Melina Marchetta’s “Looking for Alibrandi” Essay

In Melina Marchettas novel, Looking for Alibrandi, the theme of identity operator is a assist of discovery along a journey for most of the characters. Although toilette Bartons journey is short by the end, he knew what he desireed and he do sure that no angiotensin converting enzyme was vitiated much than necessary when he achieved it. Josephine Alibrandi discovers her identity after many developments in her purport, many of which include Jacob Coote, John Barton and Katia Alibrandi. Katia Alibrandi, Josies grandmother, (nonna) has experienced a lot in her time but still needs Josies help to let go of her past. Jacob Coote went along with what every unity expected of him until he met Josie. She helps him to reopen the door to his journey of identity. Melina Marchetta has provided a schoolbook with the identity issues that many face and she has provided her readers with outcomes that prove to be perfect examples of the outcomes of discovery of identity.John Barton does non cut what he wants in life but he knows what he does not want. He does not want to follow in his fathers footsteps to train promises I potfult keepI founding fathert want a lot of responsibilities in lifeI simulatet want to climb to the top (pg 47). As John Barton continues to discover his identity, he dislikes it more and more. He convinces himself that he does not want to live anymore. It is a fact that many jejuners face and Marchetta portrays it extremely well though John Barton. When John First tells Josie that he does not want to live anymore, she, like many teenage friends, did not fully understand. At first I didnt understand watching those va merchantmant eyeball(a) I realised he meant no other life (pg 134). Many songs portray the pure tones that John Barton fells, an smooth example being the chorus of Simple Plans Welcome to my LifeTo be hurtTo fell lostTo be left out in the darkTo be kickedWhen youre downwardTo feel like youve been pushed aroundTo be on the edge of breaking downAnd no ones there to save youNo, you dont know what its likeWelcome to my lifeThe next time that Josie and John are alone together, he seemed fine, there was a euphoria about him that was catching, (pg 228). Marchetta foreshadows John Bartons coming(prenominal) with the link of I dont infer I want to live this life anymore, (pg 134) and Ive got my whole future planned out the way I want it and there is cryptograph anyone can do to take that away from me, (pg 229). The journey of John Barton may have been short, but that equitable made it all the more necessary to understand.Josephine Alibrandi is a senior student, at St Marthas College, who is confused with her social and ethnical status. Josie considers herself to be stuck between cardinal cultures, Australian and Italian. As far as the Italians are concerned we werent completely one of them. Yet because my grandparents were born in Italy we werent completely Australian, (pg 7) Josie also feels that she does not live in at school. The ones like me didnt belong in the eastern and northern suburbs, (pg 8). Josie hated ivy Lloyd, yet envied her social status and desperately wanted to belong to her world. No matter how much I hate Poison Ivy, I want to belong to her worlda world where I can be accepted, (pg 32). All she wants more than anything is to be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in between, (back cover). It was not until after Josie left the walk-a-thon that she realised, with Sister Louises help, that she and her friends were not as socially out of it as they thought.Socially we werent as shitty as we thought we were, (pg 184). With the mixture of JohnBartons death and Jacob Coote, breaking up with her Josie realised that she wouldnt aftermath up one daytime and everything would feel liberated. It had taken her a year to become so. I just sat there thinking back on the year and I realised that I was liberated long ago. It wasnt one particular point either it was several, (pg 258). The walk-a-thon was one of those points, I remember feeling socially out of it at St Marthas, yet when the fiasco of the walk-a-thon happened, I realised I wasnt, (pg 258), after Nonna sexual congress her about Marcus Sandford she realised that her illegitimacy had never been my cross. I had exactly made it mine, (pg 258) and with her culture she realises that she is not where the large number have placed her but an Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through her veins, (pg 259). Josie realises that no matter how perfect she is people will still rebuke. She realises that it only matters who I feel like I am and I feel like Michael and Christinas daughter Sera, Anna and Lees friend and Robertss cousin, (pg 261).Katia Alibrandi, nonna, is always fighting with her daughter, Christina Alibrandi, and her granddaughter, Josephine Alibrandi. Josie thinks that it is because her grandmother loves to meddle and is forever wo rrying about what people think and talk about. She tends to forget that all she does to mama when theyre together is nag her about the way shes legal transfer me up, (pg 34). Melina Marchetta foreshadows a hint of secrecy and betrayal in Nonna Katias past with I understand, Christina, more than you think I do, (pg 97) when they are fighting about her going out on a date. It was not until Josie gave in to the urge to ask about the photos in Katias house that Katia told anyone about the mysterious Marcus Sandford, even if it was only a fraction of the whole story.She told Josie about her life in a country where no one could understand her. You do not know how much I hated Australia for the first year. No friends. No people who spoke the same language as me, (pg 114) Melina Marchetta foreshadows the same hint of secrecy and betrayal with some other clue Francesco couldnt afford to come home and then(prenominal) go away againI wasalone for Christmas, (pg 200). Then when Josie was at her Mothers birthday party it was said conceived a workweek before which was Christmas day, (pg 215) Josie was furious at her Nonna because she had been such a hypocrite, and it took her a week to realisethat she did not care. Katia told Josie all about the affair with Marcus Sandford and Josie realised Nonna hadnt live the life the way I thoughhadnt worried about what other people thought. She had taken chances. Broken rules, (pg 226). Katia Alibrandi, by discussing her journey of identity with her granddaughter, has re-established the kin with her daughter and granddaughter.Everyone expects Jacob Coote amount to nothing and he would be more than happy to prove them right, he was towering of getting bad marks and thought that it did not matter because he was going to be a mechanic. Right from the beginning he had decided what he was going to be because it was easy and no one expected more from him. That was until he met Josephine Alibrandi. She was smart, and he did not think he was. Youre intellectual. Im an idiot, (pg 249). When the started going out he started to change, I think that during that year Jacob got a bit more driven than he used to be, (pg 260). He did not want to be a mechanic that worked all day and complained about house payments and petrol prices, he wanted to be a mechanic that has a regeneration of options, and he wants to discover his identity.Because you opened me up to this whole new world out there. I dont want to become a mechanic and work all day long and then at night go to the pub and marry someone just like me and have two children and whinge about housing payments and petrol prices and the economy But this year I realised, because of you, that there is more to life I want to step outside my circle and look at other options. I dont want to be stereotyped because of the school I attend or the suburb I live in, (pg 251)Melina Marchetta has written a novel, Looking of Alibrandi, which shows the youth of today that in order to d iscover your identity you need to have travelled the journey of life, however short that may be. She uses John Barton, Josephine Alibrandi, Katia Alibrandi and Jacob Coote to show that no matter how old or how bad you think you life is you can still make the decisions to make it better or worse. She cleverly states that when you no longer have the ability to dream you have nothing left to hope for. And to be that smart means you know the answers and when you know all the answerstheres no room for dreaming.