Josephine Alibrandi is the main character in" Looking for Alibrandi" written by Melina Marchetta. Josie, as she prefers to be called, she is seventeen years old. She is in her final year at a posh, wealthy catholic school. During this year many things happened to her that made her life change. Her father comes back to her life; she falls in loves and she finds out the secret of her family past. One of the main issues in this novel is family expectation. In this novel parents place a lot of pressure on their teenage children, expecting them to get top marks in everything is an example of family expectation. Another pressure in some families is that you should only date the same cultural people. Many characters in this novel face similar pressures. .
John Barton is one of the main characters in the story. John faces a lot of pressure from his Dad. His dad expects him to be perfect and better then everyone in everything. He doesn't give John any encouragement, when John doesn't win he puts him down. "When I win a football game. When I get elected school captain. When I win, win and win," he gritted. "And when I lose he hates me. So I have to keep on being the best in the world." (pg133). John is being push to do things he doesn't like. Therefore this makes him hate his life because he doesn't have any freedom or privacy. All these pressure leads him to commit suicide. "You"re not going to follow in your father's footsteps?" he grinned shaking his head. "No way, Josie. My father lived his life his way. I should have the same choice. The future is mine, to do what ever I want with it." (pg229).
Josie principal Sister Louis expects Josie to be carrying the school reputation everywhere she goes. Josie didn't realise how important she is to the school. She had always though that no one liked her due to her cultural and family. "Yes, you do, but you"re not the first person who ever had one, Josephine. You seem to think you are.