many evidences you can
list down. When answering any novel question, you need to consider these:

✓ Are you answering the question?
✓ Can you relate the question with suitable evidence(s)?
✓ Are your evidences detailed?
✓ Is your answer organised and well-structured, or is it all over the place?
✓ Can you respond to the question by relating it to yourself?
These are among the things you need to consider in order to get good marks for novel
response. Sounds difficult? Actually, it is not that difficult if you use the template provided in this
module.

ANSWER REQUIREMENTS

Basically, this is how you should answer the novel questions:

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)
1) Mention the title of the novel and the author.
2) Provide a brief synopsis in one or two sentences.
3) Repeat the question.
4) State the main ideas (OPTIONAL – depends on question).

Paragraph 2
1) Simple sentence stating the FIRST main idea (the “cause”).
2) State reason.
3) Provide evidence(s) with keywords from the novel.
4) Link to the “effect” (for KBAT).

Paragraph 3
1) Simple sentence stating the SECOND main idea (the “cause”).
2) State reason.
3) Provide evidence(s) with keywords from the novel.
4) Link to the “effect” (for KBAT).

Paragraph 4 (OPTIONAL)
1) Simple sentence stating the THIRD main idea (the “cause”).
2) State reason.
3) Provide evidence(s) with keywords from the novel.
4) Link to the “effect” (for KBAT).

Last Paragraph (Conclusion)
1) Conclude your answer by RE-STATING the main ideas (Paragraph 1, sentence 4).
2) Mention about your hope OR thought (depends on question)

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ANSWER TEMPLATE (This is how your novel answer will look like)

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)
The novel I learnt is ____(title of novel)___ by __(name of author)__. This novel is about

_______________(a short synopsis in just one to three sentences)______________. The
______________________(repeat the question here)_________________________. This is
because ____________(state the main ideas)_________________.

Paragraph 2
First of all, _________________(state FIRST main idea)_____________________. This

is because ___________(state reason)____________. This is shown in the story when
___________(provide evidence(s) with keywords from the novel)__________________.
______________(Write MORE than TWO sentences)____________________________. As we
can clearly see now, _________(link the “cause” to an “effect”)_____________.

Paragraph 3
Moreover, ________________(state SECOND main idea)____________________. This

is because ___________(state reason)____________. This is shown in the story when
___________(provide evidence(s) with keywords from the novel)__________________.
________________(Write MORE than TWO sentences)____________________________. It is
clear as day that __________(link the “cause” to an “effect”)_____________.

Paragraph 4 (OPTIONAL)
Apart from that, _______________(state THIRD main idea)___________________. This

is because ___________(state reason)____________. This is shown in the story when
___________(provide evidence(s) with keywords from the novel)__________________.
__________________(Write MORE than TWO sentences)_______________________. Now we
can see that ____________(link the “cause” to an “effect”)_____________.

Last Paragraph (Conclusion)

In conclusion, _________________(re-state the main ideas)___________________. I
hope ___________________________________________________________________.

OR

In my opinion / I think, _______________________________________________________.

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BLANK TEMPLATE FOR EXERCISE

The novel I learnt is ___________________________ by ___________________. This
novel is about __________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________. The
_____________________________________________________________________. This is
because ____________________________________________________________.

First of all, __________________________________________________________. This
is because __________________________________________________________. This is
shown in the story when ________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
As we can clearly see now, ___________________________________________________.

Moreover, __________________________________________________________. This
is because __________________________________________________________. This is
shown in the story when ________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
It is clear as day that ________________________________________________________.

Apart from that, ______________________________________________________. This
is because __________________________________________________________. This is
shown in the story when ________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Now we can see that ________________________________________________________.

In conclusion, _______________________________________________________. I
hope ___________________________________________________________________.

OR

In my opinion / I think, _______________________________________________________.

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SPM Trial 2018 - Negeri Sembilan

Question: Write about a difficult situation faced by one of the characters and how he
or she deals with it.

The novel that I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a

boy named Richard Knight who finds his love in poetry but has some obstacles hindering him to

pursue his dream. I would be describing the difficult situation faced by Richard and how he deals

with it. The difficult situation was when Richard is being the only friend who shows his

support to Hannah whose tavern has been vandalised by the irresponsible and prejudiced

villagers just because she has German descent.

Firstly, it is hard for Richard for being the only person who signs the sympathy card
for Hannah Schermers. Richard’s classmates were being unkind to the Schermers after the

tavern was vandalised. Mrs. Hansen brought the card to express regret for what had happened.

Mrs. Hansen asked the class to sign the card. The troublemakers like Abner, Harry, Peggy and

Blanche refused to sign the card. They warned other classmates not to sign the card. The boys

were afraid Abner and Harry would hit them. The girls worry that popular girls like Peggy and

Blanche would not speak to them. However, Richard bravely took the card from Mrs. Hansen

after school. He wanted to give Hannah the card and Hannah accepted the card reluctantly.

Later, Hannah apologised to Richard for being rude. This was the beginning of their friendship.

Personally, I think that we must stand by our principles and do what is right. Be brave in

defending ourselves in spite of the turbulences and challenges we might face. I would like to

stress again that Richard bravely faced the situation by standing for what is right despite

the threats he has to endure for signing the card.

Furthermore, Richard tries his best to convince Hannah that he is different from

other people in the Turtle Lake. It is because Hannah sulked for thinking that Richard would not

help her. Richard was angry because some Turtle Lake people were being unfair to the

Schermers. They vandalised the Scermers’ tavern and painted ‘Dirty Huns’ all over the walls.

They said that the Schermers were Huns. Some Turtle Lake people believed that Huns were a

barbaric clan originated from Germany. They said that the Schermers were unpatriotic because

they spoke Germany and served Hun food at their tavern while a war was going on against

Germany. On the other hand, Richard, being different from the rest of the community fights

against this prejudice and maltreatment. Instead of conforming to what the villagers and his

classmates do, he defies the odd. Even though it seems difficult for him, he disapproves

what others do to Hannah. He shows his support albeit some friends were making threats to

him for befriending Hannah. In my point of view, we must not judge the book by its cover. Despite

the difference we have with others, we must always help our friends in trouble. If I were Richard, I

might not have the guts to muster up the courage defending someone who is being labelled as an

enemy to my own country. I might turn up being as ignorant as the others for the sake of not

getting blamed on. So, I would like to restate that Richard worked hard to gain Hannah’s trust

and preserve their friendship by showing Hannah that he is not as prejudiced as the

others.

Other than that, Richard wanted to support Hannah when Hannah won the role of

Lady Liberty despite the hatred and disapproval of other parents. To illustrate, people

unfairly denied her role as Lady Liberty. Mrs. Hansen asked the class to write an essay as one of

the activities for a patriotic programme which helped sell Liberty bonds. Many students were

angry when Hannah won the role after writing the best essay. They regarded Hannah as an

unpatriotic German although she was an American citizen. Some parents complained to the

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principal and demanded Mrs Hansen to choose someone else. Mrs Hansen did not change her
mind. Hannah told Richard that her essay started a little war in Turtle Lake.

She did not want to cause any troubles. So she decided to decline the role of Lady
Liberty. However, Richard still supports Hannah for what she had done to the extent that he
declined his role as a dough boy for the sake of showing support to Hannah when Hannah
refused to be the Lady Liberty. In my opinion, as adults, we must be a role model to the others to
show concern about anyone in our surroundings regardless of the difference. Despite the
disapproval and deluge of complaints made by the parents, Richard stands on his principle by
showing Hannah his support. He was not afraid of the situation. Rather, he took the chance of
declining the role to show Hannah that he was not as discriminative as the others. In life, there
will always be discrimination if we still have lower class mentality. It would eventually change if
we think positively of others rather than blindly judging them for whom we thought they are. I
would like to stress again that Richard supported Hannah when she won the roles of Lady
Liberty.

