Bravery shines when one’s courage is put to the test.

Using the details from the novel you have studied, choose a character that shows
bravery. Give your opinion on how it helped to solve his / her problem. Support your
answer with close reference to the text.

The novel I have studied is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a
social misfit named Richard Knight. He loves poetry and hates violence. He began to
exchange letters with Mr. Joyce Kilmer who encouraged and taught him many life lessons. A
character that shows bravery is Richard Knight.

The first event that shows his bravery is when he defended Hannah. This is shown
when Richard saw Hannah crying in the hallway. Her book cover was sprawled with ‘Dirty
Hun’. Richard told his classmates about badmouthed her saying that Hannah is an enemy
because she is a German. Richard was brave when he told them that it was impossible to
discriminate her. A few days later, Prairie Haus was vandalised. To show sympathy and
support for the Schermers, Mr, Hansen brought a card for her students to sign. However, only
Richard signed it. Many students wanted to sign the card but they were afraid of the bullies.
Richard’s decision to sign the card shows that he was brave despite the bullies threat. On his
way to the Schermers house, Abner and Harry tried to stop him. They tried to beat him but he
managed to subdue them. The bullies promised that they will not disturb him anymore.
Richard finally delivered the card to Hannag. As we can clearly see, Richard successfully
stood up for what is right by signing and sending the card by being brave even though he
knew that he might get beaten by the troublemakers.

Moreover, Richard was also brave when he shared his poems. This is shown when he
was afraid to share his poems at the start of the novel. After Mr. Kilmer encouraged Richard
to share his poems, he began to have more confident. He began by sharing his peoms with his
family. However, the feedback was negative. Pa said that poetry is a waste of time. Gus said
that poems are sissy stuffs while Angie was indifferent because she did not understand
poetry. Richard did not give up and her later shared his poems with Mrs. Hansen. His teacher
was surprised and impressed by his poems. She asked him to share it in front of the class. His
classmates were also impressed with his poems. At the end of the novel, Richard regularly
publish his poems in Turtle Lake weekly. It is crystal clear that being brave, Richard finally
managed to share his poems with others despite the risk of being called ‘sissy’.

In conclusion, Richard successfully stood up for what is right and shared his poems
with others because of his bravery. I believe I can also be a successful person if I become
brave like Richard.