How and Why Does Josie Change?
Looking for Alibrandi is a archetta. The novel is based around a seventeen year old girl, Josephine Alibrandi, and her final year aores identity, family, friends, relationships and heritage. Throughout the story Josie becomes grateful, open-minded and proud. We see her character change by realising that her family is not cursed but “blessed”, maturing in how she perceives the world, and most importantly becoming happy with herself as a person.
Josie starts off the story by constantly complaining about her Nonna and mother, however these complaints disappear when secrets are revealed and true colours appear. Josie explains the pressure her Nonna puts on her mother and her to not be a disappointment to Nonna in front of the Italian community. She talks about the annoyance of hearing Nonna complain about the curse that has been put on the Alibrandi family, so much so that Josie believes in the curse too. Nonna tells Christina off for not being strict enough with Josie. Then she tells Josie off for not being respectful enough to Christina, this then gets Christina and Josie arguing; hence Josie’s annoyance with her family, and her continual belief that they are in fact cursed. Later on Josie discovers that the curse is in fact Nonna’s guilt for having an affair that she disguises to be Josie’s illegitimacy. W
At the start of her final year at school, Josie feels insecure about her social status and illegitimacy, but the all changes when a whirlwind of events open up Josie’s eyes and mind to see the world in a new and positive way. Josie goes to St Martha’s College in Glebe, where she feels out of place. She is constantly generalising particular her peers, about where they fit into on the social ranks. Josie feels that the whiter your skin, blonder your hair and richer your parents, and the closer your boyfriend is too these characteristics, the perfect life you will live. According to Josie, these people are called are the Rich Anglo-Saxons or snoeneralisation. Jacob lives with his father in Redfern; he is easy going and has had to deal with the death of his mother. people would still talk (page 261). By the end of the story Jacob helps Josie to mature, open her mind and see the world like he does and ,makes her realise that you can’t keep worrying about what people say; that having just a single parent isn’t something to be ashamed of and not