10) DEAR MR KILMER: THE ENDING: QUESTION 33 PAPER 2:

QUESTION 33:

Dear Mr. Kilmer	-	Anne Schraff
Sing To The Dawn	-	Minfong Ho
Captain Nobody	-	Dean Pitchford

In the novel that you have studied, do you like its ending? Give reasons for your answer with close reference to the text.

[15 marks]

SAMPLE ANSWER

·         Name of novel ·         synopsis	The novel that I have studied is Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is set during the World War I. It is about a boy named Richard Knight who lives in Turtle Lake, Iowa, in America. He lives with his father, Pa, his elder brother, Gus, and his sister, Angie. He goes to school there as well. Richard has a friend named Hannah Schermer, an American girl from German descent. She becomes a victim to the locals prejudice and discrimination because America was at war against Germany. Richard was also close to her family so he was criticised by his family and friends. Another reason Richard was criticised by his family and friends was his passion towards poetry. In an effort to pursue this passion, Richard made contacts with a poet, Mr Joyce Kilmer, through letters. Sadly, Mr Kilmer died while fighting in the war.
·         Do you like the ending? ·         Describe the ending	I really enjoy reading the ending of the story. In the novel, on a few occasions Pa and Gus criticised Richard for his deep interest towards poetry writing. However, at the end of the story Pa supported him. Richard’s poems have become a regular feature in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’. Pa helps Richard by correcting his poems or giving suggestions because Richard writes mainly about farm life. Richard reads his poems aloud to Pa after dinner beside the fire. Often, Pa praises his poems.
·         Reason 1	There are three reasons why I like the ending of this novel. First, it shows that poets have a role to play in the community. Richard’s success as a poetry writer in a regular column in the local newspaper proves that poetry writing is an acceptable hobby in the community unlike the claims made by the bullies from Richard’s classmates that poems are for ‘Sissies’.
·         Reason 2	Second, I like the ending because it patches the void in the relationship between a son and his father. Pa was initially cold and distant towards Richard although they always work together at the farm. However, this situation changed. Their relationship was strengthened after Mr Kilmer’s death in the war. The change happened after Richard wrote a poem to commemorate his death. In that poem, Richard used the same phrase that went through Pa’s mind during Uncle Roland’s funeral. The phrase was ‘A world is gone. A world is dead and gone’. The poem was published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’ and Pa was very impressed of Richard.
·         Reason 3	Third, the ending in this novel has an important moral value which is perseverance. Richard was ridiculed by some of his classmates for his poetry writing. Pa also said that poetry has put crazy ideas in his mind. Despite all these objections, Richard found his strength to pursue his interest. He made contacts with Mr Kilmer who motivated him to write poetry. He also befriended the Schermers who supported him. Mr Schermer even persuaded him to send his poem about Mr Kilmer to be published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’. Since then, he is a regular poetry writer. From this ending, it is clear that perseverance is important in achieving success.
·         Conclusion	I enjoyed reading the novel. Based upon the reasons stated above, I even enjoyed reading its ending. It ends well and this leaves a sweet memory to all the readers.