Preview

A & P Summary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
596 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A & P Summary
The story “A & P” revolves around the most regular of days, seen through the eyes of our main protagonist, Sammy. He is the cutting image of an 18 year old, fresh out of high school, working a job at a grocery store given to him by a family friend. Then, one day, the most exciting day Sammy has had all summer comes when 3 bikini-clad girls come into the store. This is the first bit of color in Sammy’s life surrounded by the white walls of A & P. This sudden appearance takes Sammy off guard, putting all of his attention onto these girls. For the following minutes it is his whole focus to track these girls as they walk through the store. Through this Sammy goes through his own adventure in his head about these girls, especially the one he’s taken a sincere liking to, Queenie. When they come into vision they instantly take all of his attention, causing a slip up in checking a lady out. The conflict begins to set in motion as Sammy begins to examine these girls, as most boys at 18 would, and when he starts to look at Queenie, he becomes completely enticed by her presence, hence the title of “Queenie”. Looking Queenie up and down it becomes more evident that Sammy has become love-struck. Everyone in the …show more content…
The climax hits when Lengel comes out and ruins Sammy’s possible moment to shine. However when one door closed Sammy opened another one and, well, quit. Not the prettiest resolve to Sammy’s big break, as he emerged, jobless, and unrecognized. “I could see Lengel in my place in the slot, checking the sheep through. His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” (p.19). Sammy has realized the weight of his actions, and doesn’t seem to feel too

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the story “A & P”, written by John Updike, three teenage girls only wearing their bathing suits, walk into an A & P grocery store in a small town nowhere near the beach. Sammy a young man working the checkout line watches them closely. He notices details about them and the way they carry themselves, he also gives them names based on his observations. For example he names the leader “Queenie”. As the girls are checking out the store manager Lengel brings to their attention that they cannot be in the store with just their bathing suits. Queenie protests and they eventually leave, after which Sammy decides to quit, protesting the way Lengel has embarrassed the girls. As he leaves the store he hopes the girls are watching, but he comes to realize they are gone.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A&P II Notes

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1. The process by which food is received into the GI tract via the mouth is called ingestion.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    a&p review questions

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Homework Assignment Due on Day of Exam 3 - 2013 – Prior to taking Exam III…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A&P I Review

    • 12196 Words
    • 49 Pages

    | The branch of science that deals with the structure of human body parts is called anatomy.…

    • 12196 Words
    • 49 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A&P Questions

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Because physiology studies the function of the structure and without the actual structure there is no function.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is stuck in a dull world, with the "sheep" and the "freeloaders". His compares himself to his co-worker, Stokesie, by claiming "Stokesie 's married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell that 's the only difference". (Kirszner & Mandell, 127). Stokesie 's goal is to become the manager of the store. If Sammy continued on his course at the A & P, he took would end up just like Stokesie. Sammy wants to be free spirited, he wants to break rules. When the store manager, Lengel, approaches the girls and confronts them for wearing swimsuits, Sammy begins to break free of his dull world. He wants to show the girls that he does not stand with Lengel, he stands with them. He quits quickly and without thought, saying "I quit" loud enough for the girls to hear them. He wants them to hear him, he wants them to realize that he is not one of the store workers, not one of the sheep or the…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After a small tense conversation between the “queen” and the manager, Sammy notices the girls are in a rush to leave and wanted to be their “unsuspecting hero”, so he quit his job on the spot. Lengel encourages him not to quit, as it would be disappointing to his mother and father. Shrugging him off, Sammy drops his apron and bow tie and leaves the store to meet up with his girls, only to find that they are long…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Updikes A&P

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Sammy’s actions would suggest many things about his character. He seems to be unable to stay with the task at hand, getting distracted by things a distance away. Sammy stands by as Lengel speaks to Queenie about dressing appropriately and waits…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that quitting his job would haunt him for the rest of his life, but still he went through with it. This says something about his character, he’s a go getter and wants more from life and he has finally put his foot down and is going to set out on his journey to find what he really wants from life. Although, at the end of the story it says, “Looking back in the big windows, over the bags of peat moss and aluminum lawn furniture stacked on the pavement, I could see Lengel in my place in the slot, checking the sheep through. His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” He realized that he had gone about things the wrong way. Maybe he will find what he’s really searching for but it will have to be the hard way due to his actions. The girls seem to pay him no mind, which is why Sammy seems more intrigues by them as well. The old lady with the rouge cheeks called Sammy out for ringing up her hi-ho’s…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    sammys epipany

