Josie Moraine Character Analysis

Hannah Bishop

May 8th, 2023

Ms. Plante

Period 1

Why Our Past Shouldn't Affect Our Future

“When you are young they assume you know nothing” -Taylor Swift. Set in the 1950’s, in the French Quarter, a young girl, Josie learns to deal with several situations which eventually changes her view on life. Throughout the novel, Sepetys uses Josie and her perspective of the Quarter to portray New Orleans in the 1950’s. Her mother being a prostitute, Josie has a vision to escape her mother’s grasp and start her own life. In Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, the character Josie Moraine goes through character development, which changes with her realization about her mother. At the beginning of the novel, Sepetys portrays Josie as an intelligent and independent

She meets a young man named Jesse, who is a wealthy college student and she begins to let her guard down and show her true emotions. She also starts to question her mother’s role in her life, and how she was brought up. For example, when Josie discovers that her mother may have been murdered she realizes that “the mother I'd always pictured in my mind - the selfish whore who never loved me - wasn't the mother who existed in the world" (Sepetys 273). This realization makes Josie see her mother in a more complex way, not only viewing her as a prostitute. The closure she receives from this, makes her open up towards different people, including Jesse. While Josie is still independent, a part of her knows that she is not the same as her mother, and doesn’t connect to her which allows her to feel more emotionally available to

While sitting with Cokie and Willie’s attorney, she is speaking about Willie’s wishes since she has passed. Josie remembers what Willie wanted her to do, saying that "'Yes,' I said still dazed. 'Willie wanted me to change my name'" (Sepetys 342). Josie changing her name shows a change in her identity. Her past finally lifts off her shoulders, and she is able to move on with her life. In addition, the change in her name shows Josie that she belongs. For her whole life she has been struggling with her identity, and by changing her name she feels that she is able to grasp the idea of who she is and where she