Josephine Alibrandi, a Catholic school girl is the protagonist in her final high school year. She attends St. Martha's, a wealthy catholic school in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on an academic scholarship. Her Italian origin and illegitimacy have been the reason for a lot of persecution in her life.

Josephine is a stubborn, melodramatic, confused, young girl who wants to 'be accepted by someone other than the underdog.' (Page 32) She doesn't see that her problems amount to nothing when compared to other struggling children in the world, but she feels trapped. Trapped in her Italian roots, even though she was born in Australia Josie has no privac

y. ' Telecom would go broke if it weren't for the Italians.' (Page 11)

Christina Alibrandi is Josie's mother. She is a relatively young mother who had Josie at a young age and brought her p all on her own. Christina teaches Josie a lot about herself and her heritage. The relationship between Christina and Josie leads toward Josie's freedom and away from the problems which she brings upon herself. Christina has such strength, more than she is given credit for. However, Christina resents her mother for shunning her away when she gave birth to Josie, but at the same time is grateful to have her mother back in her life. Josie comes to realize that the perception of her mother as a victim is not shared by Christina. Christina does not see any wrong in the way she has lead her life.

Nonna K

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 539
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)