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Part 3: Martin, January 2000 (2)
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 Pennsylvania, Caitlin is glad that Martin received her package, but she’s saddened to learn about how his mother didn’t have shoes before.
As is often the case, Caitlin didn’t realize the full extent of how meaningful her gift would be to Martin and his family. Still, she seems to naturally intuit what they need, suggesting that in the context of friendship, instinct is sometimes the best guide to practicing generosity.
Themes
Caitlin’s mom takes her to a luncheon at the university where she got her bachelor’s degree. There’s a lot of pizza left over, and Caitlin volunteers to take it, so that they can give it to a homeless Vietnam War veteran who lives nearby. The man accepts the pizza but says nothing.
Caitlin’s generosity toward Martin has opened her up to being more generous towards other people around her, even people she barely knows. The Vietnam War veteran’s muted response shows that not all generosity receives the level of gratitude that Martin displays, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile.
Themes
Caitlin realizes that in the past she has bullied people in school without realizing that the reason why these other students were “different” was because their families didn’t have much money. She vows to change.
Caitlin’s character growth also causes her to look back on her past actions. She realizes that her own concerns about fitting in sometimes led her to act out against others.
Themes