To sum up, I admire and respect Richard because he has good personalities. Besides,
although Hannah Schemer and her family are mistreated by Turtle lake people, they remained
calm and patient.

~~~S~P~M~~T~R~I~A~L~2~0~1~8~:~T~E~R~~E~N~G~G~~A~N~U~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Determination will get you through anything.”

Write about one character who has such determination in the novel that you have read. Support
your answer with close reference to the text.

The novel that I read is Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a boy named
Richard Knight who loves to write poems but has some obstacles faced by him from pursuing his
dream. Based on the novel, one character who has such determination is Richard Knight.

Firstly, determination is shown when Richard expresses his true feeling by misfiring
his first buck purposely to show that he seriously does not want to kill the buck. Richard
thought that hunting is not important because animals are the beautiful creatures that should not
be killed. It is proven when Richard tells Pa that he feels painful and breaks into tears to kill an
animal when Pa asks Richard why he purposely misfires shooting the buck. Pa tells Richard not
to go hunting anymore if he does not like it. Even though he is torn between expressing his
thought and following his father’s request, he decides to choose the former regardless of the
risk he has to face for failing to do so. As a result for misfiring the buck, he does not mind
facing the mockery his brother Gus throws at him. Although he is being belittled with the
name calling, “Small Fry” by his brother, he is determined to stand on his principle of doing
what is right, which is not to kill innocent animals. In my opinion, as a teenager, being
determined in expressing what you feel is not right is very difficult especially to your own
family members who supposed to understand but rather choose to ridicule your choice. In my
opinion, if I were Richard, I will stand for the right thing as we have to be a nature lover to keep
God’s nature wholeheartedly. If Richard is not determined enough to express what he feels,
he will have to do what he hates most which is killing the animal. To our knowledge, we need
each other to stay survive in this world happily. Thus, Richard shows his determination when
he boldly speaks what his heart has to say which is to object his father’s wish for hunting.

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Next, the event that shows Richard is determined is when he fight prejudice and
injustice after being the only student who does not refuse to sign the sympathy card for
the Schermers even though his other classmates refused to sign it. It is shown when Mrs.
Hansen asks the whole class to sign the card for the Schermers because someone has
vandalised the tavern owned by Hannah’s parents. They paint ‘’Dirty hunt’’ all over the walls. So,
Mrs. Hansen brings a card to express regret for what has happened. However, Richard is the
only student who signs the sympathy card for Hannah because for him we should befriend
everyone and not to be racist. Richard is determined to stand up for Hannah while the rest
choose not to do so. Not only that, Richard is determined to show everyone that Hannah is not
supposed to be treated unfairly. Willingly, he volunteers to send the card by himself and rather
chooses to fight against Abner and harry who are mocking him. Fighting prejudice in his
classroom is hard enough for Richard, what’s more to go against the entire community he lives
in with the double standard rules and corrupted authority but he never gives in to the situation.
In my point of view, being racist will make the situation worse. So we need to befriend everyone
without thinking about their races. Hence, I would strongly restate that Richard portrays to
others his strong determination when he fights against prejudice and injustice his friend
Hannah is facing.

Thirdly, the incident when Richard declines his role as a Doughboy to maintain his
friendship is one of the events that shows he is determined to do something that is right
for his friend. This occurs when Richard and Hannah win the roles as the Lady Liberty and the
Doughboy respectively because they write the best essays. Mrs. Hansen asks the class to write
an essay as it is one of the activities for the patriotic programme which helps to sell Liberty
bonds. Many students are angry when Hannah won the role. They regard Hannah as an
unpatriotic German although she is an American citizen. Hannah told Richard that her essay has
sparked a little war in Turtle Lake. Since she does not want to cause any problems, she decides
to decline the role of Lady Liberty. Richard as a strong-willed person also makes up his mind
to decline his part as the Doughboy to support Hannah causing everyone to call him unpatriotic
and a traitor. These criticisms have never stopped Richard from being determined. I would like
to stress again that, we have to be determined to stop being unjust and prejudiced for the
innocent people around us especially those who are close to us. Maintaining friendship is very
crucial in this cruel world we live in so that more benevolent people will make this world a better
place. Therefore, it is undeniably true that Richard has portrayed his fortitude by standing
up for his friend in the name of justice.

In a nutshell, Richard is truly the best character who has such determination in his life. He
teaches us the teenagers to never give up on your dreams and never be afraid of being different
from others if that means to stand on your principle upholding the truth.

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SPM TRIAL 2018 (PERAK)
Question:
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about a theme that is important to one of
the characters in the story with close reference to the text.

Based on the novel that I have read, Dear Mr Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff.
This novel has a very interesting and inspiring theme that is bravery. This theme is shown by
the main character Richard Knight in a few events.

Firstly, the interesting and inspiring theme which is bravery is shown when Richard told

Pa the reason why he misfired the buck purposely. It was in the winter when Richard, Pa and

Gus went hunting in the woods. They were waiting for a target and suddenly a male dear

appeared. Pa told Gus to not shoot the buck as Pa wanted Richard to shoot it. Surprisingly,

Richard had purposely misfired the buck. Pa was really disappointed with him while Gus was

really mad with him. Before Gus spilled out his anger, Pa asked him to go back first. After that, Pa

and Richard had a heart to heart conversation. Richard bravely told Pa about his dislike

towards hunting. Although he knew that Pa will be really crestfallen with his opinion about the

family tradition which is hunting, his braveness encouraged him to be honest to voice out his

opinion. Boldly, he expressed his feeling saying that he had no right to take an animal’s life

and it is cruel to do so. Even when he knew he had the risk of being scolded but his stood for

what he believe is right. In my point of view, Richard is really brave to speak out his opinion.

It is very essential to exert bravery in a person because it teaches us to stand for what is

right. As in the novel, Richard shows his compassion towards nature by being brave to be honest

to his family about how cruel it is to kill an animal. I would like to stress again the theme of

bravery is clearly portrayed when Richard misfired the buck.

The next event that shows the bravery of Richard is when he was protecting Hannah

while the others were being unkind to her. After the news of the Schermers’ tavern being

vandalised, Mrs Hansen had brought a card for the class to sign as a symbol of sympathy

towards his misfortune. It was a simple card, with white flowers and the words “With Sadness” on

it. The bullies of the class had reacted negatively to the card, inquiring whether or not they could

refuse signing the card. When the card was passed to the boys, all of them were too afraid to

sign the card as they did not want to be beaten up by Abner and Harry. However, as the card had

been passed to Richard, he boldly signed it even though he had received threats from Abner

and Harry. This shows how brave Richard was to sign the card even though he had the risk

of being beaten up and ostracised by his classmates. Richard had shown this act of bravery

because he knew Hannah did not deserve such discrimination just because of her German

descent. In fact, Hannah was a patriotic American just like everyone. In my point of view, this is a

very important value to have in a person because it teaches us to be brave to stand up

against discrimination and hatred regardless of the circumstances. Therefore, I would like to

stress again that Richard is a symbol of bravery.

The third event that portrayed the bravery of the character is when Richard told

his family and Mrs Hansen that he wrote poetry. Before telling his secret to his family and Mrs

Hansen, Richard wrote a letter to Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer was Richard’s penpal. Richard learnt

about Mr Kilmer when Richard’s English teacher, Mrs Hansen read a poem to the class. The title

of the poem was “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer. In his letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote

poems too. However, he kept this as a secret from everyone. Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s

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advice. He wanted to know whether he should tell his secret to everybody. One day, Richard
received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to be brave to overcome his fear. Mr
Kilmer advised Richard to share his poetry with people around him. When he finally managed to
gather his confidence, nobody was interested when Richard told his family about Mr Kilmer’s
letter and his secret. Neither Pa nor Gus believed that Richard wrote poetry and Mr Kilmer was a
well-known person. Richard was crestfallen when his family members did not want to read his
poem as they were not interested. Although Gus advised him to keep that as a secret and not
telling everyone that he wrote poetry, his passion on writing poetry emboldens him to be bold
to share his poem with the class. His braveness was worth as some of his classmates,
including Blanche and Peggy, were deeply moved by his poem. In my opinion, Richard is brave
enough to share with people about his passion although no one is likely to support him.
He surely knows that he is the one who is capable of influencing himself. I would like to stress
again, the main character, Richard Knight has shown the act of the real bravery by
expressing his hidden talent.

In a nutshell, the theme which is bravery is clearly shown by the main character,
Richard Knight. It is really essential to apply bravery in our daily life in order to stand for what is
right, fight against discrimination and express his talent.

Question:
Write about a theme of bravery and how the theme has helped you to become a better
person.

The novel that I have studied is Dear Mr. Kilmer written by Anne schraff. The theme bravery
which is shown by the main character named Richard has taught me many important lessons to
become a better person. I think I could apply the act of braveness in my daily life.

First and foremost, Richard teaches me to be brave to stand for what is right in the
incident when he goes hunting for his first deer with Pa and Gus. It is portrayed by Richard when
he deliberately misfires the deer causing it to quickly disappear. We can see that he avoids killing
