Looking For Alibrandi Essay

At the start of Looking for Alibrandi, by Melina Marchetta we are introduced to a seventeen yr old girl by the name of Josephine Josie Alibrandi, who is in her last division of high school. By the end of the book it is do obvious that Josephine has asleep(p) through sm solely-army dramatic and classic changes, including achieving her emancipation, discovering her family secret, judge her agri floriculture, and conflux, and having a family relationship with her amaze, Michael Andretti. All of these changes, and others, help to shape the character of Josephine Alibrandi. Through let out the category, Josephine talks of deficient to achieve her emancipation. Ill run one day. Run for my lifespan. To be let go of and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in-between. Ill run to be liberated. (pg40). Josie also wants to be free to make her own decisions, and she doesnt want to care almost what others are saying, the likes of she does s traight off. JosieMarco Andretti (left 26) and his father Michael AAndretti Autosport ( past Andretti Green Racing) owAt the homogeneous time, she realises that she cant escape everything. If my society will let me. (pg40). Josie thinks that disunite of her emancipation is to be free of her Italian background, which is not possible, because it will endlessly be a part of her. She believes that it may stop her from achieving her emancipation. Soon Josie realised that the only thing that was stopping her emancipation was herself. Relief because I was in conclusion beginning to feel free. From whom? Myself, I think. (pg221). Josie realises that she is clasping herself back from what she really wants, scarce she isnt sure whether she wants to fight for it or not. When John Barton died, she came to a decision. I remembered when we spoke somewhat achieving our emancipation. The horror is that he had to die to achieve his.The steady is that Im living to achieve mine. (pg240). Jos ie believes in fighting for her emancipation. By the end of the year, Josie realises that she has already achieved her emancipation. I just sat there opinion back over the year and I realised that I was emancipated long agone. It wasnt at one particular point either, it was at several. (pg258). At the Walk-a-thon, for example, Josie realised that leaving the walk-a-thon to go with her helpers was improper. I was wrong, I perspective to myself. I honestly believed it. Not because Sister Louise told me so or because she do me believe I was. I knew dense down that I waswrong and I think that my emancipation began at that moment. (pg185). Events such as these organise to her emancipation, letting Josie feel free. At the beginning of the year Josie doesnt remove a good relationship with her Nonna, Katia. As the year goes on, they get closer, and it is through this closeness that Josie learns of Katias secret, that her mothers biological father is not her Nonno Francesco, but is i n fact, Marcus Sandford, an Australian man that Katia was friends with.Josie first learns of Marcus after having a fight with her mother Christina. She later finds out that he was an Australian officeholder who helped Katia during the war. Katias sister Patrizia was very thankful towards him for his help, but Josie could tell that Katia musical theme of him as more than another pair of hands. At Christinas natal day party Josie realises that it was impossible for Francesco to be Christinas father, because he was off for the holiold age. Josie then has an argument with Katia about this, and runs out of the house. Im not preferably sure why I hate Marcus Sandford and Nonna for what they did. I had plan their bill was romantic. I had thought that nothing had happened. It was like he was a myth I could always dream about. My mother, though, is the reality. Her reality was living with a man who detested her for something her mother did. (pg218).After realising that she was no long er angry at Katia, Josie goes to talk to her, and appreciates that staying with Francesco, instead of going with Marcus, was only for Christinas benefit, not her own. Those historic period without Christina or you when you were a baby were my punishment. (pg226). Josie represents the pain Katia went through, and receives that Katia sleep withs her, and Christina, more than anything else. Josie has always seen her Italian culture and heritage as a burden, but as the year progresses, she gains a greater understanding of it, and ultimately accepts that its part in her life. From the beginning of the year, and perhaps before then, Josie thinks of her culture as something that will hold her back from being what she wants to be, and doing what she wants to do. She also sees it as the thing that keeps her from being like the others at her school.I think if it comes down to the bottom line, no emergence how smart I am, or how much I achieve, I am always going to be a little ethnic from Glebe as far as these plenty are concerned. (pg167). She later realises that she can neer get away from it. simply because like religion, culture is nailed into you, so deep you cant escape it. No matterhow far you run. (pg175). Josie knows that her culture is a part of her being, it plays a part as to her appearance, and how she looks at life. As she spends more time learning and understanding her family, in particular Katia, she sees her culture not as a burden, but as a gift, something that sets her obscure from everyone else. She gains an understanding that her culture is just one of Australias many. Well, Im not sure whether everyone in this country will ever understand multiculturalism and that saddens me, because its as much a part of Australian life as football and meat pies. (pg258).She knows that some people will never accept her, and shes okay with that. I didnt care what they thought and I even began to doubt that anyone, give or take a few gossips like Sera, gave a damn either. I thought of Michael and my mother, who didnt seem to worry about peoples opinions. And by the looks of things, Nonna didnt have the right to. Jacob didnt give a damn who I was either, John accepted me the way I was and Lee and Anna had never made me feel different. So that covered all the important people and Id be a pretentious hypocrite if others were more important to me than those who loved me. (pg220). Josie knows that culture will change peoples minds about her, but as long as it doesnt matter to the people she loves, then it doesnt matter to her either. Josie experiences an unusual thing in her year, meeting her father Michael Andretti for the first time, and having a relationship with him.She has known about him all of her life, and at first, when he moves to Sydney, she doesnt want anything to do with him. When she finally meets him at Katias she becomes emotionally overwhelmed, and cant face him. After a fight with Carly Bishop, resulting in a broken nose, Jo sie decided to call him. As much as Josie would like to keep on ignoring him, she needs his help. My father is a barrister. Ill call him, I said calmly. (pg84). When he comes and helps her, she accepts him as her father. Soon after that, Michael decided that he would like to know Josie, and they begin a relationship. As time goes on, Josie and Michael get closer, and they go away together to Adelaide. During this time, the two get closer. Im still ball over by how fast things are going between us. Six months ago I hadnt met my father and I didnt want to.These age I see him three times a week and the days I dont see him he rings me. in some way weve developed a great relationship. (pg156). Near the end of the year Josie finds out that Michael is staying in Sydney, and Josie is ecstatic,and spends more and more time with him, even going as far as calling him Dad But I love Michael Andretti more and more every day. I love him double to what I did maybe a month ago, yet I see his fau lts now too. (pg259). Although Josie started the year not knowing her father, Michael Andretti easily moved into the role, providing Josie with a complete, engaging family. Throughout the year Josie went through many changes and developments, caused by important events in her life.Some things happened that she expected, like her emancipation, and some things that happened that she didnt really expect, like accepting her culture. Josie got something she didnt want, her family secret, but got something better, her relationship with her dad. Josie finally realised exactly who she was, and understands where she fits into the lives nigh her. Ive figured out that it doesnt matter whether Im Josephine Andretti who was never an Alibrandi, who should have been a Sandford and who may never be a Coote. It matters who I feel like I am and I feel like Michael and Christinas daughter and Katias granddaughter Sera, Anna and Lees friend and Roberts cousin. You know, a wonderful thing happened to me when I reflected back on my year. One day came. Because finally I understood. (pg260).