Dear Mr Kilmer - Sharlize Chee Pei Yin

Dear Mr Kilmer

By: Chew Sue Jie Oh Chien Yi Soh Zoe Lynn

Chong Jia Lin Raisa Gan Tan Xin Ming

Laetitia Tan Sharene Ong Tee Ke Jia

Lim Su-Lyn Sharlize Chee

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Richard, Gus and Pa went to deer hunting
● Pa bet Richard was going to get his first deer but Richard

hated hunting. Hence, he purposely misfired to avoid killing
the beautiful young buck.
● Richard then explained to Pa that he did not have the right to
kill animals.
● Then, Pa told him “death is a part of life”
● Richard felt miserable for disappointing his father but he also
felt relieved because he did not need to take the life of the
innocent deer.
● Staring at Pa’s eyes, Richard thought that Pa was reminiscing
his wife or his brother, Roland, who was killed in a war in Cuba
● Gus was active in sports, while Richard loved farming.
● Angie, Richard’s sister had been taking care of the house after
their mother died but Pa and Gus always took her effort for
granted.
● Richard went to his room and started writing a poem about
how a deer had been killed to show the sadness he felt at that
killing.
● He put all his poems in the drawer because he didn’t want
anyone to know about his interest in poetry.

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● As Mrs, Hansen read a poem entitled “Trees” written by Joyce Kilmer
aloud to her class, Richard was astonished with the language simplicity in
Mr. Kilmer’s poem.

● After finished reading it, Abner Lewis the class troublemaker, made fun
of poetry being a sissy matter.

“Sissy stuff!” Abner grumbled.
● Mrs. Hansen brought up that poets are courageous.

“A lot of great poets have stood up for things they believed in.”
● In addition, she proved her statement with various stories of poets
volunteering to serve the country during the war times.
● Eg. Joyce Kilmer (during The Great War), Lord Byron (during Greek
Independence) and Walt Whitman (served in military hospitals during
the Civil War).
● This shows that Mrs. Hansen is a responsible teacher who educates her
students on not judging people in the things they do.
● Richard felt connected to Joyce Kilmer as he also had the same
perspective on life as Mr. Kilmer.
● With that, he decided to borrow his teacher’s “Trees and Other Poems”
book, and secretly jotted the address of Mr. Kilmer’s (the editor of
‘The New York Times’) office, into his notebook.
● Richard was upset that his classmates shamed Hannah for her heritage.
● Richard tried protesting to his classmates to defend Hannah but he was
brushed off by his classmates.
● He did not think that it was fair to ostracize Hannah.
● He read Joyce Kilmer’s book which he borrowed from his teacher.
● He wrote a letter to Mr. Kilmer expressing his own thoughts and views.

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Mrs. Hansen tells the class that someone has painted terrible things
over the walls of the tavern owned by Hannah’s parents.

● She asks the class to sign a card that she bought to express regret for
what has happened.

● Abner, Harry, Blanche and Peggy Mason refuse to sign the card, and
gang up to warn others not to sign. Only RIchard dares to defy them and
signs the card.

“Don’t do it, Richard. Nobody is signing. Don’t break ranks!” Blanche
whispered.

● After school, Richard takes the card from Mrs. Hansen to give it to
Hannah. The two bullies, Abner and Harry fight with Richard but Richard
wins the fight. Abner promises to leave him alone.

“Don’t hit me, Richie!”
● On the way, he writes a message in the card and sees Hannah at the
tavern which has hurtful words “DIRTY HUNS!” painted all over the wall.
Hannah is angry but takes the card reluctantly.

“All I want is for this to have never happened.” Hannah said.
● He is not sure if many people in Turtle Lake really respect the
Schermers like he wrote in his message to them.
● He climbs his favourite oak tree overlooking the train tracks and wishes
he could go far away so he would not be bullied for what he believes in.
● Angie gives him a letter from New York as he approaches the house.

