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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Looking for Alibrandi, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family
Identity, Freedom, and Coming of Age
The Immigrant Experience
Gossip and Appearances
Social Status and Wealth
Love and Relationships
Summary
Analysis
After a few weeks, Josie settles in at Michael’s law firm. She’s thrilled to be done with McDonald’s. She’s seen Jacob a few times in passing, but her biggest worry now is John. Josie runs into him outside the library one afternoon and invites him to have coffee. He seems unsettled, skinny, and possibly on drugs. As they sit at the café in silence, Josie realizes she’s not as attracted to John as she once was. Finally, he blurts out that he hates “this shit life.” John explains that his father opened his mail and found out that John didn’t win a math competition and now, his father is so disappointed. Josie assures John that John’s father loves him, but John says his father only loves him when John is winning.
While John’s first mention of feeling like life is awful could’ve been an isolated incident, the fact that he’s still talking about life being miserable suggests that he’s struggling with some serious mental health issues. Josie, though, doesn’t seem to take John seriously; instead, she’s thinking about how unattractive he is to her now and takes note of his flaws. This makes it clear that Josie is still a self-absorbed teen, but it also shows that it’s hard for Josie to comprehend the kind of relationship that John has with his father. Parents, in Josie’s experience, are loving no matter what—and it’s hard to imagine what John must be dealing with.
Themes
John admits that he doesn’t want to study law—but his father would kill him for that. Josie assures John that he can be anything he wants, but John says he doesn’t know what he wants to do. He does think, though, that he doesn’t want to live anymore. Josie is confused at first but then, her eyes go wide. She wonders for a moment if John is right and life is useless. But Josie realizes she likes her “useless existence.” Josie notes that according to Father Stephen, “peace is a state of mind.” John explains he’s an atheist, and Josie doesn’t know what to say—she’s never talked to an atheist before. She tries to make jokes and wishes she were hanging out with uncomplicated Jacob instead.
John makes it clear that he’s under a lot of pressure to do exactly what his father wants him to do. There’s no room for him to deviate and figure out what he wants to do—indeed, it’s sinister that John suggests the only way to not study law is to kill himself. With this out in the open, Josie finds herself totally out of her depth. Realizing that one of her best friends is having suicidal thoughts is uncomfortable and difficult to navigate—and so rather than take it totally seriously, Josie instead wishes she were with someone else.
Themes
Josie realizes her horrible date with Jacob was her fault as much as Jacob’s. She turns back to John and says that at her school, HSC students are supposed to write down how they feel and give their writing to a trusted person. After the HSC tests, that person is supposed to ask if you still feel how you did when you wrote the letter. Josie asks if she can give John her paper, and John agrees to write something for Josie. They spend the afternoon writing and then seal their papers with tape. Josie is nervous; she feels like she’s letting John see her soul. When she gets home, she puts John’s papers in her jewelry box. She feels guilty: compared to John, Josie’s lucky.
The letter exercise seems designed to impress upon stressed students that their stress is temporary—after the HSC tests, Josie implies, they probably won’t feel so stressed anymore. While Josie might be right about this, though, it’s also possible that she’s still underestimating just how much John is struggling. Indeed, John seems to be struggling with the pressure to be a certain kind of adult, not just pass the HSC with flying colors. His issues, in other words, seem likely to continue long after the test is over.
Themes
The next Friday, it’s confession at school. This happens once per term. Josie’s sins are always the same (she’s lazy, selfish, and rude to Mama and Nonna), and Father Stephen even recognizes Josie by her sins. Josie admires Father Stephen. He surfs, has arranged AIDS talks, and has earned the love of St. Martha’s students. As Josie waits for Sera to finish confession, she wonders if Sera is telling Father Stephen about all the sex she’s having. Sera likes to pester Josie by noting that people will talk if Josie has sex and ends up like Mama, but Josie’s getting better at ignoring her and taking pride in her Italian community.
Participating in confession allows Josie to connect with her Catholic faith. It also allows her to reflect on how she’s changing and maturing as time goes on. Though Josie makes it clear that her sins haven’t changed much since last term, she’s nevertheless finally able to ignore Sera’s ribbing. And as Josie takes Sera’s teasing less seriously, she’s able to feel prouder of being Italian. This suggests that Josie might find more happiness if she can care less about gossips like Sera.
Themes
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But still, the community is nosy. Josie realizes she wants to be “rich and influential” so that she can show the Italians that she can make something of herself, no matter where she came from. Mama is silly for telling Josie to try to earn people’s respect—as Josie sees it, she always has to respect “the wrong people for the wrong reasons.”
Josie may feel more secure now that she cares less what Sera thinks, but she still finds the Italian community’s gossip stifling. Her desire to be influential shows that she still thinks having wealth and power is more important than being liked—indeed, if she’s rich enough, Josie won’t have to care if people like her or not.
Themes
