The object of the present text is to provide a structural analysis of the second and the third chapter of Noamal People by Sally Rooney. 

At the beginning of the second chapter there is introduced Marianne’s brother Alan. He looks like an aggressive and possessive person towards her both for what he says and for his action actions. Just from the start the reader understand that Alan wants to know all his sister do, indeed when Marianne is going out he stops her and asking where she is going. At first, it seems he is caring about her, but immediately after he points out her solitude saying she has any friend and therefore she is not going out to see somebody. But Marianne manages to go out from the garden’s door. Up to now, the narrator shows one of the problem she has to face and one of the aspects of her life she does not want to show: the domestic violence. Indeed, she is raped by her father and brother, who makes her feel subdued. Obviously it affects also her personal life because during the novel, she goes in search for somebody who is able to submit her.

After that, there is a flashback to when Marianne went to see the final of Connell’s football match. Here, the narrator sees the world through Marianne’s point of view, making a detailed description of Connell’s body until she imagines him having sex. It underlines she is physical attracted by Connell. 

In the whole chapter, there are references to some books, such as “The Communist Manifesto” and “The Fire Next Time”. Indeed it is clear that both Connell and Marianne are smart and clever and they like reading books. But while Marianne reads in public (she always reads during lunch at school), Connell does not show he likes reading. Books are one of their topics of discussion when he goes to her house to pick his mother up. Indeed, one day, exactly while they were speaking about “The Fire Next Time”, he kissed her for the first time because since he knows she likes him. But the day after at school, she pretends not to know her, because he cares a lot about his reputation and therefore, he does not want other people to see him with Marianne. On the other side, since she likes him, she did not react and accepts Connell’s behavior.

There is no doubt that this chapter is so important because it develops the main topic of the whole novel such as the difficult of the relationship between Marianne and Connell and Connell’s attitude to care about people’s prejudices.

Last but not least in the chapter Sally Rooney used a simple and direct style, there are both narration and direct speech and there are exalted the body language and the character’s dressing style. 

Moving now to the third chapter, it begins with some considerations about the University. If Marianne has a clear idea of her choice (she wants to study History and Politics at Trinity), Connell is still insecure about his future and he is considering both Trinity Collage and the possibility to study Law in Galway. If he is tentative, insecure and he always pretend to know the others opinion and therefore Marianne convinces him to choose Trinity where he could study English. 

This underlines the complexity of the relationship and Connell’s need of Marianne approval of what he do and what he decide