“Who’d write you from New York, Richie?”

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Richard read the letter from Mr Kilmer. In the letter, he told
Richard that he is a soldier and advised Richard to be courageous
and share his poetry with the people around him.

● Over dinner, Angie read Mr Kilmer’s letter aloud but no one was
interested.

● Richard asked if they wanted to read his poems but no one was
interested..

● Gus told Richard that he should not tell anyone in school about his
poetry. Gus also mentioned that the whole school was calling him Hun
lover because he was the only person who signed the card for
Hannah’s family

“Let me give you a word of advice, Small Fry.” - Gus
● Richard showed Mrs Hansen the letter and asked her to help him
pick a poem of his to send to Mr Kilmer.
● After that, she asked Richard if he would like to read one of his
poems in class but Richard said he was not ready.
● When he left the school building, Hannah apologised to him for
being rude and told him that some of her neighbours came to the
tavern and painted over all the awful words on the tavern.
● Hannah also told Richard that her brother Otto, joined the
American Expeditionary Forces. She said that her family is worried
for him .

“I want it to end today.” - Hannah

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Richard shares Mr.Kilmer’s latest letter with his class and his poem
on a thunderstorm.

● Blanche, Piggy and a few other students look at Richard with new
found respect.

● Richard tells that he would like a different ending for his poem on
the troop train but he couldn’t think of one.

● Hannah suggest changing it to ‘ Although I wonder why?’
● Mr. Higby talks about war in the class
● He corrects Abner and Peggy when they refer to the Germans as

Huns.
● He tells the class that Germans are not Huns and explained that

Huns are nomadic.
● Mongolian horseman who controlled much of Europe.
● That year, Pa has extra corn to sell and make profits.
● Richard enjoys working with Pa but there is still barrier between

them.
● He notices Pa sometimes gazes with sad and haunted look.
● That night, Richard writes a poem about Pa but may not share it

with him.
● Afew weeks later, Mr. Kilmer write to Richard that he volunteered to

fight in this last war so that young people like him need not fight
and die anymore.
● He also likes Hannah’s last line for Richard’s poem.

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Richard and Kilmer continued writing to each other, Kilmer also gave
Richard suggestions for his poem.

● In early September, Kilmer told Richard he arrived in France.

“We hope we’re ready to do what we have to do. But we can’t help but
be frightened.”

● Richard was worried about how war will affect him and his family if
it did not end.

● In the new school year, Richard’s class would participate in a
patriotic programme to help sell Liberty Bonds as finance for the
war.

● To pick the hero and the heroine of the play, Mrs. Hansen wanted
the class to write an essay entitled ‘How We Can Help the War
Effort Right Here in Turtle Lake’.

● Richard was chosen to play as Doughboy, while Hannah was chosen to
play as Lady Liberty because both of them wrote the best essays in
class.

● Both of them read their essays aloud in front of the class upon Mrs.
Hansen’s request.

“We must make peace right here at home. We must battle out own
prejudice and hatred. We must learn to care about one another,
despite our differences in race, religion, or nationality.”

● No one in class except for Richard clapped after Hannah
finished reading her essay.

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Hannah had given up her role as Lady Liberty because of the trouble it
had caused since she was a German.

● “My father says there are times to fight and times not to”, Hannah had
explained to Richard that there was too much fighting in the world
already.

● Upon hearing Hannah’s explanation, Richard decided to reject his role
as Doughboy as well although he has earned it fairly too.

● “Why did some choices have to be so hard?”, Richard thought to
himself. He wondered why it seemed impossible to do the right thing
sometimes without making someone unhappy.

● Despite being insulted by his classmates, Richard knew he had done
the right thing.

● Hannah invited Richard over for dinner, delighted by his action of
declining his role. He told Gus to tell Pa and his sister, Angie, that he
would not be home for dinner.

● Gus, Richard’s older brother, accused him of being unpatriotic, having
heard of the incident in school.

● Richard had a great time with Hannah’s family during dinner.
● He found out that the Schermers shared the same interest as him in

poetry.
● Richard got to know the Schermers even more throughout dinner.
● Finally, dusk had fallen and it was time for Richard to go home.
● Upon arriving home, Richard found his father waiting for him in the

porch, wanting to talk to him.

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Richard turned down the role of doughboy because he found it unfair that his
classmates ganged up on Hannah even though she won the essay competition
fairly.

● He was falsely accused by his classmate Ike of siding and supporting the
Germans. Not just that, Ike also said that he was Richard is unpatriotic and
wanted the Germans to win the war.

● Schermers were very patriotic. They wanted the allies to win and their son,
Otto, is an American soldier fighting in France with the allies.

● Richard was against the idea of his father telling him to distance himself with
the Schermers,

● Whenever he is lonely, he would visit the Schermers as they seem to
understand his dreams and longings. He shares Mr.Kilmer’s letters and reads
his poetry to them.

“To richard, their home was a precious oasis in a desert of loneliness”
● During Christmas, Mr.Kilmer expressed his sadness and misery to Richard

that he felt cold, lonely and misses his family.
● Richard then sent Hannah’s cookies with nuts and raisins and Mrs. Schermer

knits a scarf with his letter to Mr. Kilmer to cheer him up.
● In spring, the Germans have bombarded Paris and forced Britain to retreat.

Mr. Kilmer writes that he and his comrades are living in trenches which are
like coffins.
● In late May, the Allies are victorious after the American troops push back the
Germans.
● Richard spend some time with Hannah under a big oak tree and carved a heart
and their initial R and H on the oak tree.
● Suddenly, someone fling a stone at Hannah’s foot, causing it to bleed.

“Another reminder of reality of war and prejudice.”

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Gus showed up earlier than usual when Richard and
his father were cleaning the barn.

● Gus was excited that he had enlisted in the army
and will leave for basic training the next day.

● His father was against it.
“Why’d you have to do a thing like that?”
“I’m not going to get killed over there, I promise. You
know I’m too tough and smart for that.”

● His father knew there was more to war and they
got into an argument.

● Richard tried being the middle person but failed.
● Gus and his friend left for Sioux City the next day.
● Richard was worried that he might never see Gus

again.

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● Richard talked to Angie about their father but
Angie understood that Pa was just worried for Gus.

● Richard wrote a poem to Mr Kilmer in July and
received a letter in August.

“He wanted to ask Mr Kilmer what do poets and poetry
do to make the world better”

● He felt a peculiar urgency to send the letter
immediately and stopped by at Hannah’s place first.

● Hannah told Richard that Mr Kilmer ended up dying
in the war due to a sniper shot.

“Oh Richie! Have you heard the news? I’m so sorry to
have to tell you, your friend Mr. Kilmer has been killed!”

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● “How could Mr. Kilmer be dead?”
● “I’ll never write another poem! Never!”
● “The town is full of mothers and fathers, sisters and

brothers who feel just the way you do.”
● “Your words would mean a good deal to the people of

this town--coming from one of their own.”
● “But then everybody would see it!”
● “I’m enough of an embarrassment to him already. If the

whole town sees a poem of mine in the paper, it’ll make
him just plain crazy.”

IMPORTANT NOTES/QUOTES

● “I guess I’ve never told you much about my brother,
Roland,”

● “I was too young to enlist, not that I’d done it anyway.”
● “And he was the only one who died,”
● “My brother, was not a slight casualty!”
● “I kept whispering to myself, ‘a world is gone! A world is

dead and gone!’”
● Richard knew that anti-German feelings would linger for

awhile in the little town, but they would not last
forever--not without a war to keep them alive.

