Melaka: We must have the courage to do the right thing

I have learnt the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer written by

Anne Schraff. This novel is about a boy who loves poetry.
His name is Richard. Richard is a fifteen- year old
American boy who lives in Turtle Lake during the World
War. Based on the novel, it is important to have the
courage to do the right thing. This is portrayed by Richard,
who is brave and who stands up for what is right.

First of all, Richard is courageous when he signed the

sympathy card to Hannah. Mrs. Hansen had asked the
class to sign a sympathy card because of what happened
to Hannahs family tavern. Unfortunately, nobody was
brave enough to sign the card because they were afraid of
being bullied. Richard was the only one who stood up for
what is right and bravely signed the card. Richards
behavior made me realize the importance of standing up
for what is right.
Moreover, Richard is also brave to tell his father that
he did not like killing animals. When he went hunting with
his father, his father asked him to shoot a buck. He
purposely missed the shot and told his father that he feels
that it is wrong. He feels that animals have the right to live
too, just like humans. When I read this chapter, I learned
to love animals like Richard.

Apart from that, Richard is brave when he clapped his

hand to support Hannah. Hannah was chosen as the
Liberty Lady and she read her essay in the class. Her
essay is amazing and moving, making her the winner of
the contest organized by Mrs. Hansen. Richard clapped for
her, as he knows that she deserves applause.
Unfortunately, he was the only one who was brave enough
to show his support for Hannah. His classmates did not
clap for her. Richards action made me realise that it is
important to show support for the things that are right.

In conclusion, we must have the courage to do the

right thing just like Richard. I hope everyone in this world
would follow Richards good behavior and be courageous
to voice out their opinions.
Johor SDAHA
A brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he
who conquers that fear.
With close reference to the text, describe how this is
portrayed by one of the characters and explain how this
quality would benefit you.

I have learnt the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer written by

Anne Schraff. This novel is about a boy who loves poetry.
His name is Richard. Richard is a fifteen- year old
American boy who lives in Turtle Lake during the World
War. The statement above is portrayed by one of the main
characters in this novel, which is Richard. Richard is a
brave man for he conquers his own fears. He faced a lot of
challenges in his life by being courageous and throughout
the end of the story he managed to face his fears and
achieve his dream of becoming a poet.

First of all, in the first chapter, it is revealed that

Richard hides his poetry from the people around him. He
loves poetry and would write them and keep them in his
drawers. He did not dare to show his poems to people
because he was scared. He was scared that people wont
appreciate his poetry and he would be embarrassed that
people might criticize his work.

When he heard a poem by Joyce Kilmer, he decided

to write to him and tell him about his hobby. He got a reply
and he showed it to Mrs. Hansen. He presented his poems
to the whole class and some of his classmates did not like
it. During that era, most of the people consider poetry as
sissy stuff. He was labeled as sissy for writing poetry.
Richard did not care and still continues to write poems.

When he had the courage to show his talent to his

family, he felt rejected, as his family was unsupportive
especially Gus, and Pa. Gus told him to fit in with the kids
at school by not telling them about his poetry. He did not
want Richard to be bullied at school. Richard did not feel
the same way. He still stood up for what he believes in. In
the end, he decided to send his poem about Joyce Kilmer
to the newspaper even though he feared that his father
might be angry and disappointed with him. He conquers
his fear by showing the people in Turtle Lake his true
passion and talent.

In conclusion, we can learn a lot from Richards

bravery. We should always stand up for our own passion
and try our best to face our fears. We need to be brave in
order to face our fears, because a brave man is not he
who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Selangor Set A: Good Values bring positive effects

I have learnt the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer written by

Anne Schraff. This novel is about a boy who loves poetry.
His name is Richard. Richard is a fifteen- year old
American boy who lives in Turtle Lake during the World
War. Based on the statement, I do believe that good
values bring positive effects in a persons life. Most of the
good values that are shown in this novel are portrayed
through the main character, Richard. He is kind, brave and
supportive.

