Character - Francesca Spinelli

Francesca Spinelli is the main protagonist of the novel, the author Melina Marchetta is able to create and develop through a range of narrative techniques. Francesca Spinelli is able to come to life in the novel through the narrative techniques of Inner monologue and italicised writing. In the quote “Please, Mummy be okay, please be okay, because if you’re not okay, we’ll never be.” Pg 107 This quote is effective as,  Francesca able to tell the reader is thinking and we see her perspective of the ordeal she is facing. She has a lot of inner monologue as she is too afraid to say what she’s really thinking and she doesn’t want to be judged or opinionated.  

Plot development is another narrative technique that is important in developing the character Francesca Spinelli as a character of the novel. In the beginning of the text, Francesca didn’t want to be friends with the people of St. Sebastian which is why she acted anti-social. She believed that she could hide behind the façade she created. “I’ve perfected the art of shyness.” Pg 59 As the novel progresses Francesca realises that she doesn’t need to hide that façade the mask which her ex-Stella created. “My mother had a nervous breakdown…. And everyday it is killing us more.” pg 137 Francesca feels like she has gotten closer her friends and tells them that her mum is depressed and having a breakdown.

By the end of the novel, Francesca has developed as a character compared to the beginning of the novel.  She grows up from her teenage problems as she finds her true self with the help of her friends and family. “This year has been one of the best years... but if you weren’t my friends, I think I’d go into some kind of coma.” Pg 229 the use of exaggeration in Francesca thinking that she would go to into some kind of coma depicts her realising that she has true friends in St. Sebastian.