the deer because of his compassion towards animals. Gus is so furious at him and says that he
could have killed the deer if Pa let him take the shot. Being mocked and belittled by Gus does not
change his opinion. Having the courage to tell the truth, he confesses to Pa about what he
feels for hunting. Richard says that he feels painful if he is to take animal’s life. With his bold
confession, Pa eventually tells him that he does not have to go hunting anymore if he hates it. In
my opinion, Richard is brave enough to tell the truth to Pa although he knows that Pa will be
disappointed. Despite being the total opposite of Pa and Gus, Richard still stands with his
principles. He also tries his best to convince Pa to accept the fact that he hates hunting. In life,
there will always be obstacles hindering us from standing on our own principles, but Richard
teaches me to be courageous in defending myself to become a better person. There are
people out there who are being inhumane towards nature doing illegal hunting and logging for
their own personal interest. Nature should be preserved and conserved for the future generation
to appreciate its beauty not the other way around. Even if we are still young, that does not mean
that we have to blindly follow what the adult asks us to do. If we think that it is wrong, then go
against it and express what we really feel so that we do not have to torment the creatures for the
sake of pleasing others. I would like to stress that Richard has taught me to be brave to stand
for what is right.

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Secondly, I also learn to be brave to fight injustice and prejudice from Richard in the
incident when Mrs. Hansen tells the class that a vandal has vandalised the Schermers’ tavern.
She buys a card and asks the class to sign the card to express their sympathy for what has
happened to them. Unfortunately, they are not co-operative. Some of them think that Schermers
are not loyal because they still practise their culture despite the war against Germany. In this
case, Richard is the only one who is brave enough to sign the sympathy card regardless of the
mockery and threats he has to endure. Richard feels that his classmates are being unfair to
Hannah and her family. Other boys do not want to sign the card because they are afraid that
Abner and Harry will beat them up while the girls worry that popular girls like Peggy and Blanche
will not speak to them. After class, Richard daringly offers himself to give the card to the
Schermers. Then, the whole school knows that he is the lone signer of the card. Despite being
teased for the rest of the day, he still stands for what is right to him which is fighting the
prejudice the others have towards Hannah. If I were in Richard’s shoes, I will do the same as
Richard and stands with my principles. Fighting prejudice that has been set by the discriminative
community is not easy but that is how Richard shows me. He encourages a teen like me to
oppose negative perception the society has set so that I would not be as unjust as the others
just to be accepted by the majority. I learn that in life, if someone is being treated unfairly by the
others, we have to defend them despite the challenges we might face. Upholding justice will
make me a better person and the world will be a better place to live in if we live peacefully
without having the wars against each other. I would like to restate that Richard has taught me to
be daring to go against the norm that is not right and to stand for what is right.

Last but not least, Richard teaches me to be brave in defending the innocent soul in
the incident when someone scrawls “Dirty Hun” all over Hannah’s book cover. Seeing Hannah
cries alone in the hallway, Richard braves himself by asking her why she is crying. Although,
Hannah says that it is nothing, Richard still decides to confront the bullies Abner, Harry and
Blanche. The three students condemn the Schermers although they are American Citizens,
because of the war against the Germans. They think the Schermers are traitors because they
speak German and serve Hun food like sauerkraut. Being protective of Hannah, Richard
audaciously tells them that they are the ones who are being unpatriotic as they are rude and
mean to Hannah although they are American Citizens too. In my opinion, Richard is very brave to
be protective of his friends and brave enough to fight against the society. He teaches me that I
have to protect any friends of mine from being harassed, mocked, bullied or treated unfairly by
some people who blatantly judge others without understanding them deeper. Our world will be
better if we do not judge the book by its cover. Richard has proven to me that having German
descent does not mean the Schemers are traitors to American because equality does not confine
to having the same race or nation, it goes beyond that. I would like to stress that Richard has
shown me to be brave to defend those innocent people despite being hated by the society.

In conclusion, Richard has taught me many reasons to be brave in this life to become a
better person. Richard is a brave person as he is not afraid to go against the norms by being
compassionate towards animal, protective of his friend and stand with his own principles. I think I
could apply them in my daily life to become a better person.

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SPM TRIAL 2018 – BATU PAHAT
Question: “Friends are people who always support us.” With close reference to the text, how
far is the statement above true in the novel you have read?

Based on the novel I have read, Dear Mr Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff, a
statement “friends are people who always support us” is really suitable in this novel. There are

some events that have shown about it.
The first evidence to support the statement “friends are people who always support us” is

when Richard stands up for Hannah when she has been mocked by Abner and his gang. This
is particularly shown in the event when Richard volunteers to give a hand for Hannah’s family.

Hannah has a German-blood since her parents are from Germany. They are living in a racist

community which need them to be brave in facing this issue. There are some events that show
the community cares too much about the race. One of them is when Hannah’s tavern had been
vandalized by some irresponsible people in the town they live in. Brash words “Dirty Huns” really

portray that some people in the community are racist and discriminative towards the Schemers

family. On the contrary, Richard is the only one who cares about this family. Though not being in
the same class with Hannah, but her natural kindness makes Richard willing to stand up for what
is right. Richard shows his support by signing the sympathy card for Hannah while the rest of

his classmates do not sign the card. The boys are scared Abner and Harry would beat them up
while the girls are scared that Peggy and Blanche would not talk to them anymore but Richard
ignores it and signs the card. This shows that Richard wants to be the emissary of justice by
befriending Hannah and pushing away all the negativity acts and racism among the students in

his school. In my point of view, it is very fortunate to have a friend who is willing to take our side

in spite of being alienated by others. It is undeniably true that Richard being supportive to

Hannah when she had been mocked by Abner and his gang is the very first evidence supporting
the statement “friends are people who always support us”.

Next evidence that supports the statement “friends are people who always support us” is
when Joyce Kilmer and Richard always support each other’s passion and talent. They
support each other in a lot of things in their life such as in giving advice on how to keep Richard’s

passion in poetry a secret. It is clearly stated in the novel when Joyce Kilmer gives some

advice to Richard to continue writing the poems secretly even though his family and his friend
did not like poem because to them poetry is for the sissy. Joyce Kilmer gives some words of

encouragement to Richard because he is the one who likes to write poem just like him. In fact,
Joyce Kilmer is the driving force for Richard to love poetry. If it is not because of Mr. Kilmer’s

poem that Mrs. Hansen reads in the class, Richard might not be fond of poetry. The next

evidence that support the statement above is when Richard exchanges letters with Mr Kilmer
during the war to make sure he does not feel lonely and homesick. In my point of view, the
fact that Richard exchanges letters with Mr Kilmer is the best option to prevent the soldier at war

feeling lonely and homesick but to keep on having strong will and courage to fight. It is

undeniably true that Richard and Joyce Kilmer supporting each other is the second evidence
that shows “friends are people who always support us”.

Last but not least, the third evidence that supports the statement “friends are people who
always support us” is between Richard and Hannah, when Richard decided to put down the
role Dough boy after Hannah’s drastic decision to put down the role lady liberty. This

particularly can be seen when Richard could not be the Dough boy without Hannah been by his

side. This all happens when Mrs Hansen told her class to write the best essay for those who

wanted to be crowned the title Lady Liberty or Dough Boy. Everyone assumed that Peggy Mason

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would be Lady Liberty and Abner Lewis as the Dough Boy. When the result came out, Richard
won the title Dough Boy and Hannah being Lady Liberty. The best decision made by Mrs Hansen
to make Hannah the Lady Liberty has become an issue among the students in the school. Even
the parents assailed the office asking Mrs Hansen to find a new student for the role Lady Liberty.
Feeling blue, Hannah put down the role as she does not want to start a new war in Turtle Lake.
Showing support to his friend, Richard followed her step by putting down the role of Dough
Boy as he is disappointed with the discriminative and prejudice thought of the Turtle Lake
neighbourhood. In my point of view, it is not easy to eradicate unjust and prejudiced act among
the people who merely concern about their race. Richard is being the ambassador of justice
protesting this act by putting down the role of Dough Boy. It is undeniably true that Richard
decided to put down the role is the evidence that support the statement “friends are people
who always support us”.

All in all, the evidences stated have proven that the statement “friends are people who
always support us” is true in this novel as the character in the novel has shown supportive act in
their friends’ life. The characters that are being persevere throughout the turbulences is the one
who can overcome them in life and make them a stronger individual.

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SPM TRIAL 2018 – SELANGOR

Question: “Teenagers face many challenges while growing up.” With close reference to the
text you have read, write about the challenges faced by the main character.

The novel that I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a
boy named Richard who faces obstacles in his life hindering him from pursuing his passion in
writing poems. There are a few challenges he has faced which only make him stronger.

The first challenge he encountered is when he has to go against his family tradition
that has been practised by his forefather which is hunting. To his family, hunting is a very manly
custom a man should be good at. This is particularly shown in the event when RICHARD
