Dear Mr Kilmer Form 5 SPM – Questions and Sample

Answers (1, 2, 3)
Posted on September 5, 2017 by admin

Question 1 (SPM 2007)

‘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.

Sample Answer :

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.

…………………………………………………………………………..

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.

Sample Answer :

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.

………………………………………………………………………….

Question 3 (SPM 2009)

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?

Sample Answer :

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.

………………………………………………………………………….