Question 2 (SPM 2008)
Using the details from the novel that you have studied,
• Describe what happens at the end of the novel.
• Explain why you find the ending either happy or sad.
The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. At the end of the story, Richard’s father finally supported his passion in writing poetry. This was a happy ending.
Richard Knight had a secret. Nobody knew that he wrote poetry including his family, teachers and schoolmates. One day, 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. Mr Kilmer was a famous poet. He enlisted in the army. He wrote a letter to Mr Kilmer. In his letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote poems too. Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s advice. He wanted to know whether he should tell his secret to everybody. A few days later, Richard received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to overcome his fear. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to share his poetry with people around him. 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.
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 going to be 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 Richard 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.
In conclusion, the ending of this story was truly heartwarming when a father and a son finally got along through the love of poetry.
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Question 4 (SPM 2012)
Based on the novel you have studied, write about an event that makes you angry?
With close reference to the text, give reasons why the event makes you feel this way.
Sample answer
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Event
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The novel that I studied 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 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 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 Mrs Hansen 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. 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 was the beginning of their friendship.
In conclusion, the event where the Schermers was being mistreated infuriated me. I truly believed that discrimination was unjust.
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Question 5 (SPM 2015 à Similar to SPM 2007)
Suggest one character in the novel you have read who you think is a good role model for teenagers.
Briefly describe the character and give reasons for your choice with close reference to the text.
Sample answer
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Event
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The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. A good role model for teenagers was Richard. Richard was 15 years old. He was tall, pale and slender. Richard was Mr Knight’s son. He was Angie and Gus’s younger brother. He was Mr Kilmer’s penpal and Hannah’s best friend. He loved poetry. There were three reasons why I chose Richard.
Firstly, he was kind. 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 was the beginning of their friendship.
Secondly, Richard was brave. 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 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 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 overcome his fear. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to share his poetry with people around him. 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 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.
Thirdly, he was supportive. Hannah and Richard won the roles of Lady Liberty and the Doughboy respectively because they wrote the best essays. 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. They regarded Hannah as an unpatriotic German although she was an American citizen. Hannah told Richard that her essay started a little war in Turtle lake. She did not want to cause any more problems. So she declined the role of Lady Liberty. Richard wanted to support Hannah. Therefore, Richard declined his part as the Doughboy. His family, his schoolmates and the Turtle Lake People criticized him for turning down his role. They called him unpatriotic and a traitor. These criticisms never stopped Richard from standing up for what was right.
In conclusion, Richard was a good role model for teenagers because he had good personalities.
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