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Part 1: Caitlin, August 1998
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, Martin is fascinated by Caitlin’s photos, particularly her large house and multiple cars. He mistakes Caitlin’s braces for mouth jewelry. Martin and his friends are also surprised at how well dogs are treated in the U.S.
Though Martin knows about the relative affluence of the U.S., seeing the pictures from Caitlin still helps him visualize things that letters and imported pop culture could not properly convey.
Themes
Martin is still struggling to get another photo of himself, so he decides to buy time by sending Caitlin a bangle from a local market. He writes a new letter thanking her for the Nike shirt.
Martin continues to struggle with the conflict between his family’s poor financial situation and his desire to reciprocate Caitlin’s generosity in kind.
Themes
A few weeks later, Martin’s father surprises him by saying that he’s arranged with a friend’s help for a photographer to come that weekend. Martin wants to look nice, so he puts on his father’s suit and tie, even though the outfit is too big for him. Martin’s family buys two photos because you have to pay for the photo even if the photographer makes a mistake. One of Martin’s photos is blurry, but the other one comes out well.
Though Martin has more freedom in how to portray himself in his photo, he still chooses a more formal style. The fact that Martin’s father’s suit literally doesn’t fit Martin suggests that this formal version of Martin is in some way misrepresentative. Martin is still determined to show Caitlin the version of him that he thinks she wants to see, but he doesn’t yet know her well enough to just be himself.
Themes
