Living in a multicultural Australian community in the nineties where the enforcement of opposing cultures, beliefs and opinions is expected and the pressures of expectations are abundant would not be easy. This is especially obvious if the ‘victim’ is emotionally unhinged (or at least slightly ajar) and looking for stability through constants, including their heritage and who they actually are.
Josephine Alibrandi has all of these pressures heaped on her adolescent mind but the impact is doubled because she doesn’t know who she is, which isn’t helped by the fact that she has trouble initially ‘bonding’ with her father, which is a necessary step. It also doesn’t help that everyone is promoting a different and contradicting image of who she might or should be and what rules she should govern her life by, partly due to the scandal of her illegitimacy. These are some of the troubles facing Josephine Alibrandi, the main character of, and narrator in, the novel Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta.
Josephine’s perspective on life and her attitude towards the influences in her life changes throughout the novel. Initially she is confused about her nationality, her social standing and, probably like any other teenage girl, she is unsure of her attractiveness. However, by the end of the novel she has realised who she is and is proud of it.
“If someone comes up and asks what nationality I am, I’ll look at them and say that I’m Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through my veins. I’ll say that with pride, because it’s pride that I feel” (Marchetta, 1992, p 259)
Her emotions and internal battles are made tangible to a lesser degree through the fluent and descriptive language, but obviously no amount of intimate emotions can be conveyed easily without the use of First Person Point of View. The structure of the novel is somewhat like a diary, making it seem like she is revealing her innermost thoughts and feelings, which vary and change erratically as she reveals the nature of her relationship with her father.
Although Josie is struggling so hard to learn who she is, the first time she encounters her father, Michael Andretti, she forces him to make a promise that they will stay out of each others lives (Marchetta, 1992, p69). However, through circumstance and need, the latter mainly on Josie’s part, they are forced back into each other’s lives and eventually end up having a pretty good relationship.
Through the protagonist, Josie the audiences learn that being an illegitimate and meeting one’s parent is hard to tackle but that feeling will eventually change once the individual has known their parent. “How dare you think that I want to be in your life! I don’t want you anywhere near us, especially my mother.” is the dialogue that Josie has told Michael when they had their first conversation.
The idea that indigenous Australian communities are underprivileged and do not receive the same justice that the white community accrues is represented through Jay Swan and his interactions with the corrupt white police officers and the indigenous locals of the town. My empathetic response to the text as a whole was influenced directly by way the text constructs these ideas as well as my knowledge of the way indigenous Australians are represented in the mainstream media and the behaviour of the police force as an institution. These contextual factors and the way Sen has constructed ideas influenced me to empathise with the indigenous
basis of the plot and themes of this novel. The fond memories she possessed of her mother and the harsh ones of her father are reflected in the thoughts and
The Stolen Generation has left devastating impacts upon the Aboriginal culture and heritage, Australian history and the presence of equality experienced today. The ‘Stolen Generation’ refers to the children of Aboriginal descent being forcefully abducted by government officials of Australia and placed within institutions and catholic orphanages, being forced to assimilate into ‘white society’. These dehumanising acts placed these stolen children to experience desecration of culture, loss of identity and the extinction of their race. The destructive consequences that followed were effects of corruption including attempted suicide, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. The indigenous peoples affected by this have endured solitude for many years, this has only been expressed to the public recently and a proper apology has been issued, for the years of ignorance to the implementation of destruction of culture. The Stolen Generation has dramatically shaped Australian history and culture.
This film stares five young girls in the stages of adolescents and the challenges they face during this stage of life. The film begins with Massie Block (Elizabeth McLaughlin) waking up to her parents notifying her that some family friends were coming to stay with them for a little while. Shortly after she was notified the Lyons Family showed up, Massie was taken off guard by the looks of the family and decided she had no interest in associating with the Lyon’s daughter Claire (Ellen Marlow). Massie, Claire, and three other girls (Dylan, Alicia, and Kristen) are placed in situations to help them comprehend the facts of life. It is up to each of them preserve through the chaotic demands of adolescents.
