Looking For Alibrandi

‘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.
Josephine Alibrandi was in search for her identity, yet via social acceptance not self-acceptance. Throughout the novel Josie transformed, from her feeling isolated and rejected from society to her realizing that she only needed the acceptance of herself. The contrast between ‘old’ and ‘new’ Josie is easily noticeable. ‘Old’ Josie described herself as feeling “disadvantaged from the beginning” and thought one of the many things that held her back from society was being illegitimate.
The emotive word ‘bastard’ got directed towards Josie many times which made her feel alone yet through pathos moments did she realize that being illegitimate was unimportant. “I always hated being illegitimate. I always did until the other day when I realized it was nothing.” Josie yearned to be society’s definition of ‘cool’ and her clouded judgment directed her beliefs of what she wanted into an entirely different direction. “Please God let me be accepted by someone other than the underdog”. She deemed that the hierarchy of events in her life to be ruled by acceptance from others and it became a motif that repeated itself until one day when she understood. Only when she reached her identity did the trivial and material parts of her life vanish and the real ones cemented.
Josephine Alibrandi is built and supported from her relationships which continually questions her identity. In particular, the repetitive first person narrative by Josie about her two love interests helps her recognise her