“No matter how good a person is, he is always bad in someone’s story.

Write about a scene that depicts this situation. With close reference to the text, explain how the
main character’s action triggered negative reactions from others.

The novel I have read is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. This novel is about a boy named
Richard Knight who loves poetry but hates violence. He learnt many life lessons after he exchanged
letters with Mr. Joyce Kilmer. The scene that depicts the situation mentioned in the question is the
Sympathy Card incident.

The scene began when Mrs. Hansen brought a card for her students to sign to show sympathy
for their classmate, Hannah Schermer. This is because her family tavern was vandalised with “Dirty
Huns” painted all over the walls. The students were not cooperative because they were threatened
by the troublemakers. Nobody signed the card except Richard. This is because Richard wanted to do
the right thing by supporting his classmate who fell victim to prejudice and discrimination. Mrs.
Hansen was disappointed to see only one signature on the card. She decided not to send the card.
Richard volunteered to help Mrs. Hansen to deliver the card to the Schermers. However, on the way
to the Schermers’ house, Abner and Harry tried to stop him because they did not like Richard’s kind
action towards the Schermers. They tried to beat Richard but he subdued them. They promised to
leave Richard alone but they began spreading rumours that caused Richard to be called “Hun’s Lover.”
Some students giggled and passed rude remarks behind Richard’s back all day but he chose to ignore
them.

In my opinion, there are many reasons why Richard’s kind action triggered negative reactions
from others. The first reason is because Richard showed support to Hannah. Hannah is a German-
American. At that time, America was at war with Germany during World War I so many American
harboured hatred and prejudice towards Germans due to propaganda spread by the American
government. The Schermers, who are Germans, became victim to this and they were discriminated.
This is why Richard’s action of being kind to the Schermers invited anger and dissatisfaction from other
students. The second reason is because Richard has been a social misfit. He does not fit in with other
students. This has caused many students feeling uncomfortable and misunderstood. That is why when
Richard acted alone to sign the card against the majority, he caused others to misunderstand his action
even further.

In conclusion, Richard’s action to sign the sympathy card had invited anger and dissatisfaction
towards him even though he had good intentions. In my opinion, people would always react negatively
towards us when they do not understand our action, or when they know little about us. This is shown
by Richard’s classmates. I also think that Richard’s classmates should put themselves in Richard’s shoes
before they began to judge him. I learnt that I should not judge other people when I do not understand
their situation.
Strategy 1 – separate paragraph

Par. 2 – describe 1 event

Par. 3 – give reason (why) / consequences (effects) – to the character / to other characters / to the
reader

Strategy 2 – identical paragraph

Par. 2 – topic sentence 1, evidence, personal response (opinion)

Par. 3 – topic sentence 2, evidence, personal response (opinion)