Preview

Saving Francesca

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
592 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Saving Francesca
Francesca is an ordinary 16 year old Italian girl, living in the outskirts of Sydney, whilst starting a school that have just begun to accept girls. Francesca has been thrown into the deep end and is sinking real fast. As she has just left her old all girl school - St Stella's and now is finding it difficult to go on without her friends that always guide her identity. On top of this her rock, her mother Mia is suffering from depression and is no longer telling Francesca who she should be. Francesca has always been influenced by her mother and her St. Stella friends who she is and now that the connection is lost so is Francesca and her identity. Now that she has started at St Sebastian's Francesca is free to explore who she really is and be able to be her true self. Saving Francesca is one of the most prestigious books by creative author Melina Marchetta.
Francesca is always being influenced by her St. Stella friends in what she wears and who she should be. For instance in the beginning of the book it says that Francesca 'needed to be put into place, the next year I'd be told to find a place of my own, rather than letting the girls find it for me' (Ref: pg 27-28) This statement is conflicting as it is telling Francesca to do two different things that relate to who she is. More importantly Francesca is being lead to believe that she needs to be told who she is all the time by her St. Stella friends. 'I miss the Stella girls telling me what I am.' (Ref: pg 44). This quotation states that the Stella girls do impact Francesca's Identity and now that the friendship is weaker Francesca is lost and must find her identity on her own.

Francesca's mother Mia is a very strong and confident person whilst Francesca is a hidden person with not much to say. '...she becomes someone with nothing to say. Someone a bit like me.' (Ref: pg 5). This statement reflects who Francesca really is. This person Francesca is trying to be is hindered by who her mother wants Francesca to be.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When Maria Teresa first receives her little book she addresses the fact that she now has a soul. She is concerned for it, and Maria Teresa expects changes in the coming times. It’s interesting that she now believes that she has a soul, because she writes about everything in her first little book, spilling her soul into it. Maria Teresa isn’t quite sure what it means to have a soul, and she is scared that her soul may end up like the one in the families picture of a valentine with measles. Maria Teresa writes in her little book and her soul becomes exactly as Minerva told her, a deep longing that she can never fill up. Maria Teresa writes her resolves in the little book, and she becomes more of who she is in the future, she is becoming more mature.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During Serra’s Jr.High years she encountered some bad times, but also some good times. To start off the year Serra’s Grandpappy died. Her grandpappy died of old age. She had a new baby brother brought into the world. Her best friend moved back and they reunited. She also met new friends from different schools, During Serra’s Jr.High years with new people she experienced peer pressure. Serra’s peers pressured her into saying things she did not want or need to say, and she was pressured into being like everyone else. Doing the same things as everyone like the way she dressed or the way did her hair and…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, one of the characters that represents the similarities and differences between the two texts is the narrator of the story, Josephine Alibrandi or Josie. The stubborn Italian teenager shares multiple similarities within both texts. One of these similarities is her relationship…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Children of the Dust

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The book is split into three parts, the first detailing the life of Sarah, a young teenage girl who lives through the nuclear war with her family and what they must do to survive. It shows the struggles of a family trying to survive the nuclear fallout, how they must change how they live, the food they eat and the way they interact with each other. Sarah’s story brings to light how hard it would be to live in a world that had suffered a nuclear war and the horror that would be a constant in your life. It details how Sarah must overcome the awkward relationship with her stepmother to try and ensure her family’s survival. Sarah’s little sister, Catherine, has a very strong instinct to survive, she makes a cubby under the table, will only eat canned food and drink bottled water that had no chance of contamination. Catherine is the only family member to survive.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In other words, she sees the looks teachers give her, and it inspires her to do better in her school work and prove to them that her image does not define her personality. Her mother tries to get her to act like the rich kid she is, but the more her mother tries, the more she rejects the idea and rebels. She wears black and dyes her hair unnatural colors to hide where she really comes from, a rich family. She also hides her love for playing piano because she does not want to be classified as a rich kid, but doing so gets classified as a punk or a goth. Antonia, the other main character, is classified as smart or a teacher’s pet, so a teacher’s pet and a punk; that is not usually the types that are best friends. In the beginning of the book, they did not even want to be seen together. By the end of the book , that did not matter anymore because they were proud of each…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The mother is the narrator of the story and she shows the audience their differences. The mother describes herself to be “a large big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands” (pg.65). Both girls are beautiful in their own way. Maggie is jealous of Wanergo’s beauty and it seems as if Maggie is ashamed of the way she looks. Mama then goes on to say that, “she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (pg.64). Mama then compares Wanergo’s beauty to Maggie’s looks, she says, “Dee (Wanergo) is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure” (pg.65). In the story, Mama and Maggie are waiting at home for a visit from Wanergo, Mama explains Maggie as being nervous while her sister is around. The difference in the way Maggie and Wanergo look plays a large…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    New Woman: Book Synopsis

