An award winning book by Melina Marchetta

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Character Descriptions;

SpinelliSouthern Italian: plural form of Spinos Italian and Greek (Spinos): nickname from Greek spinos ‘thin’, ‘spindly’ or the noun spinos ‘linnet’. Spina Italian: Topographic name from spina ‘thorn ’, ‘thorn bush or a habitational name from any of the numerous places named with this word. De Felice believes there may also have been a religious by name involved (probably as the subject of the dedication of a shrine), referring to Christ’s crown of thorns.

Francesca: Francesca- Italian sounding name, shortened to Frankie, Fran by different groups of people as a reflection of how those different groups of people think of her. Francesca is a name of Italian origins; it is a variation of
Francesand means ‘Free Woman’ a meaning which can be in this book linked to the character finding her own sense of self and thus becoming free of herin-habitations. Francesca’s mother often refers to her as Frankie, an affectionate name for the little girl she ‘misses’ that sang ’dancing queen’ in year six. (pg4)

Speech: Casual, common Australian English & slang uses terms such as ’slut’ & ‘bitch’, this language is used by the author in order to relate to her intended audience.Appearance: 16, female looks like ‘Sophia Loren’-going on the ‘Sophia Loren thing she looks Italian, has brown hair & brown eyes, rolls her eyes a lot. OverallFrancesca’s appearance is left largely to the individual readers imagination probabbly to create a focus on what is on the inside the character not the outside, one thing that is hinted is that Francesca is good looking although it is not specified in whatway she is good looking, this leaves the reader to imply their own ideals and stereotypes onto the character.

Actions: Francesca is reluctant to admit to her ‘Stella friends’ that she is forging a close friendship with the girls at St. Sebastian’s. (pp 3-4) because she has spent the last few years relying on them for their opinions and to tell her what she is and what she thinks(p44) and knows that they would disapprove of her making friends with the girls she is hanging around with at St. Sebastian’s.

How do the characters react to each other? What impact does this have on the narrative (story)? How do the characters actions relate to the themes of the text? (You need to list the page numbers where you have found your examples)

Other; In many ways the characters featured in saving Francesca reflect common traits in real people but I feel that they are very stereotypical and some what exaggerated compared to what real people are like, or maybe I’m naive.

Mia: Mia- Italian name, sounds a bit like ‘me’ A name of Italian or Scandinavian origins meaning ‘mine’ in Italian or ‘Bitter, as in a bitterly wanted child in ScandinavianIn this case Mia is being used in the Italian meaning showing how her family considers her to belong to them, or in particular how Francesca despite her insistence on calling her by her name instead of simply referring to her as ‘my mum’ thinks of her as her own.

Speech: uses a lot of sayings and metaphors such as ‘do something that scares you every day’ pg 43

Appearance: looks very much like her daughter, wears a nightshirt permanently during her break-down perhaps to show that she is effectively sleeping, being inactive through-out most of the novel and therefore allowingFrancesca’s views and opinions to dominate.

Actions: During the main body of the story Mia stays in bed and really doesn’t do an awful lot, but it if through this lack of activity on her part that Francesca is able to tell her story without being overpowered by her usually very dominant mother.

Other: Mia recognises that her daughter is like her and at one stage says to Francesca ‘you are like me, deal with it.’

Siobhan: Siobhan: odd sounding, from Irish, Gallic origins it is a form Jane & Judith; Jane-God is gracious, Judith-A woman from
Judea. While Siobhan appears gracious in her thoughts towards Francesca, she dose not think worse of her for ‘leaving’ her in year seven for a group of more popular girls. She is not at all gracious in her general behaviour, she flirts with everyone and according to will on page’s 107-108 there is a grate deal of insulting graffiti about her in the boy’s toilets at St. Sebastian’s

Speech: speaks in a manner similar to Francesca, uses mild obscenities in day to day speech

Appearance: female, 15. Again the reader is left to cast their own ideas and stereotypes onto the character.

Actions: Picks up guy’s everywhere she goes and then gets upset when they call her a slut or something similar.

Other:

P.O.V.

A first person point of view is used in this novel.We know this because the Narrator is also a character in the story and uses terms such as I, me, we, our and us to tell the story.This point of view allows little of other characters thoughts to enter into the narrative, while this allows the narrators point of view to take centre stage it dose block out some of the interrelationships between characters and prevents the reader from really being able to pick up on a lot of thingsuntill the narrator does.

If the same story where told from anoher point of view it would serverly alter the way in which the reader sees Francescas actions and could quite possibly give the impression that many of Francescas actiuons are ridicuylouse throught lack of a proper insight into her own personal struggle.

Quotes;‘I was either talking too much in Year 7, or not talking enough in Year 8. I was either too smart for my own good, or not working to my potential. One year they’d tell me that I needed to be put in my place, the next year I’d be told to find a place of my own, rather than letting the girls find it for me.’ (pp27-28)

‘I miss the Stalla girls telling me what I am. That I’m sweet and placid and accomidating and loyal and non-threatning and good to have around. And Mia. I want her to say, “Frankie, You’re silly, you’re lazy, you’re talented, you’re passionate, you’re withstrained, you’re blossoming, you’re contrary.”