TEXTUAL EVIDENCE- CHARACTER TRAITS

RICHARD GUS

Richard loves animals and nature Gus is brave, hard-hearted and acts fast

● He could not kill a deer when he went hunting with ● When a deer comes to drink water at the pool, he immediately
his father and brother raises his gun to shoot it. He does not feel sad to kill an
animal.
● He loves doing farm work such as planting
● He is eager to join the Army when America goes to war against
Richard is a thoughtful and compassionate person Germany.

● He helps his sister with the house chores Gus is concerned and protective
● He personally gave Hannah a card to express his
● He advises Richard not to tell anyone he writes poetry.
sympathies after her tavern is vandalised ● He wants Richard to fit in because everyone is calling him a

Richard is a brave person “Hun lover” after he signed the card for Hannah.

● He signed the card that was to be given to Hannah Gus is rude and boastful
even though his classmates warned him not to
● When Richard asks him if he feels sad to kill an animal, he
● He told his family and Hansen about the him says, “Course not, Small Fry.”
writing poems even though they were not
interested in it ● He boasts to RIchard that he was a lot younger when he killed
his first buck and he wanted to make a trophy made out of it
but their father refused.

3 LESSONS LEARNT - GIVE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Based on the novel entitled “Dear Besides, we have learnt that we Hannah, portrayed a good example of being
fair and rational. Before deciding the roles for
Mr. Kilmer” written by Anna Schraff, should not hold prejudice against people. It a play in effort of financing the American
army in the war, Mrs. Hansen organized an
there are three different lessons that we is an awful thing to judge people because of essay contest to decide on each best writer
from both female and male categories to play
have learnt. their background. The novel depicts the ugly the Lady Liberty and Doughboy respectively.
truth of American people discriminating the The theme of the essay contest was “How We
Can Help The War Effort Right Here in Turtle
The first lesson that we have Schemer family, who are Germans. Some Lake”. Mrs. Hansen selected her winners
based on the quality of the written essays,
gained from the novel, is we should be people hate the Schermers albeit them and not of their popularity. Hence, she chose
Hannah Schemer to be the Lady Liberty and
responsible for our families. For moving from Germany to America many Richard Knight as the Doughboy for the play
because they had produced marvellous
instance, Richard’s father, who is called years ago and Hannah’s brother, Otto being essays.

Pa in the story, emphasized on the part of the American army to fight the As a whole, the novel has taught us
various lessons that are important to all of
importance of education to his son, Gus. Germans during World War One. For us. If we are deprived of moral values, we will
succumb to the negativities that destroy us
“But these days, a boy doesn’t get example, due to the Schemer family’s in life.

anywhere without education,” explained German nationality, a few of Richard’s

Pa. As a father, Pa wants the best for his classmates such as Abner Lewis and

sons, and hopes that they are able to Blanche Freebold made terrible remarks on

excel and enjoy a good life in the future. them such as calling them “The Huns” which

Therefore, he strongly disagrees with means barbarians, and unpatriotic because

his son’s decision in joining the Army in her parents serve German food such as

The Great War before his graduation. ‘sauerkraut’ in American soil.

Without education, Gus is unable to be Another lesson from the novel, is we
employed and support himself and his should be fair and rational before landing
family financially.

onto a decision. In the novel, Mrs. Hansen

who is the English teacher of Richard and

3 LESSONS LEARNT - GIVE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Based on the novel ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff, there are three Thirdly, I have learnt that we should pursue our passion in
lessons that I have learnt upon reading the story. spite of the challenges we may face. For example, Richard
loved writing poetry. Although some people such as
Firstly, I have learnt that we should always be compassionate Abner’s father, said that writing poetry was for sissies,
towards others. For example, Richard was the only one who signed Richard continued writing and eventually became very good
the card which Mrs Hansen asked the class to sign to Hannah and friends with Mr Kilmer, a famous poet who decided to fight
her family to express their sympathies towards the Schermers when for his country in the ongoing war. Richard had exchanged
someone had vandalized their house. He signed the card, ignoring multiple letters with him where they shared their interest in
the advice his brother, Gus had once told him, “you’ve got to learn to poetry.
fit in with other people”. Even though Hannah was a German, which
made most of the class hate her, Richard was compassionate and In conclusion, the novel has taught us many different
sympathized Hannah for the hardships she and her family had gone lessons that we would need in life.
through since the war between America and Germany began.

