p. 173: “I guess we’re from very different background, class-wise.

I don’t think about it much, she said. Quickly she added: 

Sorry, that’s an ignorant thing to say. Maybe I should think about it more.

You don’t consider me your working-class friend?

She gave a smile that was more like a grimace and said:  [...]

COMMENT: the sentence reported is said by Connell during a conversation with Marianne about the scholarship. The verb “guess” suggests a confirmation, indeed, as in the rest of the novel, Connell is always looking for Marianne’s confirmation because he is insecure and she is the only point of reference he has. Going on, the next sentence he says has an ironic tone maybe because Connell wants to play down the situation created since he does not want to speak about his economic conditions. Marianne reacts with a smile, that was more like a grimace. So, Connell decides to use the expedient of irony, which is typical of Postmodernism

p. 174: “I just feel weird about all this, he said. I feel weird wearing black tie and saying things in Latin. You know at the dinner last night, those people serving us, they were students. They’re working to put themselves through college while we sit there eating the free food they put in front of us. Is that not horrible?

COMMENT: after making some considerations aloud, with the last question, Connell wants to know Marianne’s opinion about the students working to make money. It means he is curious about her thoughts and interested in her way of thinking. In addition, he is searching for her approval, because he wants her to have the same thoughts of him about the situation. His considerations underlines two Postmodernist features: the breakdown between low and high cultural forms, since in the past teenagers were used to wear a school uniform and say things in Latin, while Connell feels outdated doing it and the self-reflexivity because he is revealing his thoughts to Marianne, expressing his personal point of view and focusing on himself.