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Part 1: Caitlin, September 1997
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I Will Always Write Back, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Kindness and Generosity
Friendship
Family
Education
Summary
Analysis
In Zimbabwe in mid-October, the teacher Mrs. Jarai announces to her class that they have just received letters from the United States. Martin Ganda and his classmates know America as the birthplace of Coca-Cola and the World Wrestling Federation. Hulk Hogan in particular is popular among Martin’s classmates.
Martin’s introduction of himself mirrors Caitlin’s introduction in some ways, since it also begins in a classroom with a teacher announcing a pen pal assignment, but as it goes on, it will also differ in some important ways. Unlike Caitlin, who knows little about Zimbabwe, Martin knows a lot about the United States (even if a lot of it is based on pop culture and stereotypes).
Themes
There are 50 students in Martin’s class and only 10 letters. Because Martin scored high on placement tests in school, he is in Group One, and so he gets a letter. In first grade, Martin was at the top of his class. When he slipped to number two in third grade, his parents told him he had to get back to number one. Martin’s mom, who had to drop out of school for financial reasons, believes that school is Martin’s only hope for a better life. From then on, he was always number one.
Unlike Caitlin, Martin is an exceptional student. His parents believe that he needs to be exceptional in order to have a better life than they did. In fact, this turns out to be true, and Martin only gets to participate in the pen pal project because of his excellent grades. Though Martin’s story is a hopeful one, it also highlights how many students, especially in places like Zimbabwe, miss out on opportunities because they don’t qualify as exceptional.
Themes
Martin’s school has large classes and only four textbooks to split among all the students. When Martin gets his letter, Mrs. Jarai asks him to read it for the class. (Martin is fluent in English but speaks Shona with family and friends.) The class laughs at Caitlin Stoicsitz’s name, which is strange to them and which Martin struggles to pronounce. They like the part about the Spice Girls, since the Spice Girls are very popular in Zimbabwe. Mrs. Jarai tells Martin to write a response letter as homework.
Martin’s experience in the classroom shows both how similar and how different he is to Caitlin. On the one hand, the fact that even Martin’s teacher can’t pronounce Caitlin’s last name shows that there are distinct cultural differences between the United States and Zimbabwe. At the same time, however, this scene echoes the earlier scene where Caitlin couldn’t pronounce “Zimbabwe,” showing that maybe Martin and Caitlin aren’t so different after all.
Themes
That afternoon, Martin walks home with some other kids who live in Chisamba Singles, a housing development built in the 1960s for people working in factories outside of Mutare (the third-largest city in Zimbabwe). Like Martin, his mother was also first in her class growing up. But she was poor, so at age 12, her family sent her away to work. Martin’s father was comparatively well-off, from a family that owned some goats and chickens.
The fact that Martin’s mother had to drop out of school shows how sometimes even being the best isn’t enough, particularly for people who grow up in poverty. Martin himself will face similar issues: while he is clearly an exceptional student, there are many times when he struggles to get an education, usually because of financial reasons.
Themes
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When Martin’s mother got pregnant (with Martin’s brother, Nation), she and Martin’s father were forced to marry. Otherwise, according to Shona tradition, they would bring shame to both families. After Nation was born, Martin’s father got a job in a paper mill, which was how he first ended up in Chisamba Singles. He liked alcohol and women, and soon he was only coming home every six months. Martin’s mother got pregnant on one of these visits, but the child died in a couple days.
Martin’s family is pretty different from Caitlin’s. In particular, his unpredictable father is very different from Caitlin’s, who is able to provide stability to the whole family. Again, however, there are also similarities: both Caitlin and Martin are close with their immediate families, and both have a mother and a father who play an active role in their lives.
Themes
In Martin’s culture, any problems around childbirth are often blamed on the woman. Some of Martin’s father’s friends suggested he should get a new wife. (Polygamy is uncommon in Zimbabwe but accepted.) Martin’s mother was determined to keep her family together, however, and so she brought Nation and moved in with Martin’s father in his small shack in Chisamba Singles. This was where Martin was born in 1983, three years after Zimbabwe’s liberation from Britain.
For someone in the United States, polygamy is probably one of the strangest aspects of Zimbabwean culture (even if it is fairly uncommon). Though Martin’s parents aren’t able to provide for their children in the same way that Caitlin’s parents are, Martin’s mother in particular has a strong urge to keep the family together, which helps explain why Martin himself develops such strong ideas about family.
Themes
Names in Zimbabwe often have direct significance. Martin feels lucky to be named after the British medical student who delivered him. (His brother Nation was named after Martin’s father’s favorite cow.) Martin also has a Shona name, Tatenda, which means “thank you.” Martin’s other siblings are named Simba, Lois, and George. Other workers bring their families to Chisamba Singles, and sometimes 12 people end up living in a room meant for 2.
The story frequently brings up names, because names can be a sign of what culture a person comes from. Interestingly, Martin and most others in his family have both a British name and a Shona name. This shows how, in the period after colonization, people in Zimbabwe were often caught between the culture of their former colonizers and the culture of their local traditions.
Themes
Martin tries to imagine Caitlin’s life, but it’s difficult because most of what he knows about the U.S. is from TV, like the World Wrestling Federation and The A-Team. Though Martin’s mother warns him to be careful around girls, she doesn’t mind Caitlin because she’s so far away.
Martin’s limited knowledge of American culture emphasizes its violent aspects. As he gets to know Caitlin better, however, he learns that U.S. culture can be more complicated than its main pop culture exports.
Themes
Martin’s father leaves for work every morning at 6 a.m., then comes back every evening at 7 p.m., usually singing a rock and roll song, sometimes Thomas Mapfumo (a Zimbabwean legend), sometimes the Rollings Stones, Cream, and Led Zeppelin. The whole family gathers around a fire pit—shared with three other families—to eat dinner. Most meals consist of sadza (a cornmeal porridge).
The hours that Martin’s father works are much longer than the ones Caitlin’s father work, showing how he has to work extremely hard to make just a fraction of the same money. Still, his singing shows that he seems to be able to stay in good spirits. Despite some of his flaws, like his periods of drinking, Martin’s father still makes it home for dinner, showing that he cares about his family.
Themes
Electricity is rationed in Martin’s community, so he writes his letter to Caitlin by firelight. Martin figures Caitlin must be white, and although some white people live in Zimbabwe, Martin doesn’t know any. Though Martin has a lot of questions, he tries to write a simple letter, using Caitlin’s as a guide. Martin tells Caitlin about his grade, his family, and how he likes to play soccer. He closes the letter by saying he hopes they will continue to write back and forth to each other.
In some ways, letters put Caitlin and Martin on equal ground: they are communicating with each other using the same medium. But as this passage shows, things are not so easy for Martin, and behind his letters is a lot of work that isn’t initially visible to Caitlin. At first, she sees just another boy like her who has similar interests. This first impression has truth to it, but it also hides larger truths about Martin, particularly his family’s comparative poverty.
Themes