I want ta be an adjective again.

But I’m a noun.

A nothing. A nobody. A no one. (p44)

(p59) Francesca says ‘I’ve perfected the art of shyness’. If you act shy you tend to be left alone, F want’s to be left alone by people so shedosen’t have 2 deal with them

(pp113-14) friendship in Year 7 with Siobhan ‘and for one split second I can’t remember being friends with anyone else.’

(p196) Francesca pays tribute to the new and re-established friendships she has made at St Sebastian’s friendships: ‘I think I’m a bit in love with these girls. They make me feel giddy. Like I haven’t a care in the world. Like I’m fearless. Like I used to be.’

Consider how the question of identity is inextricably linked with the novel’s exploration of the nature of true friendship.The happy sitcom family where ‘Things get solved in thirty minutes’ (pp156-7).

(p103) Francesca is beginning to identify with her new friends – ‘I haven’t felt like anyone else since Year 7…’ which, of course, was when she ‘felt like’ Siobhan.

(p196) Francesca ‘I think I’m a bit in love with these girls. They make me feel giddy. Like I haven’t a care in the world. Like I’m fearless. Like I used to be.’

(pp213-4) Francesca’s memories ‘Why do they have to always remember the pathetic stuff? Why can’t they ever remember something positive being said about me?’

Francesca says on page 68 ‘Oh God, don’t let me like these guys’ and Justine’s comment after helping Thomas with musical tabulation; ‘This doesn’t mean we have to be his friend, does it?’ (p75).

Tarasays the play Mcbeth is ‘an exposé of how strong-minded women either end up going insane or getting clobbered’. (p20).

(p222-4) ‘The Woy Woy sign in the past was a good memory and I want to remember it but I can’t…’

Events;(p189) Francesca decides she wants to be an actor. Consider this in context of Francesca’s silence and invisibility, and her not auditioning for Les Miserables (chapter 26). What does this ambition to act tell us about who Francesca really is, and how far she has come on her journey?

(p195) Siobhan calls Francesca a show off like it’s a good thing – a critical comment, given the reason Francesca broke her friendship with Siobhan in Year 7 was precisely because someone told Francesca that she and Siobhan were show offs.

(p98) It’s becoming evident that Francesca, Justine, Tara and Siobhan have been thrown together at St Sebastian’s, but are forging a much stronger friendship than the superficial ones Francesca left behind at Stella’s.

(p122) Francesca and Mia swap roles as Francesca talks and Mia listens – and eats. This is a small turning point in Mia’s illness – how does it reflect on what Francesca has learned as a result of her mother’s depression?

Francesca finds The Whitlams album Eternal Nightcap and remembers happy family times which now feel long past due to her mother’s illness.

(p110)Francesca bonds with her new friends by dancing to ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ at a party (p134 – note the connection to the reference that Mia ‘misses’ the Francesca who danced to ‘Dancing Queen’ in Year 6, p 4), at theAlanis and Pride and Prejudicenight (pp 102-3) and over a Keanu Reeves movie.

At the school camp they bond debating the finer points of Buffy, comparing favourite romantic moments in films and dancing hip-hop (pp194-196).

(p147) a conversation about the forthcoming production of Macbeth

(pp107-8) conversation between Francesca and Will about the graffiti about Siobhan. Francesca implies there’s a double standard operating in Will’s request that she warn Siobhan about the graffiti.

bloody basketball match (pp39-40).

(p149) Francesca’s memories of Mia wanting to leave work come back in fragments.

Francesca learns things about herself (& her family) some of the things she didn’t want to know A number of people, students and teachers are uncomfortable with having girls at the schoolF goes to the school her mother wanted because her mother wanted to remove her from the comfortable & the narrow mindedF’s mother is strong, full of personality and usally dosen;’t pay any attention to what other people think she is or should beF’s parent’s have always argued because although thy love and rely on eachother they are very differentF has never known her mother to be vaunerable to anythingF’s family are loud and excitable and argumentativeF thinks God’s not listening because she really just thinks that knowone cares and knowone is listeningRely’s on others to tell her what she is and should beComes to see her ‘friends’ from Stella’s differently Novel told as it’s happening, if it were told in past tens we would know that they got through it all and therefore would not worry for the charactersFlasbacks show previouse poarts of lifeFrancesca dosen’t think she is the kind of p[erson that other people noticeF can’t see who she is when everyone stops giving that identity to herFrancesca assumes that she is ‘invisable’ to everyoneFrancesca’s perceives that people do not consider that she is importantF gradually stops worring about what other people think of her (particually her ‘Stella friends’(pp 3-4) Look at Francesca’s initial comments on Justine, Tara and Siobhan. She is initially reluctant to forge close friendships with these girls, and hides the fact that she’s hanging around with them from her old St Stella friends. Why?

• Is Francesca really angry with her father? What is her fear and anger really about? What does she eventually come to realise about Rob’s place in theSpinelli family? (p 226)