Dear Mr Kilmer (Characters)

Dear Mr Kilmer

Characters

By Gan BH

Richard Knights

Character Physical Description

• 15 years old from • tall, slender & pale
• Lived in Iowa • looked like his mother (pg 2)
• In tenth grade

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
loving/kind/caring
1. He thought that animals should not be hunted
down unnecessarily. He cried when his
Grandpa killed a deer when he was eight
years old. (pg 15)

2. When he noticed Hannah was crying after
school, he asked her what had happened as
someone had scrawled the words 'Dirty Hun'
on her book cover. (pg 23)

3. Richard spoke up for some students who did
not want to sign the card for Hannah. He told
Mrs. Hansen that they wanted to sign but were
afraid. (pg 34)

4. Richard kept hoping that the war would end
before Mr. Kilmer went to Europe. He was also
worried that Gus might be killed in the war if
he went after graduation. (pg 68)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

observant/perceptive 1. Richard realised that Angie sacrificed
a lot for his family. She took care of
them after their
mother died when he was seven. (pg 14)
2. Richard observed his father having a
sad, haunted look whenever he gazed
across the
prairie. He wondered what his father
thought about. (pg 65)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

soft-hearted/ 1. As they were walking to look for their prey,
unwillingness to kill Richard felt his gun as heavy as lead
because he was hesitant to kill. (pg2)

2. As they quietly waited for a deer, Richard
silently prayed that no deer would turn up to
drink that day so that he would not have to kill
it. (pg 3)

3. He admitted to Pa that he did not have the
heart to kill the buck he was supposed to so
he purposely missed. (pg 4)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
hardworking/diligent/helpful
1. Richard did twice the amount of work on the
farm than Gus did. (pg 9)

2. Richard helped his sister in the kitchen after
supper. (pg 14)

3. In school, Richard worked hard and got
excellent grades in studies. (pg 18)

4. When Richard got home from school, he did
his chores, gathered the eggs and pitched hay
to the horses. (pg 25)

5. During summer, Richard spent his days on the
farm plowing, planting and cultivating. He also
took care of animals. He loved working with
his father. (pg 64)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
assertive/firm/rational
1. When Richard tried talking to his friends
about what had happened to Hannah, he
thought that others were being mean to
Hannah. He did not change his mind even
though the other classmates talked bad about
Hannah because her parents are Germans. (pg
23-25)
2. When Mrs. Hansen announced that the class
should sign a card to show their support for
Hannah, Richard felt disgusted that his friends
picked on Hannah and her family instead. They
accused of them being spies and singing
German songs. (pg 29-30)
3. Richard could put himself in Hannah’s place
and thought of how he would feel if his family
were picked on. So he bravely signed the

card. (pg 33)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

strong/brave/ 1. Abner and Harry warned Richard against
courageous signing the card for Hannah but he bravely
signed his name on it. (pg 33)
2. After class, Richard asked for the card from
Mrs. Hansen so he could deliver it himself even
though there was only one signature.(pg 35)
3. After school, Abner and Harry taunted him
and started beating him but he kicked Harry in
the stomach and straddled across Abner. (pg 37)
4. After getting encouragement from Mr. Kilmer,
Richard overcame his fear and informed his
family his love for writing poems. (pg 47)
5. After much encouragement from Mrs.
Hansen, Richard read one of his poems in class
and shared with them what Mr. Kilmer wrote.
(pg 58-60)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
obedient/filial son
1. Richard did not want to lie to his father
creative/talented/ regarding why he missed the shot so he told
intelligent his father the truth. (pg 6)

2. Richard felt guilty for disappointing his Pa for
not able to shoot the deer. (pg 6 & 10)

1. He wrote poems to express his feelings but he
locked them in his drawer to prevent anyone
from knowing. (pg 6)

2. Richard came up with the idea of exchanging
letters with the soldiers overseas so they
would not feel lonely or homesick. (pg 71)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
thoughtful 1. As Richard walked home from school, he

sociable thought about picking some flowers for his
sister to put on the table. (pg 25)
2. Before Richard handed the card to Hannah,
he wrote a kind message in it for Hannah and
her parents. He apologised for what had
happened and told them many people
respected them and they were fine citizens.
(pg 38)

1. Richard had a famous poet, Joyce Kilmer as a
pen pal. (pg 68)

2. He exchanged a few letters with Mr. Kilmer
when he was preparing for war. (pg 44, 59, 63,
66, 68)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
hesitant/fearful
1. Richard voiced his fear of telling people
his love for poetry to Mr. Kilmer in his first
letter. He feared it would become worse for
him. (pg 27)
2. Richard asked Mr. Kilmer for opinion on
what to do regarding his poems. He
wondered if he should tell others about it or
hide it from them. (pg 27)
3. He was nervous when he stood in front of
his classmates to read his poem. His hand
was shaking and his voice quivered. (pg 57)

