Previous
Part 4: Caitlin, April 2001
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 loves his new school but is also excited for the semester break, when he’ll see his family again. He is concerned, however, to see that his mother seems to be sick. He knows that malaria and cholera have both been spreading. He and Nation decide to take her to the hospital in a wheelbarrow.
Though Martin’s parents try to care for him, in this case, the roles are reversed, and Martin must be the one to care for his mother. This contrasts with Caitlin’s situation, since she never has to care for her parents in this way. The fact that Martin and Nation transfer their mother in a wheelbarrow helps to emphasize the lack of medical resources and infrastructure in rural Zimbabwe.
Themes
Two hours later, Nation and Martin get Martin’s mother to a hospital, where a nurse confirms she has malaria. The nurse says their mother needs IV fluids, but the hospital can’t provide them. There is, however, a man in a blue shirt outside who can sell the medicine and IV that she needs.
Nation and Martin are lucky to have enough money (from Caitlin) to buy what their mother needs. The medicine and IV almost instantly make their mother feel better. They take her back home in the wheelbarrow.
Once again, Caitlin’s gift has been more impactful than anything she could have imagined. The authors suggest that generosity can make a difference well beyond what the giver would have predicted.
Themes
At home, Martin finds a new box from Caitlin—school supplies, with a note that he can take what he needs and give the rest to friends and neighbors. Perhaps that most fascinating gift is a packet of Tang, which they mix with water and give to their mother because it has vitamin C.
Caitlin and her family have started to realize that it isn’t enough just to help Martin—that there are many others like Martin who face similar problems and deserve help just as much. While Martin will continue to be Caitlin’s focus, her note about giving the extras away to friends and neighbors shows a growing awareness of how poverty and scarcity affect people in Zimbabwe.
Themes
Get the entire I Will Always Write Back LitChart as a printable PDF.
