Normal People question

I took it to mean that the protagonists both wanted to be normal.

But they were only normal in certain environments, abnormal in others.

yes, you hit it right on the head. Most everything that happened in the book was normal and I think Sally Rooney meant for us to compare our lives against theirs, in order to improve.

All joking aside, to me the title poses more of a question than an answer. When we walk down the street and see someone "normal", what does the really mean? Is anyone truly normal? If Connel and Marianne aren't normal, then who is? The book rides pretty heavily on both characters feeling somewhat atypical in their social groups, social classes, and so on. Yet, to each other they are perfectly normal, as in, they fit each other, they make sense to each other.

i feel the point of the title itself is understanding different types of "normal"

this book really gives two different perspectives of how one handles life in such way that to others it may be "different" and "normal" to others.

Marianne and Connell proves this, just as how it works in real life

I believe it was a reference to the protagonist, Marian's feeling of otherness. Other people were normal. She was not (in her mind).. This is not an unusual feeling for people who are bullied or abused in some way.

I've wondered the same thing. My interpretation is that Normal People is a book about an ordinary couple doing ordinary things. The title drives home the point that there is nothing unique about Marianne and Connell or about their relationship; they are representative of a "normal" relationship. Despite not feeling normal, the two of them are just like us - which is why the book is relatable to so many.

I believe the book was called "Normal People" because in the end, they are normal people and some relationships are really like this because of poor communication and fear. I think the author also wanted to portray the fact that they might have been considered "normal" in society and relationships, although they had their own struggles and challenges, even if they appear to be "normal" on the surface.

I interpret it as the characters are just normal people who are going through realistic life events, and that's what makes them "normal".

I think sally rooney gave it the title Normal people only to make the readers aware that the confusion in every relationship and the emotions that do not go too deep yet some how is a part of us and makes us who we are exists in everyone...Its not toxic , it is human mind not having enough comprehension to think clearly...

It encapsulates everything about them, their relationship, the narrative style, and the plot.

Both are torn at various points between their desires to be normal and to be exceptional. Marianne is exceptional/othered to start off with, and wants to be normal, but at the same time leans into her uniqueness. She spites “normal” people. There is also a class analysis here, in the way that she has the privilege to revel (only partially) in being outcast, for she in some ways, both intellectually and financially, feels above her classmates.

Meanwhile, Connell is normal from the start, to the point where he struggles with parts of himself that he feels make him “different”, and that he feels must be a secret.

Their relationship is special because they both feel that they can be “normal” together (alone); they know each other very well. Ironically, though, they are both too afraid to be direct with each other, and do eventually keep certain secrets from one another. Because they feel that normalcy in being together, it seems even more dangerous for them to be vulnerable with each other and risk making it “weird”; they feel that they have a lot to lose.

There is also something very “normal” about both of their perspectives. They have personal struggles, faults, and miscommunications amongst themselves and others that make them feel very realistic. They are not tropes; they are never too much of anything; they are a bit good, a bit bad, and just trying, as any regular person.

To me, part of the issue with their relationship is that they seek being normal, and understood, and seek love, in each other. But they face these impossible boundaries to actually having a healthy relationship, because they idealize their connection and are unable to be adults about it, despite their obvious intimacy.

In the end, there is the comment that “Marianne is a normal person now.” This, to me, is representative of how both characters have “grown up” and become more healthy. There is a reframing of their perspectives on who they are and what it means to try to be “normal” - in a way that is healthy and productive, rather than self-harming, as before.

Even the writing style is “normal”. The dialogue seems like real speech. It is neither hard to read, nor overly simple. It is just normal.

I think both Connell and Marianne have a deep desire to belong and become part of the 'normal' of whatever environment they're in. This struggle is what makes them so dependent on each other, because they recognise that longing in each other. That's also what I thought made the ending so sad, because you're not sure they'll ever find that level of deep understanding in another person again.