Hannah Schermer

Character Physical Description

• 15 years old from • pretty
• Lived in Iowa • blue-eyed
• In tenth grade • blonde hair

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
thankful/grateful
1. After being unkind to Richard (when Richard
hopeful gave her the card), she apologised to him and
praised him for being brave and kind. (pg 52)
2. She was thankful there were neighbours who helped
to paint over the awful words on the wall of the tavern.
They promised to prevent it from happening again. (pg
53)

1. She wanted the war to end immediately as her
brother, Otto had joined the American
Expeditionary Forces (American soldiers who
went to Europe for war). She was worried
about her brother. (pg 54)
2. She believed that people could live
peacefully without wars if everyone could learn to
wage peace in their own hearts. So, fewer
people would die in vain. (pg 77)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
patriotic 1. She did not stop her brother from joining the

intelligent American Expeditionary Forces as her brother
was patriotic and he claimed it was the right
thing to do. (pg 54)

1. She made a sensible suggestion to Richard on
how to change the last line of his second poem
he planned to send to Mr. Kilmer. (pg 61)

2. Through her essay, Hannah voiced her opinion
regarding the war. She said peace must be
made right in America. People must learn how
to care for one another despite the differences.
(pg 77)

Mr. Knight @Pa

Character Physical Description

• Richard’s father • dark & brawny
• broad back
• tall built

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

wise 1. As they followed the creek to a pool where deer
often came to drink, they checked the direction
understanding of the wind and looked for a place to hide.
(pg 3)

2. They placed themselves upwind of the pool so
any deer that came to drink could not smell
their presence. (pg 4)

3. Even though he felt sad killing animals, he
understood that in order to keep on surviving,
he had to hunt. (pg 7)

1. When Richard missed shooting the deer, he
justified by saying the deer was already bolting
and Richard would not have made a clean kill.
(pg 5)

2. When Richard voiced out his thoughts about
not wanting to kill animals, Pa gave him the
permission not to hunt anymore. (pg 7)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

determined 1. He hiked for five miles with his boys to their
hunting cabin in order to go hunting. (pg 1)
hopeful
2. He did not allow Gus to join the army until
he finished high school. (pg 12)

1. When they were at the cabin, he kept
saying Richard would get his first deer the next
day before they went hunting. (pg 2)
2. Pa wanted his boys to get an education for
a better future. (pg 12)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
analytical 1. He could see that Richard purposely raised the

diligent rifle by a mere inch to avoid killing the buck.
(pg 6)

1. He is a diligent farmer like his father before
him. He spent hours at his farm overseeing
farmhands and tending to the cattle.(pg 64)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
discouraging
1. When Richard told his father he wrote poetry,
his father could not believe it. He asked if
Richard were teasing him. (pg 47)

2. He did not want to listen to any of Richard’s
poetry but reminded Richard not to let it
interfere with his chores or schoolwork. (pg 47)

3. He expected Richard to outgrow writing poetry as he
thought it was just a temporary interest. (pg 48)

Gus Knight

Character Physical Description

• Richard’s older brother • dark & brawny
• eldest child in the family • just like Pa
• popular at school,
• terrific athlete (pg 8)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
brave/merciless
1. Gus killed his first buck when he was much
younger that Richard. (pg 10)

2. He stated that he did not feel any guilt or
sadness when he killed animals. Instead, it
empowered him and made him feel like a
man. (pg 10)

3. Gus wanted to join the army and fight for his
country. (pg 11)

concerned/persuasive 1. After the shooting incident, Gus told Richard
he had to learn to fit in with other people as he
was worried for him. (pg 8)

2. He advised Richard to get into sports so he
would get into good shape. (pg 9)

3. Gus persuaded Richard to try baseball as
Richard has a strong throwing arm. (pg 10)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
hot-headed/impulsive
1. He was furious when Richard missed the shot and yelled at
stubborn him without an ounce of patience. (pg 4)
discouraging 2. When Pa told him to return to the cabin to pack up, he
showed his annoyance by stomping away. (pg 5)

1. Gus refused to let his brother shoot the buck. He wanted to
kill it himself but his Pa sternly stopped him so he had to
comply. (pg 3)
1. He claimed that Mr. Kilmer was wasting his time on a
small fry like Richard. (pg 46)
2. He mentioned he hated poetry and it was sissy stuff. He
said he would deny Richard as his brother if he grew his hair
long and curly.

