Caitlin's I Will Always Write Back

Question 11: What incident, problem, conflict, or situation does the author use to get the story started? Discuss a particular event in the story that used foreshadowing or flashbacks. In Mrs. Miller’s seventh grade English class, Caitlin is asked to pick a country for the pen pal project. Caitlin after browsing the countries determines that she should send her letter to Zimbabwe; the name was very intriguing and exotic which is why she chooses this country. Through the pen pal program Caitlin meets Martin Ganda a fourteen year old student living in the impoverished country Zimbabwe. Little did Caitlin know but this menial school project would have a huge impact on her life. Caitlin remarks “I didn’t know it then--- how could I have? --- But that moment would change my life” (Alifirenka, 4). The remark by Caitlin displays how tremendous the …show more content…
The two characters Caitlin and Martin live in two completely different countries with drastically different economic situations where the value Zimbabwe’s dollar only equals a fraction of the American dollar. In Martin’s correspondence to Caitlin, he asks to see a dollar. In response to seeing the dollar Martin says his parents respond saying “’Your friend gave you a very generous gift,’ he explained ‘this may be worth twenty zim dollars’” (Alifirenka, 51). Additionally, Martin lives in the slums in Zimbabwe and his parents can barely afford to pay for edible food whereas Caitlin lives in an upscale suburban neighborhood in Pennsylvania. As Caitlin corresponds through the letters, she learns about Martin’s needs. Caitlin can afford to send Martin many different gifts, but Martin struggles to pay for postal stamps and sending her a picture is almost out of the question. Martin exclaimed after receiving a picture from Caitlin “I could not believe my pen pal would send me something so precious. Photos are very rare and quite expensive in Zimbabwe” (Alifirenka,

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