Looking for Alibrandi Essay
Looking for Alibrandi Essay
A good book leaves us thinking with things to say, and Looking for Alibrandi is a good example of one of those books. It captures the exact thoughts of a seventeen year old girl, stressed out from her upcoming HSC exams as well as the problems going on in her social life. Melina Marchetta engages us in the themes of multiculturalism, love, rites of passage and coping with death and encrypts these themes beautifully and expresses them with emotion and thought.
One of the biggest themes of Looking for Alibrandi is multiculturalism, as Josie struggles to find her personal and cultural identity. At the beginning of the book Josie resents having an Italian background, because at school there is the difficulty and prejudice of being a second generation Australian with an Italian background. She experiences a feeling of being different, as the majority of the students have anglo-saxon backgrounds, and have not learned to accept anyone other than “their kind”. The students tease and make racist comments at her, calling her a ‘new Australian’, but Josie is strong and fights back, but consequently this gets her into a lot of trouble with the teachers. Although the students at her school are not the only ones, as there are other people who have preconceived ideas about the ‘ethnics’, such as Jacob. It begins as Jacob talks about ‘going out with the ethnic girl’ and as their argument continues, he goes to say ‘you people should go back to your own country if you’re so confused’.
At home as well, there is gossip from the Italian society about Josie not being good enough, and her grandmother always telling her that it kills her inside when Josie fights about having her own rights as well, and that the rules and restrictions are stifling to her. Also, the rituals within the family, such as Tomato Day, is resented by Josie at first, but as she mature she begins to see that it is not taking up her free time, but its an opportunity for her family
A good book leaves us thinking with things to say, and Looking for Alibrandi is a good example of one of those books. It captures the exact thoughts of a seventeen year old girl, stressed out from her upcoming HSC exams as well as the problems going on in her social life. Melina Marchetta engages us in the themes of multiculturalism, love, rites of passage and coping with death and encrypts these themes beautifully and expresses them with emotion and thought.
One of the biggest themes of Looking for Alibrandi is multiculturalism, as Josie struggles to find her personal and cultural identity. At the beginning of the book Josie resents having an Italian background, because at school there is the difficulty and prejudice of being a second generation Australian with an Italian background. She experiences a feeling of being different, as the majority of the students have anglo-saxon backgrounds, and have not learned to accept anyone other than “their kind”. The students tease and make racist comments at her, calling her a ‘new Australian’, but Josie is strong and fights back, but consequently this gets her into a lot of trouble with the teachers. Although the students at her school are not the only ones, as there are other people who have preconceived ideas about the ‘ethnics’, such as Jacob. It begins as Jacob talks about ‘going out with the ethnic girl’ and as their argument continues, he goes to say ‘you people should go back to your own country if you’re so confused’.
At home as well, there is gossip from the Italian society about Josie not being good enough, and her grandmother always telling her that it kills her inside when Josie fights about having her own rights as well, and that the rules and restrictions are stifling to her. Also, the rituals within the family, such as Tomato Day, is resented by Josie at first, but as she mature she begins to see that it is not taking up her free time, but its an opportunity for her family