PURPOSELY MISFIRES A BUCK. In this novel, Richard, being the youngest son to his father is
forced to do what he is against for. It is very challenging for him to follow his father, Pa and big
brother, Gus into the woods just to kill a beautiful buck. To him, killing innocent animals which
have the right to live as he does is very wrong. He is a nature lover. Even though he is torn
between expressing his thought and following his father’s request, he chooses the first. He
intentionally misses the shot because he cannot kill the beautiful creature regardless of the risk
he has to face for failing to do so. Richard boldly admits to his father what he truly feels. He
confesses that he does not like killing for fun or for whatever irrelevant reasons it has to offer. As
a result for misfiring the buck, he has to endure the mockery his brother Gus throws at him. He
is being belittled with the name calling, “Small Fry” by his brother just because he stands on his
principle of doing what is right, which is not to kill innocent animals. In my opinion, as a teenager,
expressing what you feel is not right is very difficult especially to your own family members
who supposed to understand but rather choose to ridicule your choice. That is what happens to
Richard. Pa seems to understand a bit as he tells Richard not to follow him hunting anymore. But
that too does not feel right to Richard as he somehow thinks that he has let his father down. I
would like to stress again that opposing a family tradition is the very first challenge Richard the
main character has to face.

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The second torment for Richard is when he has to fight for prejudice and injustice in
such a racist community he lives in. This is portrayed when HANNAH’S TAVERN IS
VANDALIZED with brash words “Dirty Huns” by some irresponsible people in town who are racist
and discriminative towards the Schemers family just for being Germans. They have even been
accused for being the German spies in relation to the war going on. Mrs Hansen the class
teacher has come up with an idea to show some support to Hannah by asking her students to
sign a sympathy card she has prepared. To her dismay, Abner and Harry prevent any of the
other boys from signing the card with their threatening looks and the girls in the class do not want
to sign, because they are afraid Peggy and Blanche wouldn’t talk to them anymore. Sadly, being
the most just and fair student among all, only Richard stands up for Hannah while the rest
choose not to sign it. Not only that, it is very difficult for Richard to prove Hannah that he is not
as racist as the others. Willingly, he volunteers to send the card by himself and rather chooses
to fight against Abner and harry who are mocking him. Fighting prejudice in his classroom is
hard enough for Richard, what’s more to go against the entire community he lives in with the
double standard rules and corrupted authority. Imagine ourselves being the only person
who would fight for the so-called enemy of our country. What Richard does is beyond what a
teenager can think of. Personally, if I were him, I rather opt to follow the majority for the sake of
preventing myself from mockery and threat others would throw at me. But Richard himself defies
the odd. Through hardship, he still protects his friendship with Hannah by showing his support
to her despite the harsh treatment both have. It is undeniably true that, fighting prejudice and
injustice is the second torment faced by Richard Knight.

Last but not least, the third obstacle Richard has to face is when he confesses to others
his hidden talent that is not warmly celebrated in his community. It is not easy for Richard
to ADMIT THAT HE WRITES POETRY to his family members and friends who obviously would
not support his hidden talent. To the community, hunting is manly where as writing poetry is
rather sissy. Writing a letter to Mr Kilmer is the starting point for Richard to start pursuing his
dream, though secretly. After Richard is encouraged by Mr. Joyce Kilmer to confess, Richard
takes the challenge to finally open up to his family about his passion. As expected, he is given
rather negative feedback from his family. Gus doesn’t believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet
while Pa doesn’t believe his son writes poetry. This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He
is sad at his family’s disinterest in his poems. Gus goes further to advise Richard, to keep his
poetry a secret from his school friends. It is very heart breaking to see that, rather than
motivating his own brother to keep doing what he loves, Richard’s brother feels ashamed of
having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he urges him to stop doing it. Despite the
drawback, Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his teacher
Mrs. Hansen. In class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are moved by
his poem. In my point of view, it is very disappointing to have your family members turn their
back on you when what you expect them to do is just to support your talent. Every teenager has
their dreams of becoming what they want and doing what they like. The family members should
be the ones supporting rather than demotivating or downgrading their talents. Thus, I would like
to restate that confessing a hidden talent which is not encouraged by the community is the
last obstacle Richard has to endure.

All in all, Richard has proven that he is one of the teenagers who has successfully fought
the challenges he faces in his life. He does not bother the risks he has to take. Rather, he
portrays that being persevere throughout the turbulences is one way of overcoming them in life
and making you a stronger individual.

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Question 7 : MRSM
Based on the novel that you have studied which a character do you think deserves our
sympathy?
Briefly describe the character and give reasons for your choice withy close reference
to the text.

The novel that I read is Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. It is very interesting and exciting.
The story revolves around Richard Knight, a 15-year-old American boy who keeps his poetry
writing hobby as a secret. Then, Joyce Kilmer who is a famous American’s poet helps him to
become a tremendous poet. The character that I sympathized with was Richard Knight. There
were some reasons why I had sympathized him.

First and foremost, I think Richard deserves our sympathy because regardless of the
criticism others threw at him, he clearly defined himself in the value of standing up for
what was right that was shown in the event when he decided to decline the role of doughboy
when Hannah turned down her role as lady liberty. Richard’s eyes flashed with anger and
resentment because it was very unfair for Hannah to turn down the role as lady liberty as she
won the best essay. However, the students in the school were very angry at Mrs Hansen even
some parents had complained to the principal because Hannah had German descent. This made
Hannah turned down the role because she did not want to create a little war in Turtle Lake. In my
opinion, Richard was right to decline his role as a sign that he supports Hannah when others
turned their back on her. If I were Richard, I will do the same thing as it makes the situation
better. It is clearly shown that Richard deserves our sympathy because he always stands for what
was right even though he needs to sacrifice himself. So, I would like to stress again that
Richard who clearly defined himself in standing up for what was right amidst prejudice is one
of the events that deserves our sympathy towards him.

Furthermore, the event that ought to have our sympathy towards Richard is when he
faced mockery and objection after trying to go against his family tradition. It is proven when
Richard has the audacity to express his feeling by misfiring a buck purposely. For his family going
hunting was a must for them since it is a tradition inherited from their forefather. Thus, it was
definitely expected for Richard to turn out like his fellow. It is stated in chapter 1 when Richard
followed his pa and Gus for hunting at the forest. Richard thought that no one has any right to kill
an innocent animal without a solid intention as killing animal will only snatch away the beauty of
nature. As a result for misfiring the buck, he has to endure the mockery his brother Gus throws
at him. He is being belittled with the name calling, “Small Fry” by his brother just because he
stands on his principle of doing what is right, which is not to kill innocent animals. In my opinion,
as a teenager, expressing what you feel is not right is very difficult especially to your own
family members who supposed to understand but rather choose to ridicule your choice. If I were
Richard, I will do the same thing because every single living thing deserves to live their life
without being threatened by irresponsible human action. Hence, I would like to stress again that
Richard, having had the opposite opinion from his family gained our sympathy to him.

In addition, it was devastating when Richard had to hide his incredible talent that
was writing poem which he put it in a locked drawer where no one could find it. It is clearly
stated in chapter 2 when he wrote a poem about his dislikes towards hunting but instead of
expressing it out loud he chose to keep it as a secret. He was hesitated whether to reveal his
secret as he was afraid that people would call him as a sissy. He even hid his aptitude from
his family and it made him looked like a loner as he knew that Gus disliked something like that.
This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in his
poems. If I were Richard, I could not stand that kind surrounding. In my opinion, this event had

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shown enough that Richard does not get any support by anyone especially his beloved family. I
feel sorry for him to have his family members turn their back on him when what he expected
them to do is just to support his talent. Every teenager has their dreams of becoming what they
want and doing what they like. The family members should be the ones supporting rather than
demotivating or downgrading their talents. Hence, I would like to stress again that Richard’s
choice to keep his talent has gained our sympathy towards him.

In a nutshell, Richard as the main character had shown us his best actions throughout his
challenges. Those above mentioned have given us many lessons such as being brave in telling
the truth. It is shown that Richard deserves our sympathy as he had gone through countless
adversities in order to be a better person in serving rights against prejudice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPM TRIAL 2018: KELANTAN
Question:
Describe an important event in the novel that has taught you to be a determined person.

The novel that I would like to choose is Dear Mr Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff.

This novel is very interesting and exciting. It is about Richard Knight, a 15-year-old American boy

who keeps his passion of writing poetry a secret from others including his own flesh and blood.

The novel has taught me to be a determined person in an important event which is when

Richard started writing letters to Mr. Joyce Kilmer. In an effort to pursue this passion, Richard

made contacts with a poet, Mr Joyce Kilmer, through letters. Sadly, Mr Kilmer died while fighting

in the war.His determination has been the driving force for him to pursue his dream though it was

at first criticized by others.

Firstly, the reason why this particular event has taught me to be determined is

