Looking For Alibrandi Theme Essay

Whilst teenagers often think today that they are so different from previous generations, little do they know that they all probably faced the same day-to-day issues. In the novel “Looking for Alibrandi” by Melina Marchetta it explores a number of topical themes relevant to teenagers, such as parental expectations, identity and peer pressure.

To begin with parental expectations is a relevant issue in society, especially to teenagers. When parents harp on their children about getting good grades, getting a good job or even succeeding in sporting events it affects the child. The child starts to become discouraged when the outcome is less than the parents expectations and the more discouraged the child becomes the more serious the issue could become. In the book ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ Johns dad expects a lot from him, he expects him to do extremely well with his schooling. He also wishes for him to study Law after school. John starts becoming depressed as a result of his dad’s expectations. John says “Its not the words that come out of his mouth, it’s the looks, Josie. The
Identity is one of the main themes throughout the novel. Josie’s Grandmother is Italian and Josie was born in Australia making her part Australian. Josie at the start of the novel doesn’t like her identity, she so doesn’t like being part Italian as she feels as though she cant do anything she wants to. Teenagers can struggle to find their identity and finding their identity can be very hard but a lot the times they do find who they are. In the novel Josie at the end starts to accept the fact that she has Italian in her and she finds her identity. She says in the book “if someone comes up and asks me what nationality I am, ill look at them and say that I’m Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through my veins. I’ll say that with pride, because its pride that I feel.” Josie is finding her identity and is not afraid to show