DEAR MR. KILMER.... 2018

Question 1
Using the details from the novel that you have studied, write about the character who deserves sympathy.
With close reference to the text, give reasons for your decision?

Sample answer

The novel that I studied was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. The character who deserves sympathy is Richard.. He had a problem to tell people that he wrote poetry. This was the right decision for him eventhough it was hard for him to do so and I felt sympathy for him because he was alone facing the difficulty.

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.

The next day, Richard told Mrs Hansen that he wrote poetry. He showed her Mr Kilmer’s letter. Mrs Hansen helped Richard to choose a poem. Richard would send the poem to Mr Kilmer. As advised by Mrs Hansen, Richard shared Mr Kilmer’s latest letter and his poem with the class. Some of his classmates, including Blanche and Peggy, were deeply moved by his poem. They started to respect Richard. Hannah suggested a different ending to Richard’s poem.

In conclusion, Richard was a brave boy when he decided to tell his secrets to everyone. Eventhough he deservesd sympathy from us, he managed to handle and solve the problem successfully. We should make Richard as an example in our life.

Question 2 (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

he 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.