when Richard shows that we need to have the courage to start doing what we like. Richard
started to be fond of poetry after he listened to Mr. Kilmer’s poem “Trees” read by his teacher

Mrs. Hansen in the class. He is determined to write a letter to Mr. Kilmer to share his passion

in poetry in the hope that Mr. Kilmer albeit a renowned poet, would entertain him. Richard was

ridiculed by some of his classmates for his poetry writing. Pa also said that poetry has put crazy

ideas in his mind. Despite all these objections, Richard found his strength to pursue his

interest. He made contacts with Mr Kilmer who motivated him to write poetry. He also befriended

the Schermers who supported him. Mr Schermer even persuaded him to send his poem about Mr
Kilmer to be published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’. Since then, he is a regular poetry writer. From

this event, it is clear that determination is important in achieving success.
Secondly, after making contacts with Mr. Kilmer, Richard’s success as a poetry

writer in a regular column in the local newspaper proves that poetry writing is an
acceptable hobby in the community unlike the claims made by the bullies from Richard’s
classmates that poems are for ‘Sissies’. At first, Richard was being mocked for writing poetry not

only by his classmates, but by his own flesh and blood too. Writing a letter to Mr Kilmer is the

starting point for Richard to start pursuing his dream, though secretly. After Richard is

encouraged by Mr. Joyce Kilmer to confess, Richard takes the challenge to finally open up to

his family about his passion. As expected, he is given rather negative feedback from his family.
Gus doesn’t believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa doesn’t believe his son writes
poetry. This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in his

poems. Gus goes further to advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his school friends. It

is very heart breaking to see that, rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing what he

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loves, Richard’s brother feels ashamed of having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he
urges him to stop doing it. Despite the drawback, Richard does not stop there. He takes

the chance to share the poem with his teacher Mrs. Hansen. In class, Richard reads
his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are moved by his poem. Thus, I would like to restate
that confessing a hidden talent which is not encouraged by the community shows how
being determined can change your fate.

Thirdly, Richard’s friendship with Mr. Kilmer has taught him that being
determined is important because it patches the void in the relationship between a son and
his father. Pa was initially cold and distant towards Richard although they always work together
at the farm. However, this situation changed. Their relationship was strengthened after Mr
Kilmer’s death in the war. The change happened after Richard wrote a poem to commemorate
his death. In that poem, Richard used the same phrase that went through Pa’s mind during Uncle
Roland’s funeral. The phrase was ‘A world is gone. A world is dead and gone’. The poem was
published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’ and Pa was very impressed of Richard. If Richard was
not determined enough to continue writing poetry despite the rejection by his own family,
he would not have been a successful poet at the end of the story and he might not have
reconciled with his family members who once disagreed with his choice to write poems. So, Mr.
Kilmer’s death has turned a new leaf for Richard as he managed to keep striving for his
passion and become successful after all the journey he has been through.

All in all, the main character of the novel who is Richard has taught me the value of
determination through the event in the novel. He has taught me to be determined for your own
good despite what others think. I would like to stress again that this novel has taught me to be a
determined person to pursue our dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPM TRIAL 2018 PAHANG:
Question: ”When you think positive, good things happen”
With close reference to the text, describe an incident that brings a change in a
character. Give reasons why the change is important to the character.

Based on the novel, Dear Mr. Kilmer written by Anne Schraff. This novel has a very
interesting and inspiring story. The incident that had changed the main character, Richard Knight
was when he wrote a letter to Mr. Kilmer. In his letter, Richard told Mr. Kilmer that he wrote
poems too and asked for Mr. Kilmer’s advice. There are three reasons why this incident is
important in changing Richard’s thinking.

Firstly, this incident had changed Richard to be a brave person to express his talent.
As an evidence, on the last day of the school, Richard had decided to read his letter from Mr.
Kilmer and his poem in front of the class. Mrs. Hansen had announced that Richard had a special
announcement to make. Standing beside Mrs. Hansen, Richard had almost panicked when he
saw his teacher sat down. Starting off with a quivering voice, he managed to gradually gain
confidence and when he was done, the class had fallen into a profound silence. After that,
everyone looked at him with a newfound respect. No one could believe he was exchanging letters
with someone famous. This event has brought about changes in Richard when he finally opens
up to his classmates about his hidden talent. He has proven to the bullies in his class that writing
poem is not for the sissy as they would have thought. Personally I think, this change is
important to Richard because it allowed him to express his passion. I would stress that the
incident when Richard wrote his letter to Mr. Kilmer had changed his life.

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Next, this incident is important to Richard to overcome his fear by telling his family
about his secret. Exchanging letters with Mr Kilmer is the starting point for Richard to start
pursuing his dream, though secretly. After Richard is encouraged by Mr. Joyce Kilmer to confess,
Richard takes the challenge to finally open up to his family about his passion. As expected, he
is given rather negative feedback from his family as nobody was interested when Richard told
his family about Mr. Kilmer’s letter and his secret. Gus did not believe that Mr. Kilmer was
famous. Pa did not believe that Richard wrote poetry. Richard asked whether his family members
wanted to read his poems. Nobody was interested. Richard was sad. Gus advised Richard not to
tell anyone he wrote poetry. He wanted Richard to fit in with other people. Everyone called him a
Hun Lover after he signed the card for Hannah. Despite the drawback, Richard does not stop
there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his teacher Mrs. Hansen and even the
Schermers acknowledge his talent and support him all the way. Personally, I think this change is
crucial to Richard because even though his family does not support him, he still writes poems and
Mr. Kilmer would be the one who helped him improve his poem writing. This is the reason why
positive thinking is very important in life. If Richard were to be discouraged with the negative
response from his family, he would not have continued writing poem and he would not know that
there are some who appreciate his talent and respect him for the talent he has. Hence, I agree
that exchanging letter with Mr. Kilmer is a starting point to help Richard boost his self
confidence in writing poems.

Lastly, this incident is vital to Richard because it transformed Richard to become a
successful writer by sharing his talent to the public although he knew that he will be
criticised by the people. As evidence, he published his poem dedicated to Joyce Kilmer in the
Turtle Lake Weekly. After grieving over the death of his confidante, Mr. Kilmer, he had written a
poem for him out of melancholy. The Schermers thought that it was a great idea if he published it.
So he did. When Pa read it, he broke into tears, telling about his brother, Rolland who had died
during the war. The poem he wrote had helped Pa overcome his grief towards his brother. In my
point of view, this change is vital to Richard because it made Richard to be a brave man by
showing himself to the people. In my opinion, if it is not because of Mr. Kilmer who had been the
driving force for Richard to continue his passion towards poetry, Richard would not have
transformed into a successful writer. He might be taken down by the rejection he had for writing
poems. In life, it is essential for us to believe that every cloud has a silver lining. Albeit Mr.
Kilmer’s death made Richard extremely sad for losing his hero, he continued writing as he had
the urge to acknowledge the sacrifice and contribution Mr. Kilmer had done for the country. Thus,
I believe that Richard’s friendship with Mr. Kilmer has helped changed him to be a
successful writer who is confident with his talent.

All in all, Mr. Kilmer had played a big role in changing Richard to be a better person who
finally has the courage to share his talent that was once hidden in the closet.

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SPM Trial 2018

Question: Based on the novel that you have studied, choose one character that shows appreciation
towards
the family ties.Give reasons why do you choose him/her with close reference to the text.

The novel that i read was Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. One character that shows
appreciation towards the family ties is Richard Knight who, despite the conflict he has with his
family members, manages to foster the family bonding until the end of the story. There are few
valid reasons for my choice.

The first reason I choose Richard Knight is because he is one obedient son who does
not blindly ignore his family though he does not fully agree with them. This is shown when
he follows Pa and Gus into the woods for hunting. Despite his disinterest towards this family
tradition, he does not directly oppose what his father asked him to do, which is shooting a buck.
To his family, hunting is a very manly custom a man should be good at. This is particularly shown
in the event when Richard purposely misfires a buck. In this novel, Richard, being the
youngest son to his father is forced to do what he is against for. It is very challenging for him
to follow his father, Pa and big brother, Gus into the woods just to kill a beautiful buck. To him,
killing innocent animals which have the right to live as he does is very wrong. He is a nature
lover. Even though he is torn between expressing his thought and following his father’s request,
he chooses the first. He intentionally misses the shot because he cannot kill the beautiful creature
regardless of the risk he has to face for failing to do so. Richard boldly admits to his father
what he truly feels in the hope that Pa would understand his situation. He confesses that he does
not like killing for fun or for whatever irrelevant reasons it has to offer. In my opinion, as a
teenager, expressing what you feel is not right is very difficult especially to your own family
members who supposed to understand but rather choose to ridicule your choice. That is what
happens to Richard. Pa seems to understand a bit as he tells Richard not to follow him hunting
anymore. Personally, I think many teenagers are being outspoken and would disagree to what
they think is wrong. But, Richard on the other hand wants to preserve his relationship with his
father. That is why he is reluctant to express what he truly feels. He is afraid that it would offend
