Normal People
Sally Rooney
Contributed by Youlanda Mill
Themes
Themes are described as ideas that dominate a particular piece of literature. In almost all cases, pieces of literature will be centered a theme or a number of them.
Socio-Economic Status

Connell and Marianne come from two completely different socio-economic backgrounds and it affects their relationship throughout the story. In high school, Marianne is seen as snobby and standoffish, and no one really wants to be her friend. However, the mansion she lives in is of interest to Connell’s friends. At university, Marianne fits in better because the other students are from a similar background, whereas Connell has a much harder time making friends. There are many references to his clothes and behavior that are meant to show how little Connell fits in with the others. While Marianne does not think much of their class difference, since she is more interested in their intellectual similarities, Connell focuses on it during their relationship in college. He is highly aware of how easy money comes for Marianne and how much she gives him freely.

Normalcy

As the book title implies, there’s a sense that the characters want to be considered “normal.” Connell intentionally acts the way he does in high school to appear normal relative to his peers. Marianne makes him feel uncomfortable because he does not feel normal around her, and she does not appear to care about fitting in and being a normal high school girl herself. In college, Connell still feels this need to be normal and is disconcerted because he does not fit in due to his lower class background. Marianne does reinvent herself though and becomes part of the normal group.

When Marianne is with Jamie, normalcy comes up again in conversations with Peggy. Jamie is a jerk but Peggy makes it seem like this is normal behavior for men and says women need to just accept it if they do not want to be alone. Only when embracing that these traits are not normal and not acceptable, do Connell and Marianne get to a point where they start to feel comfortable being themselves.

Insecurity

Wrapped up with normalcy is insecurity. Both characters are plagued by insecurity but have masked it behind other traits. In Marianne’s case, it is a sense of false bravado. On the outside, she acts like a confident person, but inside, she is eaten up with the insecurity that she is really unlovable. Connell also seems to be confident and secure, but on the inside we hear his constant questioning thoughts and see how his actions are a result of this insecurity. One of the key transformational moments for Connell is when he goes to Marianne to tell her about his job loss and she does not respond the way he was hoping. He loses all of his confidence and their relationship ends because of a misunderstanding driven by insecurity.

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