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Plot |
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Chapter 1 |
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Early one morning on a cold February day, Richard, Gus and Pa go
deer hunting. Richard deliberately misfires to avoid killing a deer. His father is disappointed
and allows Richard to skip deer hunting in the future. |
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Gus tries to encourage his brother to take up sports and advises
Richard to be more conforming. However, Richard prefers to indulge in his world of poetry. |
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Richard goes to his room to reflect on past events and writes a poem
about the first deer that he witnessed being killed when he was 8 years old. The poem
is then locked in a drawer as he does not want anyone to read it. |
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Chapter 2 |
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It is the month of April and America has declared war on Germany.
One morning, Mrs. Hansen, Richard’s English teacher introduces a poem to the class
entitled “Trees” by a famous poet named Joyce Kilmer. She tells the class that Joyce Kilmer
has just volunteered to join the army in World War 1. Richard is fascinated
by the simple poem and borrows the book from Mrs. Hansen. He secretly takes down the office
address of The New York Times editor. |
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On the way home, Richard meets Hannah Schermer, a pretty, young blonde
girl of German descent who is crying because someone has written the words “Dirty
Hun” on her book. Richard is angered by this and confronts his classmates who then
expose their hatred towards Germans. |
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At home, Richard decides to write to Kilmer. Richard praises Kilmer
for enlisting in the army and tells Kilmer how he enjoys reading Kilmer’s poems. Richard
also shares his secret on poetry writing. He then sends the letter to The New York Times. |
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Chapter 3 |
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The tavern owned by the Schermers is vandalised. Mrs. Hansen asks
her class to sign a card expressing sympathy to the Schermers. However, several class bullies
prevent some students from signing the card. This shocks Mrs. Hansen. When Richard
signs the card, he is taunted. After class, Richard approaches his teacher and asks
for the card as he wants to personally deliver the card to the Schermers. When he reaches
the tavern, Richard notices the words “Dirty Huns” painted in red paint. |
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On the way home, Richard is surprised to see his sister, Angie running
towards him with news that he has got a letter from New York. |
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3 |
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Chapter 4 |
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Richard is thrilled to receive the letter from Kilmer, who encourages
him to continue to write poems. He is disappointed that his family members do not show
much enthusiasm about the letter as they do not know who Kilmer is. Richard is reminded
by Gus to ‘fit in’ with society and keeps his distance from the Schermers. |
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Next morning, Richard shows Kilmer’s letter to Mrs. Hansen. She is
very impressed. She helps Richard to select a few of his poems to be sent to Kilmer.
She also asks him to read Kilmer’s letter and a few of his own poems to the class. However,
he refused. |
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After Richard leaves the school building, he meets Hannah. She tells
him that some kind neighbours have helped to clean up the cruel words written on their
tavern. The neighbours promise that they will prevent this cruel action from
being repeated. |
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Chapter 5 |
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It is the end of the school year. Mrs. Hansen invites Richard to
share Kilmer’s letters and his poem about thunderstorms with the class. Richard feels very nervous.
However, some of his classmates looked at him with newfound respect. |
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Mr. Higby, the History teacher highlights the fact that the Huns
who invaded Europe were from Mongolia and are not related to the Germans. He reminds the
class that history is being created all the time. |
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Richard spends the summer working in the farm with Pa. He notices
that Pa is always unhappy and keeps to himself. So, one night, he writes a poem about
his father. |
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A few weeks later, Richard receives a reply from Kilmer. In the letter,
Kilmer praises Richard’s poem about soldiers and hopes that “the war will end all
wars”. |
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Richard continues to think about Hannah and writes a poem about her. |
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Chapter 6 |
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Richard and Kilmer continue to correspond with each other throughout
the summer. With each letter, Richard includes a poem to Kilmer. In return, Kilmer
encourages and provides suggestions to Richard about his poetry. |
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In September, Kilmer arrives in France and shares his fear of fighting
on the battlefront with Richard. Richard is concerned about the safety of the poet.