his father and hurt his feelings. Thus, I choose Richard because despite the different views
he has towards hunting, he tries his best not to offend his father by following him into the
woods.

The second reason for choosing Richard is because he never holds grudge towards his

family members who oppose his hobby which is writing poems in order to maintain his

family bonding. With the words of encouragement by Mr. Joyce Kilmer, Richard found the
courage to finally open up about his hobby to his family over a dinner. It is not easy for Richard

to admit that he writes poetry to his family members who obviously would not support his hidden
talent. As expected, he is given rather negative feedback from his family. Gus doesn’t believe
that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa doesn’t believe his son writes poetry. This is a sad
reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in his poems. Gus goes
further to advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his school friends. It is very heart

breaking to see that, rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing what he loves,
Richard’s brother feels ashamed of having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he urges

him to stop doing it. Despite the drawback, Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to

share the poem with his teacher Mrs. Hansen. In class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some

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of his classmates are moved by his poem. In my point of view, it is very disappointing to have
your family members turn their back on you when what you expect them to do is just to
support your talent. However, being Richard, he does not hate his family for opposing his
passion. If he is a rebellious son, he might be running away from home and seek refuge at the
Schemers since the Schemers understands him better. Richard knows that he cannot break the
family ties he has. He even feels torn in choosing the poetry over his family. That is why he keeps
writing poem secretly rather than publicly. In fact, during the school holidays, Richard works so
hard at the farm to the extent that the workers were amazed at how hardworking he was. Thus, I
would like to restate that Richard shows appreciation to his family ties trying his best to
please his father by working hard at the farm though been given negative feedback for
sharing his hidden talent in poetry.

Last but not least, the reason I choose Richard as the character who appreciates family
ties is because, once he publicly published his poem, he tackles his father’s heart by
writing about a topic that is close to him, which is about farm life. One day, Richard received
a bad news about Mr.Kilmer. Mr.Kilmer was killed in the war between the Allies and the Germans.
Richard wrote a poem as a tribute to Mr Kilmer. In the poem, Richard likened Mr Kilmer to the
world. The tribute was printed in the local newspaper, "The Turtle Lake Weekly". Richard's father
read the poem. Richard was afraid that his father was angry at him. His father did not like
Richard writing poems. After reading the poem, his father told Richard about what happened to
Richard's uncle, Roland. His father never told Richard about this story. Roland was killed in a war
in Cuba. His father regarded Roland as his world. His father was amazed how Roland could use
the same word in his tribute. Richard continued writing poems about farm life for the local
newspaper. Richard got his father's help as he was an experienced farmer. Every night, Richard
read his poems aloud. His father would correct or give suggestions to improve the poems. His
father finally supported Richard's passion in writing poetry. The saying blood is thicker than water
is very true in this story. After expressing what each other really feels, the void in the relationship
between Pa and Richard has finally been patched. Pa no longer prohibits Richard from writing
poems. Richard is the happiest person as he does not only achieve his dreams to become a
writer like his hero the Late Mr. Kilmer, he also manages to foster his relationship with Pa who
once opposed his passion in poetry. Hence, I strongly agree that choosing Richard as the
person who appreciates family ties is undoubtedly relevant as he manages to
ameliorate/fix the misunderstanding and conflict he once had with his family members.

In conclusion, the bond in a family is strengthened when family appreciate each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPM TRIAL 2018: SARAWAK
Question 3
Describe an important relationship in the novel you have read. With the close reference to
the text, give reasons why that relationship is important to the ending of the story.

The novel that I have read is entitled “Dear Mr. Kilmer” by Anne Schraff. The novel tells us
about a boy named Richard who faces many obstacles to pursue his dream to become a poet.
One important relationship portrayed in the novel is family relationship between a son and a
father. There are many reasons that show the importance of this relationship. The family bonding

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between Richard and his father Pa was at first full of conflict. However, towards the end of the
story, the camaraderie between them has been strengthened. The conflict has too, been solved.

There are three reasons why family relationship is important to the ending of this novel.
First, Pa finally approves that poets have a role to play in the community. Richard’s success
as a poetry writer in a regular column in the local newspaper proves that poetry writing is an
acceptable hobby in the community unlike the claims made by the bullies from Richard’s
classmates that poems are for ‘Sissies’. At first, when Richard finally tells his family about his
passion in poetry during dinner, as expected, the reaction that he receives is negative. Gus
doesn’t believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa doesn’t believe his son writes poetry.
This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in his
poems. Gus goes further to advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his school friends. It
is very heart breaking to see that, rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing what he
loves, Richard’s brother feels ashamed of having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he
urges him to stop doing it. When Pa and Gus asked him to stop poetry, he is upset and hurt but
he knows, it is wrong to put an end to his joy just because society would not accept him. Despite
the drawback, Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his
teacher Mrs. Hansen. In class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are
moved by his poem. So, he continues writing poems. The death of Mr. Kilmer has shed some
lights in mending the relationship between Pa and Richard. Mr. Kilmer was the one who told
Richard that all poets play an important role in the society. Pa later figured out why it is so after
Richard started to publish his poems for the sake of consoling those family members of the
soldiers who grieve over their death. So, Pa reconciliation with Richard has brought about an
unexpected twist in the end of the novel when he finally acknowledges Richard’s talent.

Secondly, towards the ending of the novel, on a few occasions Pa and Gus had a
conflict and Richard was the one who tried to mend the situation in order not to break the
family ties. Even after Richard was confronted by Pa for declining his role as the doughboy, but
Richard did not become rebellious towards him. He still helps Pa at the farm. When Pa and
Richard were cleaning the barn, Gus walked in announcing that he had been enlisted in the army.
Pa was shocked and reminded him that he had work to do in the farm too. Gus understood that
Pa was just afraid of losing him, as he had lost Uncle Roland in a previous war. Richard tried to
fix the situation between Pa and Gus but it seemed that both of them were adamant on their
opinions. When Richard saw Gus walks off, he was afraid that he might never see him again.
Despite Gus’s mockery and bitterness towards him, he still loved his brother so much. Richard
knew that Pa was still bitter so he seeks peace by writing poems and letters to Mr. Kilmer. Mr.
Kilmer told him that Richard would be the next generation of poets. Touched by the letter,
Richard wrote back, wanting to know how poets and poetry could make the world a better place.
Sadly, Hannah told him that Mr. Kilmer was killed in the war. Thus, the conflict and tension
between Pa and Gus has indirectly affected the ending of the novel. Richard, being the
peacemaker seeks for reconciliation by writing to Mr. Kilmer.

Lastly, the family relationship has played important role in the ending of the novel
because at last, the void in the relationship between a son and his father has finally been
patched. Pa was initially cold and distant towards Richard although they always work together at
the farm. However, this situation changed. Their relationship was strengthened after Mr Kilmer’s
death in the war. The change happened after Richard wrote a poem to commemorate his death.
In the poem, Richard likened Mr Kilmer to the “world”. The tribute was printed in the local
newspaper, “The turtle lake weekly”. Richard’s father read the poem. Richard was afraid that his
father will be angry at him. As we know, his father did not like Richard writing poems. Then, after

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reading the poem, Pa told Richard about what happened to his uncle, Roland. His father
regarded Roland is his “world”. His father was amazed on how Richard could use the same word
in his tribute. Richard continued writing poems about farm life for the local life for the local
newspaper. Richard got his father’s help as he was an experienced farmer. Every night, Richard
read his poems loudly. His father would correct or give suggestions to improve the poems. His
father finally supported Richard’s passion in writing poems. In my point of view, everyone
has their own passion even in a family we have different passion and we should respect every
single talent of our family member. I would like to stress again that supporting our family
member is important to protect our family bonding.

In conclusion, strengthening family bonding is important in our daily life to foster our
relationship. As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water, no matter what troubles come into
our life, we need to support each other through rain and storm.

‘’Maintaining relationship is important’’ portrayed by the main character. Give your
reasons to support the statement.

Based on the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff, this story revolves a lot of incidents
that support the statement ‘‘Maintaining relationship is important’’ depicted by the main character,
Richard Knight. There are several reasons why this statement is true.

First and foremost, the way Richard maintains his friendship with Hannah is by
showing her some support when she is being tormented by the others. When Hannah’s
parents’ tavern has been vandalised by some irresponsible people in town who are racist towards
the Germans, Richard shows his support by signing the sympathy card for Hannah while the
rest of his classmates do not sign the card. The boys are scared Abner and Harry would beat
them up while the girls are scared that Peggy and Blanche would not talk to them anymore but
Richard ignores it and signs the card. This shows that Richard wants to be the emissary of
justice by befriending Hannah and pushing away all the negativity acts and racism among the
