summary of chapter 10

1. DEAR MR. KILMER
BY: ANNE SCHRAFF
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 10
1. Mr. SchermergivesRichardthe newspaper. Richardreadshow Mr. Kilmerwaskilled. The Allies
and the Germanswere fightingwhenSergeantKilmercrossedasmall hill lookingforGerman
machine nests. Suddenly,abulletfromaGermansniperstruckhisheadand killedhim
immediately. Richardcannotcry in frontof the Schermers.
2. Richardruns to hisfavourite oaktree. He climbsto the highestbranchandsobs. He is
frustratedthatpoetrycouldnot preventMr.Kilmerfrombeingkilledanditcouldnotstopthis
war fromhappening. He doesnotwant towrite anotherpoem, buthe is alreadythinkingof the
versesforthe nextpoem.
3. Richardgoeshome and writeshistribute toSeargentJoyce Kilmer. He wantsto share itwith
the Schermersbecause onlytheyunderstandhisfriendshipwithMr.Kilmerandhispassionto
write poetry.
4. The nextday,Richard readshispoemto the Schermers. Mrs. Schermerssuggeststhathe gethis
poemprintedin“Th Turtle Lake Weekly”,the local newspaper. Richardisafraidthathisfather
wouldbe furiouswithwhenhe knowsaboutit.
5. The Schermerspersuade Richardtosendhispoemto the newspaperoffice immediately.
Richardgiveshispoemto Mr. Garrison,the newspaper’sowner. He tellsHannahthathe is
afraidto embarrasshisfatherfurtherandmake himmad.
6. A fewdayslater,Richardisamazedto see histribute toMr. Kilmerinthe middle of page 3A. he
triesto tell hisfatheraboutitso that he will notbe shocked,buthe justcannot say anything.
Afterthe farm work,Richard’sfatherlooksatthe newspaperandasksRichardif he knowsthat
Mr. Kilmerhasdied. Richardsaysthathe doesandquicklygoestothe bedroom. He worries
that hisfatherwill be angrywhenhe seeshispoem.
7. ThenRichard’sfathercomesintothe hisroom withthe newspaperandtalksabouthisbrother,
Roland,toRichard. He diedfightinginCubaonJuly1. A majornewspaperwrote thatAmerican
casualtieswere slightinthatwar. Richard’sfatherhasbeenupsetbecause tohim, Rolandwas
the worldand nota slightcasualty.
8. Richard’sfathersobsthat he keptrepeating,“A worldisdeadandgone!” whenRolandwas
buried. Richardcomfortshim. He isamazedhow Richard coulduse the same wordsin his
poem. Now,bothRichardand hisfatherunderstandwhyhe writespoems.
9. In mid-November1918, the war endswhenthe Allieswins. Richardshowsthe Sioux City
newspaperafterschool toAngie andhisfather. Theyreadthe newsandlaughbecause Gus is
traininghardfor a war that is over. Gus andOtto are safe. Anti-Germansfeelingswillstill
continue,buttheywill notlastforeverwithoutawar.

2. 10. WinterapproachesandRichard goesto school. He workson the farm and visitsthe Schermers
too wheneverhe can. His poemsare a regularfeature inthe “Turtle Lake Weekly”. Theyare
mainlyaboutfarmlife,sohe getshisfather’shelpashe is an experiencedfarmer. Everynight,
Richardreads hispoemsaloudforhisfatherto correct or to give suggestionstoimprove them.
For the knightfamily,all hasendedwell.