He also wonders if he and Gus will have to enlist if the war does not end. |
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4 |
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When school reopens, Mrs. Hansen announces her plans to hold a patriotic
programme to sell Liberty Bonds to help finance the war. The show involves singing,
music and acting. The two main characters are Lady Liberty and Doughboy. |
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All the students secretly want to play the roles of the two main
characters. However, Richard is selected to play Doughboy and Hannah Schermer plays Lady
Liberty because they have written the two best essays. In the end, Richard is the
only one who applauds Hannah when she reads her essay to the class. |
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Chapter 7 |
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Richard senses that some of the students are pleased with Hannah’s
essay but are too afraid to show their appreciation because of the class bullies. The
following day, a few parents approach the principal of the school to question Mrs. Hansen’s
selection of the role for Lady Liberty. |
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The next day, Mrs. Hansen announces that Hannah has turned down the
role of Lady Liberty, so Richard also gives up the role of Doughboy. He does this
to give moral support to his friend, Hannah. Mrs. Hansen then chooses Millie and Herbie
as replacements for the two leading roles. |
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During lunch, Hannah invites Richard to her house for supper. Richard
informs Gus that he is not able to have dinner at home. Gus says that Richard is unpatriotic
and calls him a traitor. |
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Richard walks Hannah home and spends a wonderful time with the Schermers.
It is soon dusk when Richard reaches his own house where Pa is waiting for him
on the porch. |
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Chapter 8 |
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Pa asks Richard why he has turned down the role as Doughboy. Richard
explains that he wants to show support to Hannah and it is unfair for the class bullies
to gang up on Hannah. The father of one of his classmates, Ike Lewis, accuses Richard
of siding with the Schermers and the Germans. Pa reminds Richard of Ike’s kindness when
he broke his leg three years ago. Pa blames poetry for filling Richard’s head with
“foolish ideas”. This saddens Richard very much. |
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Most of the students ignore Richard in school. Nevertheless, he is
not bothered as he spends most of his time at the Schemers’ home. He shares his poetry
with them and they understand him well. |
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Subsequently, Richard receives a sad letter from Kilmer who misses
celebrating Christmas with his family. Kilmer enjoys Richard’s poem about the oak tree
and grieves about the destruction of the forests in France. To cheer Kilmer up, Richard
sends him a package containing Hannah’s cookies and a scarf knitted by her mother for
him. |
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5 |
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A picnic is planned at Turtle
Lake on the last day of school. Richard and Hannah sit away from the others under a big oak tree. Richard carves a heart with
their initials R and H on the tree trunk. This romantic moment is interrupted when someone
throws a stone at Hannah’s foot. The stone had the word “Hun” on the flat side of it. |
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Chapter 9 |
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Pa is disheartened when Gus announces that he has enlisted in the
army and is leaving for basic training. Gus tries to convince his father that he can survive
the war, but his father does not believe him. Pa becomes silent and distant after Gus has
gone. Richard talks to Angie, his sister, about their father’s state of mind because they
both know that Pa is worried about Gus. |
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Richard finds great relief when he spends time with the Schermers.
In July, he sends Kilmer his latest poem and receives a quick reply praising him for
being a good poet. Kilmer advises Richard to read the works of other living poets to
understand their abilities. |
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Richard wants to know how poets make the world a better place and
decides to write a letter to Kilmer. He wants to mail the letter quickly. He goes to
Hannah’s house to ask her to accompany him to the post office but when Hannah opens the door,
she cries, “Your friend Mr. Kilmer has been killed!” |
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Chapter 10 |
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Richard is shocked to receive such news. Mrs. Schermer shows him
the newspaper report surrounding Kilmer’s death and how his comrades have buried him in
France. Richard is too shocked to cry. As reality sinks in, he realises that he still
has his letter to Kilmer in his hip pocket, suddenly, tears fill his eyes, so he quickly thanks
the Schermers and runs to his oak tree where he cries freely. |
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When he goes home, Richard writes the poem, “In Memory of Sergeant
Joyce Kilmer”. He shares the poem with the Schermers because only they are able to
understand how he feels. Mr. Schermer suggests that Richard sends the poem to Turtle
Lake Weekly to be published. A few days later, the poem is published. Richard buys
the newspaper and sees his poem on page 3. |
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At home, Pa shares a memory about Uncle Ronald who died in the Battle
of El Carney to comfort Richard. Pa breaks down and Richard reaches out to console
him. Pa is amazed at Richard’s ability to use certain words in his poem. |
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In mid-November, the Allies win the war. Richard works at the farm,
and he spends more time with Hannah and her family. Soon his poems are featured in the
local daily. Pa shares some ideas and suggestions concerning some of Richard’s poems that
relate to farm life. Richard is appreciative of this as it reminds him of Mr. Kilmer. |
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6 |
