Previous
Summary
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
Caitlin Stoicsitz is a seventh-grade student in a suburb outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who describes herself as an average student. One day in school, her teacher, Mrs. Miller, writes the names of several countries on the blackboard, and Caitlin is intrigued by “Zimbabwe,” which she has never heard of before. Caitlin asks Mrs. Miller how to pronounce it. The teacher tells her it’s “Zim-BOB-way” and that the country is in Africa. Caitlin and her family have been to Europe before, but she can’t even imagine traveling to Africa.
Caitlin begins by describing herself as a normal suburban girl. She wants to emphasize that, while her story is exceptional in many ways, it’s possible for other “normal” people to have similar experiences if they keep an open mind and act with kindness. Caitlin demonstrates how little she knew about Zimbabwe at the beginning by showing that she couldn’t even pronounce the name. By choosing Zimbabwe even though she doesn’t know much about it, she shows that there are benefits to learning and to embracing the unknown instead of being wary of it.
Themes
Most of what Caitlin knows about Africa comes from colorful photos in National Geographic. She was born and raised in Hatfield, a middle-class town about 40 miles outside of Philadelphia, where her parents also grew up. Hatfield is quiet and surrounded by farmland, but it has a roller rink, a mall, softball fields, and lots of other things for a kid to do.
Caitlin describes the setting for the story. She continues to emphasize her “averageness” with details: she’s from a middle-class town, it’s suburban (the middle between urban and rural), and she has typical interests for a teenager in the late 1990s.
Themes
Earlier, during a family trip to Germany, Caitlin was surprised by how different her German cousin Carola is. They’re both tall and blond, but her English-speaking accent made Carola sound angry to Caitlin, and she liked strange candies like salty black licorice instead of Hershey’s Kisses. Nevertheless, Caitlin was surprised to learn that her cousin Carola was popular at school. Caitlin began to realize that there is more to the world than just Hatfield.
Themes
Back in the classroom, Mrs. Miller tells the students they will be writing to pen pals. She goes around the room, asking which country each student wants their pen pal to be from. Caitlin’s friend Lauren chooses Germany, and many other students also pick Germany (because they have German heritage). After Caitlin picks Zimbabwe, she realizes she is the only person in the class who picked somewhere in Africa. She is embarrassed because she likes to fit in rather than sticking out.
Themes
Get the entire I Will Always Write Back LitChart as a printable PDF.
The homework assignment from Mrs. Miller is to write a letter to a pen pal (without knowing precisely who will receive the letter yet). While Caitlin is excited about the assignment, she also has no idea what she wants to write about. She knows the one thing she won’t write about: Hatfield Quality Meats, a slaughterhouse in town that always gives off bad smells.
Themes
Every day after school, Caitlin takes a 20-minute bus ride back to her home, which is in a cul-de-sac. Her mom, an elementary school teacher who works in a neighboring county, is always home before Caitlin. One day when Caitlin gets home, she tells her mom about her new pen pal from Zimbabwe. Her mom is confused; she remembers when it used to be called Rhodesia. She mentions colonialism, a word that Caitlin only vaguely knows the meaning of. Her mom explains colonialism as “when powerful countries take over other countries and call them their territories.”
Themes
When he isn’t traveling for work, Caitlin’s dad arrives home every night at 6. All Caitlin knows about his job is that he works on “energy contracts” for the government and that he has a high-level security clearance. The family eats dinner together every night at 6:30. Afterwards, they take turns using their giant computer, which has dial-up internet access.
Themes
When it’s her turn at the computer, Caitlin looks up Zimbabwe (as research for her letter to her pen pal). She learns that Zimbabwe was freed from British rule in the 1980s and sees a parallel with the United States, which also broke from British rule. She learns that 90 percent of Zimbabwean people are called Shona, and that Shona is the official language of Zimbabwe (although many also speak English). Another major tribe in Zimbabwe is called Ndebele.
Themes
Caitlin begins her letter by introducing herself and telling her pen pal about her family. She looks around her room for inspiration, then mentions that she plays softball. She writes about how she likes the Spice Girls, the Backstreet Boys, bowling, roller-skating, and pizza. She asks what her pen pal likes to do for fun. The next day, she turns the letter over to Mrs. Miller.
Themes
