1. DEAR MR. KILMER
BY: ANNE SCHRAFF
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 1
1. The Knightfamilylivesonafarm nearTurtle Lake inIowa,America.One dayinwinter1917,
Richard,Pa and Richard’sbrother,Gus,hike 5 milestotheirsmall huntingcabinin the woods.
Richardis goingto shoothisfirstdeerthe nextday.
2. At dawnthe nextday,theyfollow the creektoa large pool and waitinthe bushes. Richard
prays silentlythatnodeerwill come.
3. Soon,a large buck (male deer) comestodrinkwater. It is lessthan50 feetaway. Richardcan
shootit butpurposelymissesit.
4. TheirfathertellsGusto unloadhisgunand go back to the huntingcabinto pack all the things.
He wantsto talkto Richard.
5. Richard’sfatherasksRichard whyhe deliberatelymissedshootingthe deer. Richardtellshim
that he has no rightto kill it. It ispainful andhe feelssadtokill ananimal.
6. TheirfathertellsRichardnotto go huntinganymore if he dislikesit. He thenasksRichardto
helpGus in the cabin.
7. In the huntingcabin,GusadvisesRichardto fitinwithotherpeople andbe active insportsto be
popular. He also tellshimtotry outfor baseball andgetoverhisdislike forhuntingtomake
theirfatherproudof him.
8. Richardcannot understandwhyhisfatherthinksthathuntingisimportantandwhyhisfatheris
sad that he cannot kill animals.
9. Richardrecallsthe day whenhisgrandfathershotandkilledadeer. He was onlyeightyearsold
then,buthe hasfeltsad aboutit all these years. He writesapoemabout itand feelsalittle
better.
10. Richardlocksup the poemwithall the otherpoemshe has writteninhisdrawer. Nobody
knowshe writespoetry. He keepsita secretbecause asit is,people thinkhe isstrange.
