Looking for Alibrandi

In the novel Josephine must learn to deal with a whole range of issues. How and why does Josie change?
In the novel “Looking for Alibrandi” written by Melina Marchetta, Josephine confronts and resolves a number of problems that she has in her life. The author conveys the notion of acceptance and relationships throughout the novel. Through the use of various language techniques such as descriptive language and similes, it can be stated that Josephine’s attitude towards her family and friends change as she learns more about them and tries to understand them. In the end, Josephine is not the same person as she was at the start of the novel.
In the novel, Melina Marchetta explores how Josephine is initially confused about her nationality, her social standing and where she belongs. Josephine is constantly teased and mocked about her Italian background and the racist views expressed by the Anglo Saxons such as the use of the word “wog” hurt her deeply. The author uses slang to express how the characters speak and how they view each other. The word “wog” is used throughout the text and has a negative impact on Josephine to the extent where she hits a girl in the face with a textbook. Josie’s view however, is changed as the novel progresses as she becomes proud of her Italian heritage by stating that “if someone comes up to me and asks what nationality I am, I’ll look at them and say that I am Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through my veins. I’ll say that with pride that I feel.”
The idea of ‘a change in perspective’ is also presented in the novel as an emotional change. An event in the novel that concerns this issue is Josie’s relationship with her father. When she first meets him she gets the impression that he is intelligent and in fact a decent human being, but she does not want to make it obvious to him. Josephine did not want anything to do with her father as she resented him for leaving her mother while she was pregnant. “Stop being polite, you’re...