Motherhood is a compassionate kinship between the mother and her offspring. Becoming a mother can be planned or unplanned depending on the person. Families tend to cherish the new beginning to a little human life. When someone decides to have a new life, it isn’t easy, and not only can some women not get pregnant, but the variation your body endures is amazing. The body goes through many life changing experiences. Some women can gain weight, or have a rollercoaster of emotions due to their hormones. Having a child is a very hard thing, because your whole life changes and it’s not all about you anymore. Children cannot control the family or mothers they have when born, they aren’t able to understand the concept of what is happening with their mothers or families until they are older. In novels, Incidents in the Life of a Slave girl, by Harriet A. Jacobs and The Awakening by Kate Chopin motherhood is portrayed in many different ways. The two stories differ in my way but both encounter similarities of motherhood in various ways.
Josies aspirations reach much farther than that of her families ambitions for her life. It is at this point in time where a classic example of culture clash begins. Josie feels the need to rebel against the stero-typical female in an Italian culture. This determination stems from her education and desire to step away from her Italian life and responsibilities, breaking away not only from her family and their narrow mindedness but also the entire Italian culture. This is a major leap for Josie who aspires to be the first Alibrandi female to take control of her life. This motivation of freedom is strong in Josie and her rebellious ways demonstrate this.
The second person point of view helps the reader to connect with the girl in this story. It shows the reader a better understanding of this character and how she is being raised to be a respectable woman. This point of view also gives us an insight on the life of women and shows us how they fit into their society. Through this point of view, the reader can also identify the important aspects of the social class and culture. The daughter tries to assert a sense of selfhood by replying to the mother but it is visible that the mother is being over whelming and constraining her daughter to prepare her for
The point of view she expressed through out the whole text, was her own. She was able to keep readers insight of the psychoanalytic theory the story has. The actions the protagonist had in the story showed us how it affected her adult self, and how the issue developed a rebel over time. Even after years from when the recurring events took place, her actions as a child had an effect on both mother and daughter. This theory gives readers the idea that things that happen to people during childhood can contribute to the way they later function as
On an interview the employer is allowed to ask legal questions only pertaining to the job. Some individuals however will try to sneak in an illegal question every now and then such as, “What religion do you practice?”, “Do you have a disability?”, “How old are you?”, “What race are you?” and “Do you go to church?” These questions are not necessary to what that employer needs for the job. These questions also crosses the law which is called the EEOC. The Employer or other Covered Entity according to, (EEOC.Gov, 2015),”Prohibits neutral employment policies and practices that have a disproportionately negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), or national origin, or on an individual with a disability or class of individuals with disabilities, if the policies or practices at issue are not job-related and necessary to the operation of the
Toronto, Canada: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000. 167-186. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secon Ogawa, Brian K. Color of Justice: Culturally Sensitive Treatment of Minority Crime Victims. Allen and Bacon: Needham Heights, MA, 1999. Saleh Hanna, Viviane.
During the interview, the interviewer used many appropriate words and phrases in order to make the victim feel comfortable and safe. When the interviewer and the victim
Alissa Fleck (2016) found, “children who develop social skills more slowly or struggle with socialization altogether, wind up exhibiting more negative and even disconcerting behaviors”. With the focus on trying to promote the development of the social-emotional aspect of the child, actual curriculum based learning fails to get across to the young student. The student does not become ready for the next grade because of their low maturity level and failure to obtain the skills needed to be
Growing up, kids should be around other children their age in order for them to learn how to interact and socialize with each other. Social skills are an extremely important and necessary skill to learn because they can either make or break a person in their future interviews for potential jobs. Social skills can also show how educated a person is, and if they are bad then employers are less likely to hire that person. According to Forbes magazine, the ...
Her character is portrayed as being anxious through the author’s choice of dialogue in the form of diction, which is “waves of her [the mother] anxiety sink down into my belly”. The effect of this is to allow the readers to establish the emotions of the narrator, as well as establish an the uneasy tone of the passage, and how stressful and important the event of selling tobacco bales for her family is. Additionally, the narrator is seen to be uncomfortable in the setting she is present in. This is seen through the many dashes and pauses within her thoughts because she has no dialogue within this passage, “wishing- we- weren’t- here”, the dashes show her discomfort because the thought is extended, and thus more intense and heavy, wishing they could be somewhere else. The effect of the narrator’s comfort establishes her role within the family, the reason she and her sister does not have dialogue symbolizes that she has no voice within the family, as well as establishing hierarchy. The authors use dictation and writing conventions to develop the character of the narrator herself, as well as the mother. The narrator’s focus on each of her parents is additionally highlighted through