Chapter 2 of the novels
DEAR MR KILMER
In the spring of 1917, America declared war against Germany and American troops were to head out to France in a couple of months.
The weather is getting better and everyone is happier despite the fact that many Americans would ship out and may never make it back.
In school, Mrs Hansen introduced poetry to Richard’s class by reading “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer. Richard was mesmerised but troublemakers like Abner Lewis and Harry Carver groaned and claimed that poetry was for sissies. This was Richard’s greatest nightmare coming true but Mrs Hansen cleverly revealed that people like Lord Byron and Walt Whitman who volunteered to fight in a war could not possibly be sissies. She also added that many poets like Christopher Marlowe who may or may not have been a spy were troublemakers, much like Abner and Harry. This reassured Richard a little and he believed he had found a hero. After class, Richard borrowed her poetry book and copied the work address of Mr Joyce Kilmer in the hopes of writing to him and making him a mentor.
After school, he discovered Hannah Schermer crying in the hallway because someone had scrawled ‘Dirty Hun’ all over her book cover. Like most of his classmates, he had a soft spot for the blue-eyed blonde. He tried to console her, but she turned and walked away. When he came across Abner, Harry and Blanche, he shared his encounter and realised quickly that they were not sympathetic to Hannah at all and believed that she is a Hun as her parents are German. Harry believed that if they were patriotic, they should shun every German as America was fighting
Germany. They went on to give examples of how unpatriotic the Schermers were if they served sauerkraut and spoke German to each other. They even insinuated that they might be spies. Richard was left in disbelief and went home disappointed. He finished his chores and retreated to his room to read the poetry book and write to Mr Kilmer. The book seemed to speak to him personally and he was amazed at how Joyce Kilmer managed to celebrate life’s ordinary joys so simply. He poured out his fears and problems about writing poetry and wondered if he should continue hiding his talent but the biggest question was whether Mr Kilmer would give Richard the time of day.
New characters:
1. Mrs Hansen
- the only English teacher in Richard’s school - strict but caring person
2. Abner Lewis & Harry Carver
- Richard’s classmates
- regarded as troublemakers
- prejudiced about Germans and believe they
should be victimised
- ignorant that some poets are brave men
3. Blanche Freebold
- dark-haired girl whose parents own the
local grocery store
- also ignorant and prejudiced
4. Hannah Schermer
- beautiful classmate with blue eyes and
cornsilk blonde hair
- of German descent but born in America - bullied for being German Setting: School
Memorable lines:
Mrs Hansen – “A lot of great poets have stood up for things they believed in.” Abner Lewis – “She is a Hun, isn’t she? Her parents are both Germans.” Richard – “I’m afraid if I tell anybody about my poetry, it’ll only make things worse.”
Lessons:
• Doing the right thing is hard when you are opposing the general public.
• Poetry need not be complicated, it just expresses how others feel in words.
SING TO THE DAWN
The teacher was pleased to see all his students waiting eagerly for the announcement of who had won the scholarship. First he drew their attention to the rent that their families had to pay to the landlord in the form of sacks of rice. He taught them about the concept of land ownership through inheritance. He asked the students if it was fair, to which they obviously said “NO”. They then discussed further about how to change that. The discussion went on until the headmaster appeared near the class. Then they quickly diverted their attention to geography so that the headmaster would not know that they had just discussed about radical things.
After that the teacher finally talked about the scholarship and why it was not just about winning a prize. The winner would carry the responsibility of eventually going back to the village to help them improve their livelihood. He stressed on the importance of learning to perceive what is wrong with society and its rules, and try to change it for a fairer system.
Then he turned to Dawan and asked if she could do all that. She thought he was picking on her but he then said that she was the winner. Setting: In the classroom where Dawan and Kwai studied.
New characters:
1. The teacher – He is unnamed but he is a catalyst of change in the village community. By influencing the students, he may cause a major change to come to the village in future. He is a visionary and also a radical. However he is also afraid of the headmaster and does not let on about his lessons on change when the headmaster is around.
2. Kwai and Dawan – In this chapter they are both shown to be curious youngsters who want to see change in the village. They question the fairness of the system whereby the villagers pay a high rental to the landlord. They also think of a means to solve the problem.
Memorable lines:
On page 12 – His hands were big and strong, and looked more as if they should be grasping a plow handle than a thin piece of chalk. The teacher – 1. “Getting the scholarship isn’t just winning a prize …. It also means the student will be bearing heavy responsibilities.”
2. “First, that student must learn how to think, to perceive what is wrong with the society, to analyse and understand the rules which create these injustices … and change it for a fairer system.”
Lessons:
• A community can come together to pool their resources for one another’s benefit.
• With great privilege comes great responsibility.