students in his school. Maintaining a friendship is very important regardless of the diversity of
cultures and races. The reason is, if Richard chooses not to defend Hannah, he will be like the
rest of his friends who are being unjust towards one innocent soul. Hannah on the other hand will
continuously be oppressed by the low-minded society and might opt to isolate herself from the
others for just being her. Personally if I were Richard, I would do the same thing because that is
what friends are supposed to do. Thus, we should let others count on us and corroborate them
when they are in need. I would like to restate that, Richard is a supportive friend who does not
want to break his friendship with Hannah despite all the threats and criticism he has to endure.

Secondly, we can see clearly the way Richard maintains his family bonding with Pa
as he still follows Pa to go hunting although he hates this tradition. This is particularly
shown when Richard deliberately misfires the strong buck that Pa and Gus aim for. Gus is ready
to shoot the buck since it is an easy shot but Pa asks him to lower his riffle because this is
Richard’s first kill. At first, Richard aims perfectly on the buck but in the end of time, he changes
his mind to purposely misfire it. When they start their conversation, Richard is torn apart
whether he needs to tell the truth that he does not like killing innocent animals to Pa or just tell
lies that he does not purposely misfire it. Hesitantly, he chooses to be honest about his dislike
towards hunting because he is a nature lover. Pa is disappointed because Richard is totally the
opposite of him but he still respects Richard’s decision as Pa gives choices if Richard wants to

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follow or not, it is up to him. In my point of view in this buck incident, I love how Pa and Richard
have a heart-to-heart conversation to learn each other’s true feelings even they have different
opinions about hunting and to still keep the relationship between one another maintained. I
would like to stress again that Richard still follows Pa for hunting because he wants to maintain
his family relationship with Pa. It is important because blood is thicker than water; no matter
what conflict we might have with our family members, the tie is unbreakable if we lower our ego
and tolerate each other’s opinions.

Last but not least, the statement “Maintaining relationship is important” is also shown
by Richard towards Mrs. Hansen, his English teacher. Richard has put his trust on his
teacher as the one who always responds positively towards her students. Richard perceives Mrs.
Hansen as a person he can rely on because she is one of the driving forces for him to achieve his
dream despite the negative feedback Richard has from his own family members. Mrs. Hansen
the class teacher has been a good supporter when she asks Richard to read confidently in front
of his classmates. Even though the villagers, his friends and also his family assume that writing
poem is rather sissy than hunting, Mrs. Hansen as a supportive teacher has made Richard
shares his own poem with his friends in the class bravely. Not only that, Mrs. Hansen has helped
him to choose a poem that he would send to Mr. Kilmer. Richard feels that he has to confess to
others about his talent that is not warmly celebrated in his community due to the strength and
support from his teacher. As advised by Mrs. Hansen, Richard shares Mr. Kilmer’s latest
letter and his poem with his class and luckily some of his classmates are deeply moved by his
poem and Hannah suggests a better ending to Richard’s poem. It shows that, despite the
drawback, Mrs. Hansen still supports him even when everyone turns their back on Richard.
Richard on the other hand, maintains his relationship with his teacher by following her
advice that he thinks helps him achieving his ambition. The reason is, if he does not listen to
his teacher’s advice, he might not only fail to continue his passion in poetry, worse, he
might lose someone who has put her trust on him, to see him succeed. In my opinion, it is very
lucky when we have someone by our side even when we have to endure the mockery from
others. It is undeniably true that, Richard maintains his relationship with his teacher whom
he put his trust on in order to achieve his dream that seems impossible to others, but not
her.

In conclusion, I admire and respect Richard when he still maintains his relationship even
when he is facing many obstacles in his life.

SPM TRIAL PERLIS – 2018
“One must stand up for what is right‟

With close reference to the novel you have studied, describe events that support the above
statement.

The novel that I have read is ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ that is written creatively by Anne Schraff.
This novel tells us about a boy named Richard who faces many obstacles in his life hindering him
from pursuing his passion is writing poem. This novel has a very interesting and inspiring value
such as we should stand up for what is right. The statement ”stand up for what is right” is
portrayed by Richard in three different events.

The first event is when Richard purposely misfire a buck when he goes hunting with Pa
and Gus. From the event, it shows us that Richard stand up for what is right for not killing animals
as he is most likely to be a nature lover. This makes Gus to be upset with Richard for purposely

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misfiring shooting the buck as well as make as left Pa disappointed with Richard. When Pa asks
Richard why he purposely misfires the buck, Richard expresses his feeling by telling Pa that he
has no right to kill animals. In my point of view, Richard is doing the right thing by telling Pa that
he does not want to kill animals. We have to be brave to tell others about the things that we
dislike although it is shameful. There are people out there who are being inhumane towards
nature doing illegal hunting and logging for their own personal interest. Nature should be
preserved and conserved for the future generation to appreciate its beauty not the other way
around. Even if we are still young, that does not mean that we have to blindly follow what the
adult asks us to do. If we think that it is wrong, then go against it and express what we really feel
so that we do not have to torment the creatures for the sake of pleasing others. From the event
we know that Richard stands up for what is right to him which is he tells Pa and Gus that
he dislikes hunting.

Secondly, Richard portrays the value of standing for what is right in an episode of
signing the sympathy card for Hannah and her family. When Hannah’s tavern has been
vandalized, Mrs. Hansen asks the class to sign a sympathy card to show feeling of sympathy for
what had happened to Hannah’s tavern. However, everyone does not want to sign the card
because they are afraid that they will be beaten up by Abner and Harry. Richard is the only one
who steps forward to sign the sympathy card. In my point of view, Richard is doing the right thing
by signing the card. We must fight against discrimination because although we are from different
races or religions, we still live on the same planet. I learn that in life, if someone is being treated
unfairly by the others, we have to defend them despite the challenges we might face. Upholding
justice will make me a better person and the world will be a better place to live in if we live
peacefully without having the wars against each other.This event shows us that Richard stands
up for what he thinks is right which is not to discriminate Hannah as a Hun.

Thirdly, Richard shows the value of standing up for what is right when he decides to
decline the role of doughboy after Hannah turns down her role as Lady Liberty. Richard felt
sympathy for Hannah when other students complain to Mrs. Hansen that Hannah does not fit for
the role of Lady Liberty as she is a Hun. Because of that, Hannah turns down the role of Lady
Liberty as she does not want to create a little war in Turtle Lake. When Richard declines his role
as a doughboy, his family, school mates and the Turtle Lake people criticize him for turning down
the role and call him unpatriotic and a traitor. In my opinion, we should show support to our friend
who has been blindly ostracized just for being different. Thus, Richard stands up for what is
right when he turns down the role even though he has been criticized by other people
including his own family.

In conclusion, there are many other events that show us the value of standing for what is
right .The value is important to Richard because is defines him to be a person who is strong-
willed.

QUESTION PERAK TENGAH
“WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GETS GOING”

Based on the novel that you have studied, write about the personal growth undergone
by one character in the novel and how it can relate you.

The novel that I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer written creatively by Anne
Schraff.The novel is about a personal growth undergone by Richard Knight who is the
main character in the novel. He faced some obstacles in his life hindering him from

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pursuing his passion in writing poems. The personal growth that happens to Richard is
when he has changed from a cowardly person into someone courageous and persevere
due to some challenges in his life that have contributed to his well-being.

Richard is a persevere person when he has to go against the norm of his family
tradition which is hunting. Everyone in his family thinks that hunting is a dime and dozen
activity that have been a custom by his family since their forefather period of history. This
is shown when Pa invites Richard to the woods for hunting as it is family beliefs. Plus,
Richard had been forced by his father to do what he is against for which is shooting the
buck. It is hard because Richard tried to act unflinchingly to accomplish his father wish to
shoot the buck. He is like a glutton of punishment at first but, he purposely misfired the
buck. He boldly expresses his feeling towards Pa even he is being torn to choose
between telling his father the truth and following his father request. Richard tells Pa that
he did not like hunting and he felt painful and sad to kill animals. He did not want to feel
remorseful if he shoots the buck. In my opinion, as a teenager telling the truth about what
you feel is not right is hard. In this word, they might have people to choose to shut their
mouth rather from telling the truth just to make sure their family or friends did not get
upset. Especially when it comes to someone who close to you. Though, we may say that
they will understand us but sometimes, nothing is within our control. This is what had
happened to Richard as he loves Pa and he do not want Pa to feel down or upset. I
would like to stress again that the incident Richard had to go against his family tradition
had made Richard be a persevere person.

The second torment for Richard is when he had to overcome his fear when he
wants to reveal his hidden talents which is writing poems to people. This had turned
Richard into a persevere person because he had been hardly keeps his talent as a
secret. He does not want people to tease him as a ‘sissy’ boy but, he faced the
challenge. He bravely shares his poems and Mr. Kilmer latest letter in front of his
classmates. Some of his classmates start to pull their leg by calling him ‘sissy’ and
belittled him. What a relieves some of his classmates had been moved with Richard’s
poem and they respect him. By that, Richard feels that he had triumphantly argued with
his fear. Another way of viewing this is when Richard boldly tells his family about his
