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Jacob Coote
John is one of Josie’s love interests at first, but over the course of the novel he becomes one of her best friends. Since Josie joined the debate team two years before the novel begins, she and John have made a tradition of sneaking away to talk after every debate competition and so have developed a comfortable friendship over the years. John’s father is in Parliament and he comes from a family that’s been in politics for generations. His family is wealthy and well-connected, so John grew up with Ivy. This is disheartening for Josie, as she believes it’s inevitable that John will marry Ivy or someone like her, rather than Josie. John intends to study law with Josie, as that’s what his family expects him to do. Because of John’s wealth and privilege, Josie mistakenly believes that he shouldn’t have any worries. But Josie becomes concerned about John when, after the first debate of the year, John reveals that he’s depressed and suggests he doesn’t want to live anymore. He hates that he doesn’t have a choice when it comes to what he’s supposed to do with his life—his father wants him to study law and go into politics. And in John’s opinion, his father only loves him when John is winning and doing well. Throughout the year, as he and Josie run into each other, John goes back and forth between being his normal happy, levelheaded, practical self and seeming concerningly depressed. This culminates in John taking his own life the day before the High School Certificate exams are set to start. Josie is enraged and distraught that John killed himself; by this point, she sees him as a close friend and felt comfortable facing her future in college in part because she believed John would be there with her. But as she processes John’s death, she eventually realizes that being wealthy and connected—as John was—isn’t enough to guarantee that a person will be happy.
John Barton Quotes in Looking for Alibrandi
The Looking for Alibrandi quotes below are all either spoken by John Barton or refer to John Barton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
I could picture [Ivy’s] parents at dinner with [John’s]. They’d talk about politics, the arts and world affairs. Then I tried to picture them at dinner with Nonna and Mama. Not that I have ever been ashamed of them, by any means. But what would they talk about? The best way of making lasagna? Our families had nothing in common.
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“It’s different for you,” he sighed. “You haven’t got any pressures in life. I’ve always had to be the best because it’s been expected of me. […]”
I was surprised at his bitterness and tried to cut the mood.
“I haven’t got any pressures?” I asked, grabbing his sleeves dramatically. “I could write a book about them.”
“You always seem so in control.”
“And you don’t?”
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Chapter 14
Quotes
I felt guilty in a way. Because I go on so much about my problems, but compared to John and all the other lonely people out there, I’m the luckiest person in the world.
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Chapter 28
Quotes
“How dare he kill himself when he’s never had any worries! He’s not a wog. People don’t get offended when they see him and his friends. He had wealth and breeding. No one ever spoke about his family. Nobody ever needed to because everyone knew that his father was the man they wanted down in Canberra. Nobody ever told their kids they weren’t allowed to play over at his place. Yet he killed himself. How could somebody with so much going for him do that?”
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John Barton Quotes in Looking for Alibrandi
The Looking for Alibrandi quotes below are all either spoken by John Barton or refer to John Barton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
I could picture [Ivy’s] parents at dinner with [John’s]. They’d talk about politics, the arts and world affairs. Then I tried to picture them at dinner with Nonna and Mama. Not that I have ever been ashamed of them, by any means. But what would they talk about? The best way of making lasagna? Our families had nothing in common.
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Explanation and Analysis:
“It’s different for you,” he sighed. “You haven’t got any pressures in life. I’ve always had to be the best because it’s been expected of me. […]”
I was surprised at his bitterness and tried to cut the mood.
“I haven’t got any pressures?” I asked, grabbing his sleeves dramatically. “I could write a book about them.”
“You always seem so in control.”
“And you don’t?”
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14
Quotes
I felt guilty in a way. Because I go on so much about my problems, but compared to John and all the other lonely people out there, I’m the luckiest person in the world.
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Chapter 28
Quotes
“How dare he kill himself when he’s never had any worries! He’s not a wog. People don’t get offended when they see him and his friends. He had wealth and breeding. No one ever spoke about his family. Nobody ever needed to because everyone knew that his father was the man they wanted down in Canberra. Nobody ever told their kids they weren’t allowed to play over at his place. Yet he killed himself. How could somebody with so much going for him do that?”
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