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Quitting his job is his first step in achieving this goal. Although he knows that he is young, entering into the realism of adult responsibilities will widen his mind to explore and experience more. Quitting his job isn’t an optimal idea, Sammy’s motive runs much deeper than that. He is questioning for a sense of personal gain and satisfaction. By taking sides with the girls, he momentarily rises in class to meet their standards and the standards of the upper-class. Sammy is obviously near the bottom of the class ladder, a place where he is extremely unhappy. He wants the courage to set himself apart from everyone especially Lengel and be different.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In a modern society where good deeds and integrity are taken for granted, it is necessary for people to stand up for what is right. The short story “A & P”, written by John Updike, tells the story of Sammy and how he takes a stand for what he believes is right, only he is not given the gratitude he deserved. “Everyday Use”, written by Alice Walker, is another short story that shows how substantial it is to stand firm for one’s convictions and beliefs, especially in familial matters. Mama, the protagonist in “Everyday Use”, must make the decision of protecting her self-conscious daughter Maggie, or giving in to Dee, her other egocentric daughter who has forgotten the traditional values of their family. These two short stories indicate the importance of protecting people from the harshness of reality because not everyone is secure or aware enough to be able to stand up for themselves.…

    • 1683 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A&P Summary Questions

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Given what you learn about Sammy during the course of the story, what do you see as his primary motivation for quitting his job? What other factors motivate…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A&P John Updike - Essay 2

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Throughout the story, there is a major focus on Sammy's observations of others. Sammy is a young cashier at a grocery store whose personality reflects immaturity and insecurity. When three teenage girls enter the store, it is clear that all men are watching closely as they strut the store in bathing suits. The store is "right in the middle of town, and if you stand at our front doors you can see two banks and the Congregational church and the newspaper store and three real-estate offices" which lets us know that the store is in a conservative area, where bathing suits in public are definitely frowned upon. The girls become objects of desire as Sammy observes their every move. He feels the need to describe the three girls and sort of place himself on a pedestal as he judges them. His focus is solely on the girls and he makes a mistake ringing up a customer but he pawns it off like it was the woman’s fault for being a ‘’witch”. His co-worker, Stokesie plays with Sammy as they joke about how pretty the girls are. All of this playfulness and desire leads Sammy to ponder the thought that Stokesie is beneath him. He is only three years older and is already married with two kids. He starts to talk down…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages

    3. The physical description of the three girls seems like the exposition of the story because the rest of it follows them through the store and relates Sammy’s thoughts about them. The carefully detailed portrait of Queenie, the leader of the three girls, is of great value to the story. Queenie seems like a typical proud teenage girl, and she serves to further characterize Sammy. The fact that he quits his job just so this girl will notice him transforms him into a susceptible young man.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Updike 's “A&P” is an interesting story of attitude and the male ego. Sammy, being young and obviously very observant, describes in first person point of view the events that lead up to him quitting his job. The theme of “A&P” is central to the idealistic and moral values of young verses old. As represented in the difference of attitude towards the girls regarding the wearing of swim suits in the local grocery store. While the girls are strolling through the various aisles, Sammy is enthralled with the appearance with one girl more than the other two. He apparently does not have an issue with the attire of the girls. Moreover, he is better inclined to allow his hormones to control the situation. This is evident by the way Sammy describes the three girls, each one with a unique style and flare. An example of this would be the way in paragraph 1 and 4 where he refers to the backside of one of the girls as a “can”. A contrast to that description would be the way he describes Queenie. Immediately noticing that the straps of her suit were down tells the reader that in Sammy 's mind the girls were objects of fixation and mere physical gratification. The second paragraph shows this very well when Sammy compares the minds of girls to a buzz like a bee in a glass jar. In the opinion of this reader Sammy is no more than an over sexed teenager wandering through the toils of his daily life at work fantasizing about every pretty face he sees.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays