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Part 5: Martin, October 2002
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, Wallace comes to visit Caitlin’s family during the last week in October, then starts coming every weekend. He doesn’t like how other students get drunk on weekends and is having a hard time making friends.
Though attending an American university is Martin’s dream, Wallace’s experience shows that this dream doesn’t always match up with the reality, particularly when he feels out of place because of his own cultural background.
Themes
Richie gets accepted at Temple. Caitlin’s mom invites Wallace to temporarily live with them, since Richie will also be commuting and Wallace doesn’t get along with his current roommate.
The fact that Richie and Wallace will be commuting to the same university sets up a parallel between them, foreshadowing the ways in which Martin, too, will eventually become like a son to Caitlin’s family.
Themes
