Tomato Sauce (Symbol)
The tomato sauce that Josie makes with her mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins is a symbol that represents her Italian heritage. Every year, she and her family get together and take a full day to prepare tomato sauce from scratch. Although the annual tradition embarrasses Josie to the point where she "would die" if anyone found out about it, deep down she does appreciate it. Tomato day and the sauce her family makes represent the ties that she continues to have to her Italian ancestry, even as she gets older and grows distant from the relatives who tie her to that heritage.
Absent Fathers (Motif)
Absent fathers is an important motif over the course of Looking for Alibrandi. Both Josie and Christina have absent fathers, and this recurring image shows its effects on both of them. Nonna Katia's husband was cruel to her and wasn't around very often, which led to her having an affair with the man who would become Christina's father. However, Christina's true father wasn't around in her life either, and Nonna Katia's husband, who Christina grew up believing was her father, grew increasingly distant from the family following his wife's affair. As a result Christina grew up extremely independent and learned not to rely on men. When Michael Andretti abandoned her while pregnant, she still gave birth and raised Josie alone, continuing the trend of absent fathers. And like her mother, Josie also grows up to be extremely independent and more reliant on women than men, until Michael Andretti enters her life unexpectedly.
John's Suicide (Allegory)
John Barton's suicide at the end of the novel is an allegory for the experiences of modern day depressed teenagers. He's an incredibly bright student with a promising future, who has friends and is from an affluent family. And yet, the pressures to succeed that he experiences from his family and teachers drive him to a very dark place. His story is, unfortunately, not an uncommon one in our modern society. Many successful high school students, who have good relationships with those around them, experience academic pressure and declining mental health. They feel they have to live up to expectations of being perfect, and so they don't seek out the help they need. Their poor mental health also makes them lose their hope and drive for the future, which can lead to depression and hopelessness that, in cases like John's, can result in suicide.
Josie and Jacob's Relationship (Allegory)
Josie and Jacob's romantic relationship is an allegory for modern day teenage romances. The two argue frequently, because they have very different personalities and moral viewpoints. Though they are both passionate, Josie is more stubborn than Jacob, and Jacob is a lot more jaded with the world. However, in spite of their differences, they enjoy each other's company and are friends, and that friendship is something that they hold on to. Neither knows how long their relationship will last or what the future will bring, but they enjoy the time they have now. Their relationship acts as an allegory for modern teenage relationships, where the focus is less on building a future where the two members will be together forever, and more about building a solid companionship for the duration of the time they have left together.
Dreams (Motif)
Dreams are central to the experiences of the characters in Looking for Alibrandi, and thus a key motif in the novel. Josie, as the novel’s heroine, has a bevy of dreams and hopes for her future. She wants to be a successful barrister, fall in love with a rich person, and have kids. She naively thinks nothing will stop her from doing everything she dreams of, until her mother and father tell her about their own deferred dreams. Hearing about her mother’s foiled dreams of going to university and becoming a poet, and about her father’s original plans of being a pilot, begins to open Josie’s eyes to the difficulty of fulfilling dreams. The suicide of John Barton, whose own dreams and hopes were stifled by his family’s expectations of him, continues to teach Josie that dreams are sometimes hard to hold onto and achieve.
