Character description

Mia

Symbolism of the name

Meaning mine. The author probably chose this name because Francesca is reliant upon her mother for most things and this name is a great way to convey the bond of her and her mother.

Speech

Mia due to sickness is subdued and therefore her language is restricted to facial expressions and body movements. When Francesca talks to her mother, Mia always acts interested and shows affection despite her illness.

 Appearence

The author presents Mia as a motherly figure to Francesca and briefly discusses her occupation and roles as a mother.

 Actions

The author constantly reminds the reader of Mia’s depression by telling us about her malnutrition and dependance on the rest of the family. Despite her lack of movement Mia still holds to her core values by providing some advice to Francesca and giving her greater resposibility especially with her work commitments.

Francesca

Symbolism of name

• It has italian and french roots, it symbolises freedom and anything femine. The author also uses other shortened names such as Fran and Frankie which depends on what group Francesca is in.

Speech

She has lots of moments where she talks to herself, these quotes are generally humourous and give us a greater understanding of the characterisation of Francesca.

Appearance

• The author constantly speaks about the past experiences of Francesca and implies that her mannerisms have been generated by past experiences with friends and events. She also seems to be easily influenced by her peers and her language and interests are highly dependent on the popular culture of her school life.

Actions

• Francesca is within a hostile environment where she sees herself at the beginning of the novel as a minority group that is struggling to survive the daily challenges of school. The interelationships that occur in the novel are somewhat hostile and represent a typical teenage environment.
• This behaivour in the novel encompenses the author’s attempt at creating Francesca’s independence and strong will.
• The central themes are new friendships, adolescene and popular culture.

Other

• Francesca is a stereotype of the ‘new kid’ in school and comes from a stable family but once something goes wrong she begins to realise that life will not also be served up perfectly.
• They are extreme examples of social stereotypes. 

~ by chaw on November 3, 2006.