In Looking For Alibrandi, Several Events Occur During Josephine'S Final Year At School. What Are They And How Do These Events Bring About Change In Josephine?

The novel looking for alibrandi by Melena Marchetta is about Josephine Alibrandi, a catholic girl, in her final year of high school. As the year progresses Josie alters her perspective on many issues including family, the importance of social standing and wealth, own identity and culture. All these changes in perspective from different events in her final year has brought change to Josie.

Josie's perspective of her grandmother changes from viewing her as nagging old women to having a loving, caring, respectful relationship with her. The narrative, which is written in first person, enables the reader to see the stages in which her perspective changes as she gains knowledge about her grandmother and also how it is her own actions that allows the changes to occur. Initially Josie hates having to spend time with her grandmother, as she says "my main objective in life at the moment is to get on my grandmothers nerves." But as the novel progresses Josie learns more about her Nona's life and about her affair with Marcus Sanford she finds out that her grandmother "hadn't lived life the way she though, she hadn't played by all the rules". By the end of the novel Josie is able to recognise her Nona's full worth and she cries as she realises "I'm loved by the two strongest women I'd ever meet in my life time".

Another key event in the novel that changes Josie's perspective and helps shape her, as a person is the meeting of her father, Michael Andretti. Initially, before Josephine has never even met Michael, she resents him. She feels that he abandoned her mother while she was pregnant. When she first meets him however she gets the impression that he is intelligent and a decent human being, though she doesn't make it known to him.

If it was not for Josie's incident with Carly Bishop's nose and her science book, the relationship between her and her father would not have grown. As she is walking along side her father after he unexpectedly resolves the issue, it is at that moment when she has change of perspective. She likes the feeling of having a father figure. "Proud to be an Andretti" the new relationship gives Josie increasing stability and security. Marchetta has demonstrated that change can be triggered by singular events.

Marchetta also uses Josie to show not emotion change but external change. John Barton's death was a change in Josie's life that she had no control of. The journal style narrative allows the reader to see Josie's changing perspective of John as the novel progresses. Before John's death Josie believes john has it all as he is "school captain... greatest debater... good looking. Popular" and according to Josie he is "the love of my life." After his death the first person narrative allows the reader to see Josie's emotions. At first she is devastated and cannot under stand why someone who "never had any problems" would commit suicide. But after recovering from the shock of John's death, Josie is able to see beyond her anger and understand John's feeling of isolation. The journal style reflection also allows the reader to see Josie's changed perspective of John, as she realises " that wealth and social status don't equal happiness".

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