poems and Mr. Kilmer. Sadly, he gets negative feedbacks from them. In other words,
Richard has to endure the mockery when his brother, Gus quipped Richard by denying
that Mr. Kilmer is a celebrated person and urges him to stop writing poems. The more
sorrowful thing is when his family also do not want to read his poem. Despite the
drawback, Richard did not lose hope. In my point of view, as a teenager, we should not
give up on something that we have interest on. Every teenager has their own dreams,
things they like and dislike. Thus, we need supports from our family and friends to make
it comes true. But, sometimes things do not go the way we want them to but, we have to
face the challenge with perseverance just like what Richard did. So, I would like to
restate that the incident Richard has to overcome his fear to reveal his hidden talent had
turned him into a persevere person.

Last but not least, the third obstacle that Richard has to face to be a persevere
person is when he has to fight against prejudices and injustices that happen towards his

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best friend, Hannah. This can be shown in the event of Hannah’s tavern is vandalized
with harsh words, ‘Dirty Huns’ by some irresponsible people in turtle lake. They
discriminate Hannah’s family just because they are Germans. Although people take a
distance away from the Schemer family, Richard bravely befriend with Hannah and
protects her when people discriminate her. We could clearly see it when Mrs Hansen
suggest to make a sympathy card for Hannah to support her. Unfortunately, most of his
classmates refuse to sign the card especially Abner, Harry, Peggy and Blanche. They
threat other students if they sign the card, but Richard boldly sign the card even it is very
difficult to deny the threats. After that, Richard shows his bravery when he volunteers
himself to give the card to Hannah. Moreover, he bravely defends Hannah from the
bullies when they write ‘Dirty Huns’ in front of Hannah’s book. Richard boldly stands for
what he thinks is right when Harry mocks him as a Hun’s lover. From all these evidence,
we can see that Richard is a persevere person and being faithful towards his friendship
with Hannah. In my personal opinion, as a teenager, we must befriend with everyone
even though we are living in a different race. Then, we have to fight against prejudices
and show our supports to those who are in the same boats with Hannah. Friend in need
is a friend indeed. So, if we are having a hardship we still have each other to protect our
friendship no matter what happens. It is undeniably true that, the incident Richard has to
fight against prejudices and injustice that happen towards his best friend, Hannah had
made him become a persevere person.

Spm trial 2018 :sabah
“Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you”

Based on the above discuss how a character overcomes challenges with the help of close family
members/friends. Support your answer with close reference to the text.

The novel I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. It revolves around
Richard, a 15 years old American boy who keeps writing poetry hobby a secret. Later, Mr Kilmer,
a famous American poet helps him to become a poet.

The character that had overcomes challenges with the help of family and member is
Richard Knight. First and foremost, the challenge faced by Richard is when he purposely missed
the buck. Thus, he had to face his family when he decided to break his family tradition in which
they must be good at hunting. However, Pa, his father supported him to not go hunting again if he
did not like to kill animals. Gus felt mad towards him and asked him why he purposely misfired
the buck even though he could shoot the buck easily. Pa asked him why he misfired the buck.
This is because, Richard had been trained by his family for hunting before. This happened
because he is a naturalist and he felt sympathy to the animals. He said that he did not have a
right to kill the animals without a reason and they have a right to live freely in the forest. From my
point of view, Pa was the person who understands Richard well. After confessing that he does
not want to kill animals, Pa though disappointed but told Richard that he does not have to go
hunting anymore. I would like to stress again that Richard became braver to face the challenge
with a family support.

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After that, the challenge faced by Richard is when Richard did not want to show his talent
in writing poems. It is because he was pretty sure that Pa will not allow him to pursue in his
passion. This was shown when Richard told his family he wrote poetry. Before telling his secret to
his family, Richard wrote a letter to Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer was Richard’s pen pal and he learnt
about Mr Kilmer when Mrs Hansen read a poem titled “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer to the class. In his
letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote poem too but he kept it as a secret from everyone.
Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s advice. He wanted to know whether he should tell his secret to
everybody. One day, Richard received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised him to
overcome his fear and share his poetry with people around him. Nobody was interested when
Richard told his family about Mr Kilmer’s letter and his poetry. No words could describe the secret
agony of his soul. Could you imagine what you feel when you have to tell the truth to your parents
even though you know that they will not agree with it. In the terrible condition, Mr Kilmer is the
only person whom Richard can rely on. In my opinion, Richard’s action is the best way to not
being hypocrite in doing something that he does not want to do. I would like to stress again that
Richard is a courageous person because he could be honest to tell the truth to his family about
what he likes with the help of his friend, Mr. Kilmer.

Thirdly, the challenge that Richard faced is when his father read Richard’s poems in the
newspaper which he wrote as a tribute to Mr Kilmer who was killed in the war. Richard was afraid
that his father was going to be angry at him. Pa was amazed with Richard’s words choice.
Richard continued writing poem about farm life for the local newspaper. After that, Richard got his
father’s help as he was an experienced farmer and he would correct or give suggestions to
improve Richard’s poems. His father finally supported Richard’s passion in writing poetry. In my
opinion, family has to support each other in making something so that the relationship among the
family members became strong. I would like to stress again that family support can enhance the
spirit of voicing out for what is right.

In the conclusion, Richard is a character who faced many challenges with the help of
family and member in his life.

SPM TRIAL 2018-SELANGOR SET A

Question; With close reference to the text, describe how an incident in this story has influenced
the main character

Based on the novel that I have studied, Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff, an incident in
this story has influenced the main character is when Richard signed the sympathy card for
Hannah. One day, Mrs Hansen asked her class to sign a card for the Schermers. Someone
vandalised the tavern owned by Hannah’s parents. They painted ‘DIRTY HUNS’ all over the
walls. Mrs Hansen brought a card to express regret for what had happened. The troublemakers
like Abner, Harry, Blanche and Peggy refused to sign the card. They warned other classmates
not to sign the card. The boys were afraid Abner and Harry would hit them. The girls worry that
popular girls like Peggy and Blanche would not speak to them. However, Richard was the only
student who signed the sympathy card for Hannah Schermer. After school, Richard took the card
from Mrs Hansen. He wanted to give the card to Hannah. Hannah accepted the card reluctantly.
Later, Hannah apologised to Richard for being rude. This incident has influenced positive effects
to the main character, Richard

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Firstly, the incident Richard signed the sympathy card for Hannah shows that Richard is a
brave person. This is proven in chapter 3 when Mrs Hansen asked her class to sign a card that
she brought for the Schermers to express regret for what had happened. Abner, Harry, Peggy,
and Blanche refused to sign the card and they warned their classmates not to sign the card.
Nobody signed the card because they afraid to Abner and Harry would hit them. When the card
passed to Richard, Blanche whispered to him, “Don’t do it, Richard. Nobody is signing. Don’t
break ranks!” Richard do not care about the incitement and he bravely signing it. In my opinion,
Richard do the right thing as he signed the sympathy card for Hannah without doubt. He felt not
fair if he takes a decision to not sign the card as far as he knew, Hannah had never hurt anyone.
In our life, we must be courage no matter what like Richard which is he brave to sign the card
even though he know Abner and Harry will get mad to him. I would like to stress again that
incident Richard signed the sympathy card for Hannah has influenced Richard to be brave.

Next, the incident where Richard signed the card has influenced Richard to become a
forgiving person. This is proven in chapter 3 when Hannah thinks that all the American do not like
the Schermers when her tavern was vandalised. Her tavern was full with uglier message, “DIRTY
HUNS!”. Then, Richard come to her house because want to give the card to Hannah. At first,
Hannah do not want to take the card but Richard force her to just take and she accepted the card
reluctantly. In chapter 4, Hannah met Richard to apologise to him for being rude. “I can
understand how you felt”, Richard said. After the incident, they became friend. In my opinion, I
think Richard was so kind as he accepted Hannah’s apologised even she is being rude to him. In
our life, we must have a positive thinking to other people and we need to forgive people even
though they do big mistake to us. I would like to stress again that incident Richard signed the
card has influenced him to became a forgive person.

Not only that, the incident has made Richard to be a person who stands for his right. This
is proven in chapter 3 when everyone in his class feel scared to sign the sympathy card but not
Richard. When he picked up his pen and dipped it into inkwell, he heard Abner and Harry
cleaning their throats in warning. Richard did not much like the thought of those two ganging up
on him, but he had already made his decision. His signed his name. For me, Richard do not
make a wrong decision to sign the card because it is shown that Richard support and back up the
Schermers meanwhile everyone don’t. Richard also do something based on what he want and
what he feel right. In our life, we need to follow our own decision and not because other people.
We must to be like Richard which is strong also in his stand and would not be easily convince by
absurd ideas of Abner and Harry on not to support the Schermer. Thus, I would like to hastate
that incident Richard signing the card has influenced Richard to be a person who stand for his
right.

In a nutshell, the part of the story have influenced the main character, Richard is the part
when Richard signed the card for Hannah. After the incident, Richard became brave, forgive
person and also be a person who stand for his right. It shows us that Richard has many positive
traits.

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