One of Richards good values is kindness. He shows

kindness to people that he loves. In the novel, Richard is
kind towards his father, sister, Hannah and the Schermers.
Richard shows his kindness to his father when he helped
him at the barn during the summer holidays. He helped
his sister with the chores at his house and buys her
flowers to show that he cares. He also has helped Hannah
a lot. His kindness has brought positive effects in his life
and also in the life of those he has helped.

Besides that, Richard is brave. He is courageous

when he signed the sympathy card to Hannah. Mrs.
Hansen had asked the class to sign a sympathy card
because of what happened to Hannahs familys tavern.
Unfortunately, nobody was brave enough to sign the card
because they were afraid of being bullied. Richard was the
only one who stood up for what is right and bravely signed
the card. Richards behavior made me realize the
importance of standing up for what is right.
 Apart from that, Richard is also supportive. Richard
shows his support when he clapped his hand to encourage
Hannah. Hannah was chosen as the Lady Liberty and she
read her essay in the class. Her essay is amazing and
moving, making her the winner of the contest organized
by Mrs. Hansen. Richard clapped for her, as he knows that
she deserves applause. Unfortunately, he was the only
one who was brave enough to show his support for
Hannah. His classmates did not clap for her. Richards
action made me realise that it is important to show
support for the things that are right.

In conclusion, we must have good values just like

Richard. I hope everyone in this world would follow
Richards good behavior and realise how important it is to
have good values in life.

Selangor Set C : This novel teaches us many lessons about

life.

I have learnt the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer written by

Anne Schraff. This novel is about a boy who loves poetry.
His name is Richard. Richard is a fifteen- year old
American boy who lives in Turtle Lake during the World
War. This novel teaches us many lessons about life.

The incident that has taught me many lessons about

life is when Richard signed the sympathy card to the
Schermers. The Schermers tavern was vandalized by
irresponsible racists who hate the Germans. When the
news broke, Mrs. Hansen asked the class to sign a
sympathy card to the family to show their support and to
comfort them. Unfortunately, only Richard signed the card.
No one dared to sign the card.

From this incident, I learned that we must not

discriminate others. Richard was the only person who did
not care whether the Schermers were Germans. He did not
discriminate them based on their race. His classmates did
not sign the card because they do not like the Schermers
based on the fact that they are Germans.

Besides that, I learned that we must always be kind

and thoughtful to others regardless of their race. Richard
was kind and thoughtful to sign the card and send the
card himself to the Schermers.

Apart from that, we must also be brave just like

Richard. He was brave to sign the card. Some of his
classmates who did not sign the card were afraid that the
troublemakers might bully them. Richard did not care
about this because he stands up for what is right.

As a conclusion, I have learned a lot of valuable life

lessons from reading this novel. I hope everyone in this
world would follow Richards good behavior and realise
how important it is to not discriminate others and to have
good values in life.

Selangor Set B
Write about an event that has shown you the importance
of making a responsible decision.

I have learnt the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer written by

Anne Schraff. This novel is about a boy who loves poetry.
His name is Richard. Richard is a fifteen- year old
American boy who lives in Turtle Lake during the World
War. This novel teaches us the importance of making a
responsible decision.

In the novel, Richard has made a responsible decision

by signing the sympathy card to the Schermers. When the
news broke about the Schermers tavern being vandalized,
Mrs. Hansen asked the class to sign a sympathy card to
the Schermers. Unfortunately, only Richard signed the
card. All of his classmates did not sign the card.

Richards decision to sign the card is a responsible

decision because he did it to show support and to comfort
Hannahs family. He signed the card and delivered them
himself. It shows that he cares about people and he is
thoughtful. In life, we must show support to those who are
in trouble and help them in any way that we can.

Besides that, Richards action shows that he does not

discriminate other people. Hannah is a German and she is
hated for her race. Her classmates did not sign the card
because they discriminated her. Some did not sign the
card because they were afraid of being bullied by the
troublemakers. Richards action is a responsible one, as he
teaches us not to discriminate others. We need to be kind
and treat others equally. That is the right thing to do.

In conclusion, it is important for us to make the right

and responsible decision. We must always think before we
do and try to follow Richards behavior.