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Chapter 2
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
Nothing bothers Josie more than having to see Nonna every afternoon. But today, since it’s scorching despite being the end of February, Josie is looking forward to swimming in Nonna’s pool. As soon as Josie enters Nonna’s house, Nonna tells Josie to eat and asks why she doesn’t look tidy. Josie tells Nonna that this look is in style, since she knows it annoys her. Pretty much everything Nonna does bothers Josie, from Nonna’s refusal to turn on the air conditioning to her constant requests that Mama and Josie come live with her. Josie locates some junk food and ignores her grandmother’s nattering.
The way that Josie behaves around Nonna paints Josie as a dramatic, self-absorbed, purposefully obnoxious teen. She does things to annoy Nonna and doesn’t seem to consider how Nonna might feel about anything. This shows that Josie has a lot of growing up to do, since part of growing up entails developing empathy and compassion for other people. Josie’s at the beginning of her coming-of-age journey.
Themes
Josie explains that Mama was estranged from her family for a long time after Josie was born. They weren’t welcome until Josie’s grandfather, Nonno, died. As a kid, Josie didn’t get what the problem was until a bully, Greg Sims, called her a “bastard” and explained what the word meant. Josie thinks that she he hates Nonna because Nonna always tried to lie that Josie’s father died. Mama never lied like that. But Josie also knows that Nonna loves her and Mama, even if it’s “in a suffocating way.”
When Josie shares her experience of learning she’s illegitimate, it suggests that being illegitimate is a big part of Josie’s identity—if only because other people won’t let her forget about it. Josie seems to value honesty, since she appreciates that Mama never lied about Josie’s father. But because of this, it’s also interesting that Josie doesn’t express any curiosity about why exactly Mama was estranged from her parents during Josie’s early childhood.
Themes
Back in the present, Nonna tries to talk to Josie about an Italian boy she’d like Josie to see. Josie, however, corrects Nonna’s English and insists that Nonna doesn’t treat Mama well enough. Nonna insists that Josie and Mama don’t show her respect. Josie grits her teeth and thinks about Nonna’s particular dating ideas. She doesn’t think Italians should date Australians because Australians have no culture, which Josie thinks is nonsense.
Josie probably thinks it’s nonsense that Australians don’t have any culture because she wants to be like them. (Josie uses “Australians” to refer to white Australians, like Poison Ivy or Jacob Coote). And this desire is in direct opposition to Nonna wanting Josie to date an Italian boy, which would keep Josie totally entrenched in the Italian community.
Themes
Nonna pulls Josie out of her reverie by saying that “the youth of today” have no respect, but Josie insists that Nonna is the one with the problem. Old people like Nonna worry too much about what other people think and gossip too much. Nonna retorts that it’s Mama’s fault that Josie is speaking so rudely right now, since a daughter’s behavior is an indicator of how good her mother is. Josie points out that in that case, Nonna did an awful job with Mama. They stare at each other until Nonna tells Josie to go home. Nobody moves. The doorbell rings, and after a minute, Nonna answers and invites someone named Michael in. Josie’s heart pounds—she’s going to see her father.
It's humorous that Josie takes such offense to Nonna’s worries about gossips—earlier, Josie said that she’s certain people are talking about her for being illegitimate. She seems to be just as worried about gossips as Nonna is; she’s just worried about different gossips. Josie also shows how loyal she is to Mama when she insults Nonna’s parenting. Josie doesn’t see any point in being kind to Nonna, since Nonna was so horrible to Mama and now is also annoying Josie.
Themes
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Michael is nothing like what Josie expected, though she can see herself in him. When he confirms that Josie is Mama’s daughter and notes that he didn’t expect Mama to have a child Josie’s age, Josie announces that Mama had her young. Michael’s face goes pale. Josie flounces out of the house. By the time she gets home, Nonna has already called Mama and demanded that Josie be forced to apologize for speaking so rudely to Nonna. Josie gives herself an hour to hate Nonna for treating her and Mama so poorly. She vows that when she turns 18, she’s going to run away from her gossipy family that refuses to change with the times. She hates their insistence that Josie be respectful to people who don’t deserve it. She wants to think for herself and become “emancipated.”
Josie sees Nonna’s insistence on “respect” as an imposition. Being respectful enough to please Nonna, she implies, would mean never speaking her mind or getting the truth about anything. And because of how loyal she is to Mama, Josie thinks this is just ridiculous. So the obvious solution, in Josie’s mind, is to make a plan to escape her gossipy family as soon as she can. This again reflects Josie’s youth and her desire for independence. Right now, it’s easier to hurt people (as she did Nonna, and possibly to Michael in this passage) and dream of independence than it is to be levelheaded and kind.
Themes
