Coping in Fictional Literature : A literary analysis of coping strategies in Sally Rooney´s Normal People and its usefulness in the EFL classroom

Sammanfattning: This essay explores the notion of coping and coping strategies in Sally Rooney’s Normal People. It argues that the two protagonists are using multiple coping strategies as a way of managing life issues. Furthermore, this essay presents a discussion on how Normal People can be used in the EFL classroom as a resource to learn how coping works. The thesis uses Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping, as well as Carver and colleagues’ model of coping strategies to analyze how the two protagonists deal with stressors. As for the pedagogical framework, bibliotherapy is discussed as a tool to facilitate discussions about coping and difficult issues with students. The findings show that the two protagonists are using coping strategies that are considered as maladaptive, resulting in the use of further coping strategies. Additionally, the pedagogical analysis shows that by incorporating bibliotherapy in the EFL classroom, Normal People can be used as a resource to address life issues and coping strategies enacted to deal with these issues.