Looking_for_Alibrandi

LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI Composers use various language techniques to create themes and convey relevant issues in their texts. In Melina Marchettas’s “Looking for Alibrandi” she focuses on identity, class, multiculturalism and sexism and her main themes. The language techniques used throughout the novel strengthen these themes. “Looking for Alibrandi” uses techniques such as dialogue, realism, setting and narration style to tell the story of Josephine Alibrandi’s last year of high school and her journey to find freedom within herself. At the start of “Looking for Alibrandi” we are presented with Josephine Alibrandi, a young Italian girl who is childish and careless. Throughout the novel she has many experiences that contribute to her growth into a more sensitive person that she becomes by the end of the novel. This explores the theme of identity as well as the way Marchetta uses language techniques to highlight how a person’s identity can change. This can be seen by the relationship between Ivy and Josie, how much they despised each other at the start of the novel, to then start being civil by the end of the book after their dear friend John Barton took his life. In this novel differences in class are explored through the use of realism and dialogue. This is especially obvious in the way Josie and Jacob speak and opposed to John and Ivy. Sera’s class is also highlighted by the way she speaks. For example, when she says “Good, Josie. Walk to Martin Place” in chapter 2 when the girls don’t want to get in her boyfriend’s car. This shows us that she does what she wants when she wants without considering others feelings and beliefs. Realistic dialogue also helps convey the theme of multiculturalism as shown through Nonna’s mispronunciation of words throughout the novel. This can be shown in the line “You misintrepid everything, Jozzie” and is especially made obvious when Josie corrects her by saying “It’s mis-interpret everything”. Another example of multiculturalism in the novel is conveyed through narration style used to give the responder visual imagery of the setting, Nonna’s life in Italy and Australia, Christina’s childhood and Michael’s background. In chapter 7 this can be witnessed when Nonna is telling Josie about her life and how she was forced to move to Australia by her husband Francisco after they had got married. Finally the theme of sexism is portrayed through the style of narration. The novel is presented with a first person style from Josephine’s perspective. We see all events through her eyes. This is evident in the incident involving Greg Simms in chapter 10, where Greg and his friends gang up on Josie and her friend Anna behind McDonalds in the car park after they both finish their shift at work. This chapter expresses the theme of sexism as the boys do and say awful things to Anna and Josie like “Let’s take turns in the back. I know your dying to”, just because they are girls and because Josie is Italian. In conclusion, dialogue, realism, setting and narration style in “Looking for Alibrandi” is very important in conveying relevant issues within the text. Without these techniques all meaning would be lost as the responder could not gain insight of the characters personalities and imagery set within a text.