DEAR MR.

KILMER

Character & Characteristics

Sample 1

Using the details from the novel that you have studied, write about a difficult decision
made by one of the characters. With close reference to the text, do you think this was
the right decision?

The novel that I studied was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. A difficult
decision made by Richard was to tell people that he wrote poetry. This was the right
decision.

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.
Sample 2

‘It is important to have a person you look up to in your life.’

From the novel that you have read, write about one character that you look up to. Give
reasons why you choose him/her.

The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. One character that
I looked up to was Richard. There were three reasons why I looked up to Richard.

Firstly, he loved animals. This was shown when Richard purposely missed
shooting a buck. Richard thought that hunting was not important. Richard could not
kill animals. Gus, Richard’s elder brother, was upset with Richard because Richard
purposely misfired. Richard’s father, Pa, was also disappointed with Richard. Pa asked
Richard why he purposely missed shooting the buck. Richard told Pa that he had no
right to kill it. Richard told Pa that he felt painful and sad to kill an animal. Pa told
Richard not to go hunting anymore if he did not like it.

Secondly, Richard 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.

Thirdly, Richard was brave. This was shown 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 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. 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, I admired and respected Richard because he had good personalities.

Sample 3

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.

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
whenRichard’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.

Sample 4

Which character in the novel do you sympathize with? Explain whyyou sympathize
with this character with close reference to the text.

The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. The character I
sympathized with was Hannah Schermer. There were three reasons why I
sympathized with her.

Firstly, her schoolmates called her ‘Dirty Hun’. They evenscrawled “Dirty Hun”
all over her book cover. 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. Starting from this incident, the Schermers were always being
mistreated by some of the Turtle Lake people.
 Secondly, her parents’ tavern was vandalised. They painted “Dirty Huns” all
over the walls. Mrs Hansen asked her class to sign a sympathy card for the
Schermers. 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.

Thirdly, people unfairly denied her role as Lady Liberty.Hannah won the roles
of Lady Liberty because she wrote the best essay. 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. Some
parents complained to the 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 more problems. So she
declined the role of Lady Liberty. Richard wanted to support Hannah.

In conclusion, although Hannah Schermer and her family was mistreated by some
Turtle Lake people, they remained calm and patient.

Sample 5

“People should be allowed to follow their dreams.”

Write about a character who wants to realise his or her dream.

The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. A character who
wanted to realise his dream was Richard. Richard wanted to be a poet.

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, Richard faced many obstacles in his journey of becoming a poet. In the
end, he managed to realise his dream.

Sample 6

The main character is a strong-willed person. How is this shown in the novel?
Support your answer with close reference to the text.

The novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. The statement
“Family supports family” was not true in the beginning of the story. However, it became
true at the end of the story.

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 bond in a family strengthened when family supported each

other.