Secondly, I have learnt that peace is extremely important in life. I
have learnt through the story that war tears people apart and makes
them fear those who are different. For example, although Hannah’s
brother Otto, was fighting in the war for Americans against Germans,
she and her family were still shunned by the people of Turtle Lake
simply because of their German blood. I have learnt that it is
important to be peace-loving like Hannah who had declined her role
as Lady Liberty in a pageant, although she had earned it fairly, just to
maintain peace. Quoting Hannah, “my father says there are times to
fight and times not to”, she understands that there was already too
much fighting going on and made the sacrifice to make peace in
school.

MAIN CHANGES IN RICHARD KNIGHT -TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Based on the novel ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff, there are some main changes in Richard Knight.

Firstly, before Richard exchanges letters with Mr. Kilmer he had no confidence as he cannot fit in with other people.
After Richard exchanges letters with Mr Kilmer, he became more confident in himself and he could share about his
poetry . For example, Mr Kilmer replied to Richard’s first letter that provided him the courage by encouraging him to
share his interest in poetry to people.

Secondly , his classmates were prejudice towards Richard because he does not fit in with others. When Richard
shared his poetry and Mr Kilmer’s letters with his classmates, Richard earns respects from some of his classmates.
Before this Richard’s classmates had perception of poetry is a sissy matter when Mrs. Hensen read a poem called
“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer.That is why Richard felt ashamed about his poem as people have the perspective of
“poets are sissies”. However , Richard managed to encourage himself to read out his poem for the class with Mrs.
Hensen’s and Mr Kilmer’s encouragement , with that Richard managed to earn some respect from his classmates.

Back then Richard was not friends with Hannah.Hannah usually isolates herself from people because people
usually make fun of her and discriminates her. Hence, Richard didn’t get a chance to make friends with her. When
Richard sign a card of sympathy and sends it to the Schermers , because he strongly knows that Hannah is a nice
girl that causes no harm to the community despite that she is a German, from that onwards Hannah became good
friends with Richard .

CHARACTER TRAITS OF HANNAH -TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Based on the novel ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff, there are a few character traits of Hannah
Schermer which I have observed.

Hannah is an appreciative person. When she learned that Richard was the only one who dared to sign
the card, she apologised for her previous rudeness. She expressed her gratitude by saying “That was
very brave of you. And very kind.” to Richard. She made sure to apologise multiple times and tells
Richard how much she appreciates his courage and integrity.

Besides, Hannah is an intelligent person. When Richard expressed his worry about the last line of his
poem to Mrs Hansen, Hannah made an intelligent remark. She suggested to change the line “Though
some will surely die” to “Although I wonder why”. Richard was very pleased with the suggestion and
changed it.

In conclusion, Hannah is an appreciative and intelligent person based on the events in the novel.

A CHARACTER YOU DISLIKE -TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Based on the novel ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff, a character that I dislike is Abner Lewis, one of
Richard’s classmates.

I dislike Abner as he is a bully. He often looks down at people whom he thinks are weaker. For example,
he calls poets sissies when Mrs. Hansen reads ‘Trees’ to the class. He also threatens the other boys in
the class when Mrs Hansen asks them to sign the card expressing condolences towards the
Schermers. He intimidates everyone who wanted to sign the card, even attacking Richard after school.
When Mrs Hansen announces the winners of the essay competition, he, along with Harry, Peggy and
Mason look at their classmates threateningly so that they do not applaud after Hannah reads her essay.