(pg 48)
3. After dinner, he advised Richard not to go around school
telling people he wrote poetry. He did not want Richard to
pull another stunt
like signing the card for the Schermers and become an
oddball. (pg 49)

Angie Knight

Character Physical Description

• Richard’s older sister

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
responsible 1. She took over her mother’s role after her

sacrificed her life mother died when she was nine. She spent her
days storing and canning food, cooking,
cleaning, washing clothes and sewing. (pg 14)
2. Angie also helped with the planting, harvesting
and caring for the livestock on their farm.
(pg 14)

1. Angie stopped school at eight grade to help in
the farm. She gave up her life to provide for her
family. (pg 14)

Mrs. Hansen

Character Physical Description

• an English teacher • wore bifocals

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
responsible/creative
1. The school’s only English teacher who was
strict but obviously cared a lot about what she
was teaching. (pg 18)

2. At the beginning of the new school year, she
announced that the class would put on a
patriotic programme to help sell Liberty Bonds
which helped finance the war. (pg 69)

3. She suggested that the girl who the best
essay would play the role of “Lady Liberty”
while the boy with the best essay would be
“Doughboy”. (pg 69 – 70)

4. She announced that she would post the two
winners' essays in class for everyone to enjoy.
(pg 74)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
encouraging
1. Despite the negative responses from her
students, she encouraged them to sign the
card for the Schermers to show their
sympathy. (pg 31)

2. Mrs. Hansen smiled encouragingly when
Richard offered to send the card to the
Schermers. She praised him for having some
integrity. (pg 35)

3. When she read Richard’s poems, she had
something nice to say about each one. She
helped him choose one to send to Mr. Kilmer.
(pg 51)

4. She encouraged Richard to share his poem
with his class. (pg 52)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

knowledgeable 1. She informed the class that according to The New York
Times, Mr. Kilmer has volunteered to fight in the war. (pg 20)
concerned/kind 2. She told the class about other great poets who stood up for
things they believed in like Lord Byron and Walt Whitman who
both fought in wars. (pg 21)

1. When she heard that Hannah’s parents’ tavern was
vandalised, she encouraged her class to sign a card for them to
show their regret for the family. (pg 29)
2. When her students refused to sign the card, Mrs. Hansen
defended Hannah’s family saying that they were upstanding
members of the community and they have lived in the
United States for many years. (pg 30)
3. She tried to get her students to sign the card but expressed
her disappointment when Richard was the only one who
signed it. (pg 34)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration

regretful/felt 1. When Mrs. Hansen saw only one signature on
disappointed/empathy the card, she expressed her disappointment
and questioned why the students had no
sympathy for those who deserved it. (pg 34)

2. She decided not to send the card to the
Schermers as there was only one signature.
(pg 34)

Mr. Joyce Kilmer

Character Physical Description

• worked for New York Times
• famous poet
• published a book “Trees and

other poems”

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
brave/courageous/ 1. He volunteered for service in the Army to fight
patriotic
for his country. (pg 20)
kind/caring 2. He admitted it was very hard to train to be a

soldier. Although he was afraid, he had to
overcome his fears. (pg 44)
3. He believed in President Wilson’s calling of “the
war to end wars”. He volunteered to fight so
young men would not need to fight and die in
any more wars. (pg 66)

1. He wrote poems about living things. (pg 26)

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
encouraging
1. He wrote to Richard and empathised with him.
He encouraged Richard to be brave and to
overcome his fears. He asked Richard to share
his poems with those he knew. (pg 44)

2. He asked Richard to write to him again and
send him one of his poems. (pg 44)

3. Mr. Kilmer signed his letter to Richard as ‘Your
fellow poet’. This shows he acknowledged
Richard’s ability to write poetry and could
identify with him. (pg 44)

4. Mr. Kilmer told Richard his poems were very
fine and impressive. He encouraged him to
continue writing as he might become a
published verse maker in future. (pg 59)

5. He claimed he enjoyed reading Richard’s
poems and letters. (pg 67)

Abner Lewis & Harry Carver

Character Physical Description

• Classmates with Richard

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
proud 1. When Abner first heard Mr. Kilmer’s poem, he

mean/unkind said it was sissy stuff and claimed his father
said poetry was for sissies but he did not know
that several poets fought in battlefields. (pg 20)

1. Abner and his friends wrote ‘Dirty Hun’ on
Hannah’s book cover. He also claimed that
they were Germans. (pg 23)

2. Harry said the Schermers served sauerkraut
in their tavern and it proved that they were
unpatriotic as the war was ongoing. (pg 24)

Blanche Freebold

Character Physical Description

• Classmate with Richard • Dark haired

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
mean/unkind
1. She declared that Germans were barbarians
who had to be stopped or they would take
over the world and they cut people in two.
(pg 24)

2. She heard that Schermers spoke in German
and thought they might be plotting something
and did not want their neighbours to know.
(pg 24)

Peggy

Character Physical Description

• Classmate with Richard • Dark haired

Characteristics Evidence/Elaboration
snobbish 1. She felt Millie was too mousy and bad-looking

narrow-minded to play the role of Lady Liberty. (pg 72 – 73)

1. She felt that Hannah Schermer would be a
mockery to the patriotic idea if she were
chosen as she was viewed as a Hun. (pg 73)