Journal Entry for Looking for Alibrandi

Journal Entry for Looking for Alibrandi
In the previous chapters, we see how Josephine develops her attitude against the members of her family. She finally understands that her family matters and understanding each and every member of her family is the only key to having a happy family. The last five chapters of the story, however, talk about Josephine’s relationship with her friends and Michael. We see a lot of bonding between her and her father; this bonding is taken to a new level in these last five chapters. Also, we see mixed emotions in Josephine. She goes through heartbreaks and at the same time spends more time with her school girlfriends. Like in the previous chapters where we see her trying to discover herself with her family, we see her maintain the close relationship between her and her friends. She has also discovered who she is and what she stands for; this is evidence of the developmental growth she has had throughout the story. As such, this journal entry will focus on the themes executed in chapter 28 to chapter 32 and examine how the author deals with the themes in each chapter.
Chapter 28
In this chapter, the main themes are relationship and friendship. Here, the story is about the death of John Barton. After Josephine and John talk about their lives the previous day, she finds out the next morning that John committed suicide. She is really upset by the news of John’s death. They had started having a close relationship where they trusted each other with their personal problems.

The news of her death breaks her heart and leaves her wondering if she had the chance to stop John from committing suicide. The death becomes a blow to her. On the other hand, we understand that John is from a very wealthy and stable family which is the opposite of what Josephine is. Josephine is an illegitimate child and brought up by a single mother. Even though they are different in their social status, they were still friends and talked about a lot of things. Michael and Christina are equally shocked by the news, and at the time of John’s funeral, Josephine is upset and cannot hold herself together.
In this chapter, the author tries to bring out how Josephine valued her relationship with her friends. Being upset by the death of John is clear evidence that she valued their relationship and friendship. Also, she realizes that every person, regardless of their social or economic status, faces problems. John being from a rich and stable family makes Josephine realize that it is not all about the social status of a person’s family, but the happiness and the life a person lives determine whether she or he is happy or sad. Michael explains this to Josephine, “a person doesn’t necessarily have to be happy just because they have social standing and material wealth” (Marchetta 235). This serves as a wake-up call to Josephine as she decides to live her life positively especially when she says, “I remembered when we spoke about our emancipation. The horror is that he had to die to achieve his. The beauty is that I’m living to achieve mine” (Marchetta 240). She develops a positive attitude towards life.
Chapter 29
This chapter focuses on the theme of family and relationship. In this chapter, there are two events that Josephine is involved in. First, she has a hearty conversation about John with her girlfriend Ivy. They recall their encounters and time with John Barton. Secondly, Josephine and Michael go out for pizza. At the pizza place, Michael tells Josephine how she is proud of her, offers her his surname and asks her if she is willing to be adopted by him. He also buys a house where Josephine lives with her mother so as he can see Josephine more often.
With these two events, the author tries to stress how much Josephine and John were close friends and how much she valued their relationship. She understands the reasons and events that led to John’s death, and she gets concerned with how people will remember him when she says, “I feel like crying because people will always remember the way he died and not the way he lived” (Marchetta 242). Also, the author tries to show us how serious Michael is on their relationship with Josephine and how he is finally a father figure in her life. When he offers her his surname and suggests and adoption, Josephine finally realizes the seriousness his father has on their relationship. She, however, wants to have both her parents in her life. she can be heard telling her mother, “I have you, and I can still have Michael without him adopting me” (Marchetta 247); She is finally filled with love and thinks herself as the luckiest person ever.
Chapter 30
This chapter presents the second heartbreak to Josephine. The chapter focuses on the theme of love. Josephine is driven crazy by the fact that Jacob is breaking up with her. The event night was supposed to be her best night after she won three academic awards. However, Jacob comes to her after the event and breaks up with her saying that they are very different and he cannot keep up with her pace in life. She is depressed and wants to know why Jacob is breaking up with her.
Here, the author tries to show us how Josephine has climbed the ranks to be one of the most praised and respected person in the school. Jacob breaks up with her because she is smart and he always feels intimidated when he is around her especially when he tells her, “I’m aware that I will never ever be as good as you or as smart as you. I feel like such a failure when I’m around you, and I hate myself for that” (Marchetta249). To Josephine, losing Jacob changes a lot about her perspective of relationships. Deep down, she feels heartbroken and cannot get over Jacob. She expresses this when she says, “…deep down, I will never get over it. Jacob Coote is not going to be in my life anymore. I will never fall in love again” (Marchetta 252). She has to make a decision on whether to let go of Jacob or fight for their relationship. What strikes the reader here is the fact that even Jacob sees her as a smart person who has her life all figured out. It is for this reason that he cannot keep up with her. He, therefore, goes out to discover himself. This is evident that Josephine has finally proven herself as an important member of the school.
Chapter 31
This chapter focuses on the theme of relationship and discovery. Here, Josephine has a chat with her girlfriends on the issue of boyfriends. This is the first time Josephine gets to listen to other girls’ perspective regarding relationships and boyfriends. Each girl has her own opinion on what exactly binds people together in a relationship. For Sera, sex is an important part of a relationship and advice Josephine to have sex with Jacob to save their relationship. On the other hand, Lee has a different opinion on sex. She thinks that sex is not pleasing as the books put it. It is for Josephine to have a decision on the issue.
Here, we see that Josephine finally understands what she stands for. Even if Sera tells her to give in to Jacob’s sex demands to save their relationship, she disagrees with her and stands with her decision of not having sex until she is ready to do so when she says, ”If I slept with Jacob, maybe I would still have him. But I probably would also need a therapist” (Marchetta 256). She finally stands by her decision and cannot give in to sex because of Jacob or because she wants to save her relationship. This is a great transformation in Josephine.
Chapter 32
This chapter marks the end of the story. Throughout the story, we see Josephine undergoing transformations in her life and realizing the most important things in her life. In this chapter, Josephine’s confessions show us what she thinks are the most important things in her life. First, she accepts that her mother and her grandmother are the most important people in her life and she will do anything to make sure nothing tears her family apart when she says, “…will sit between them and be a link and I’ll fight with all my might to see that nothing tears my family unit apart” (Marchetta 260). Secondly, she realizes she has to let Jacob go but is optimistic that they will end up together again in future when she says, “I do believe in my heart that one day I will be with Jacob Coote again” (Marchetta 260). This shows how she loves Jacob and letting him go hurts her. Finally, she develops the courage to accept the truth about her family and learns to understand her grandmother; the actions and compromises she had to take. She finally understands her justifications for her actions and realizes that it is her cross to bear when she says, “…a cross I’d bear for the rest of my life, but what had happened between Nonna and Marcus Sandford made me realize that it had never been my cross. I had only made it mine” (Marchetta 258). With this realization, she is finally free and happy about her life and the way she lives it.
Work cited
Marchetta, Melina. Looking for Alibrandi. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2009. Print