I also dislike Abner as he is actually a coward. For example, when he and Harry confront Richard after
school, they end up getting into a fight. Richard manages to fight back and when he puts his fist near
Abner’s face, Abner begs him not to hit him. Although Abner is a bully, he is a coward when faced with
someone stronger than he is.

A CHARACTER YOU DISLIKE -TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Based on the novel ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff, a character that I dislike is Gus.

One of the reasons I dislike Gus is because he does not respect his brother, Richard. When Richard
refuses to shoot the deer, Gus calls him a stupid fool. He also thinks that Richard should get himself
involved in sports without understanding why he is not interested in so.

The other reason I dislike Gus is because he is ignorant. He despises the fact that Richard enjoys
writing poetry, and tells him that he does not want anyone in his school to know about it. Besides,due
to the fact that he has anti-German sentiments that come from their involvement in the First World War,
he calls the Germans ‘huns’, which is not right.

In conclusion, Gus is a character that is disrespectful and ignorant.

HAPPY EVENT - WHICH AND WHY

Based on the novel ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff, a happy event in the novel is when Richard’s love
for poetry was acknowledged.

The first person Richard reached out to was Mr. Kilmer. Richard sent Mr. Kilmer a letter and got a reply
from him. In the letter, he told Richard that he is a soldier and advised Richard to be courageous and
share his poetry with the people around him. He also invited Richard to send one of Richard’s poem to
him.

After that, Richard went to find his teacher, Mrs Hansen. He showed her the letter and asked her to help
him pick a poem of his to send to Mr Kilmer. Mrs Hansen picked her favourite poem and even praised
Richard saying that it sounded like something Mr Kilmer would write. She even asked Richard if he
wanted to tell his poem to his class but Richard said he was not ready.

This event made me happy because I was able to see that Richard was starting to reveal his secret —
his love for poetry to the people around him. This shows development in his character in the sense that
he was becoming more courageous and was starting to work towards his goals. This truly inspired me
as a reader.

SAD EVENT - WHICH AND WHY

The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. The event that I found sad was when
Richard decided to tell his family members about his interest in poetry.

Richard’s interest in poetry have always been a secret his kept deeply within him. He asked his
penpal, Mr.Kilmer for advice if he should continue keeping this secret of his. One day, Mr. Kilmer
wrote back and encouraged him to overcome his fear and share his poetry to people around him.
However, when Richard bravely told his family about Mr. Kilmer and his love for poetry, nobody
was interested. His family was also not intrigued to read his poems. His brother Gus did not believe
that Mr.Kilmer was famous and even told him not to tell everyone about his secret as he wants
Richard to fit it with the others. Not just that, Pa did not acknowledge the truth that he wrote
poetry. He was heartbroken.

This event was downhearted and dejected to me because family has always been one’s biggest
support and motivation system. Richard’s family did not acknowledge and support his dreams and
longings of becoming a poet. Only the Schermer Family understand his passion for poetry and
even motivated him to continue writing poems. Everybody should be allowed to follow their
dreams including Richard.

AN EVENT THAT MADE YOU ANGRY - WHICH AND WHY

The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. An event that made me angry was when the
Schermers’ tavern was vandalised. I was angry because of two reasons.

Firstly, I was angry because some of the Turtle Lake people were being unfair to the Schermers. They
vandalized the Schermers tavern. They painted “Dirty Huns” all over the walls. They said that the
Schermers were Huns. Some Turtle Lake people even believed that Huns were a barbaric clan originated
from Germany. They said that the Schermers were unpatriotic because they spoke German and served Hun
food at their tavern while a war was going on against Germany.

Secondly, I was angry because Richard’s classmates were being unkind to the Schermers after the
Schermers’s tavern was vandalised. Mrs Hansen brought a card to express regret for what had happened .
She asked her class to sign the card. 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.

This event infuriated me. Hannah and her family should not be discriminated because of their heritage.
Discrimination of anyone based solely on religion, race or heritage is outrageous. Everybody should be
treated equally and given the same respect as the others.

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THE END

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