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What the appealing side of her “New Woman” facade doesn’t show is her typical family dynamic. We see these struggles through Mia’s relationship with her son. Because Mia has become self-driven, the desire for a nuclear family has diminished, and she would ultimately “turn away…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is one of the only powers present throughout the entire novel. There are many relationships in the novel, one being with the women of the Alibrandi family. All three, Josie, Christina and Katia share a love hate relationship with each other. Since Josie and her mother Christina live together and Christina is a single parent, they support each other and talk like best friends. On the other hand, with Katia, she is very distant with Christina because of the secret behind Christina’s true identity. At the start of the book, Katia & Josie practically hate each other, but as the story progresses, they bond and grow a stronger relationship. With this relationship, Josie uncovers the truth of why Francesco could never act as a ‘real father’ to Christina and why Francesco had so much hatred and kicked her out at sixteen. Towards the end of the book, the three find out how common alike they are with each other, they gain a mutual bond and there relationship grows stronger as they grow fonder of each…

    • 1507 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    abused by him. She has nowhere else to go. Stella lives in a lie because her husband regularly cheats on her and she chooses not to believe it. By Stella living a lie and in a fantasy world, she excludes herself from reality and responsibility.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Saving Francesca

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The person Francesca is trying to be is hindered by who her mother wants Francesca to be…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play The Glass Menagerie Laura is a character that many young women across the nation can easily relate to. Although she was crippled at a young age, Laura’s insecurities often times run her life. Like Laura, many women find their insecurities at the forefront of their minds. Laura is a shy, quiet and often times invisible character throughout the play. However, she is a strong, unique, and lovable character as well. Often times we see our flaws as a disadvantage and something that can only do a disservice. Flaws and imperfections make us all unique and that is what sets us apart from the other people in the world. Laura’s imperfections are often pointed out by her mother and she cannot help but see them in a dismal way.…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    With Connie's characterization highlighted early on in the story, there is a sense of duality created as the reader is introduced to two different persona's that is instilled into one character. In one portion Connie is described as a girl that meets the expectations, (at least barely) of her mother. " She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was home and another way when she was away from home," illustrating how Connie dresses accordingly to appease her mothers perception of her. However, when away from the judgmental presence of home, revealed by how Connie's mother continuously degrades her by comparing her to her sister as revealed by the line "Why don’t you keep your room clean like you sister?" , Connie then transforms. Her persona shifts from the woman her mom dictates her to be and instead breaks away into a version of herself that allows her to showcase herself in a more appealing fashion to those around her.…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mia isn’t really sure how to view the world because she’s very different from the rest of her family who are punk, rock type of people who have totally different views and beliefs on the world. Mia is pretty much a quiet individual who keeps to herself. Mia is also basically trying to figure out life and is trying to find her way and her place in the world. That’s what she’s…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Looking For Alibrandi

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    ‘Looking For Alibrandi’ by Melina Marchetta leads the reader towards the theme of lost identity and the pursuit to find it. The protagonist, Josephine Alibrandi, displays the importance of self-acceptance through a riveting odyssey of belonging. Marchetta highlights the significance of relationships and the effect that they have towards the outcome of emancipation. The novel journeys the idea of cultural acceptance through a series of events that displays the impact of family enigmas.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mia is Francesca’s mother. Very dominant and a University Lecturer. Mia is well liked. Acts how she wants. Actively involved in Francesca’s life. Gives her lots of advice/pep talks. Fran attends St. Sebastian – previously all boys. Only 30 girls attend, Fran misses old friends.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays