Cited: Updike, John. “A&P.” Sixth Edition Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Leah Jewell. 2001. 369-373.
Cited: Updike, John. “A&P.” Sixth Edition Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Leah Jewell. 2001. 369-373.
This story also represents a coming-of-age for Sammy. From the time the girls enter the grocery store, to the moment they leave; you can see changes in Sammy. At…
Sammy’s true intentions are revealed when he realizes the girls are not watching him when he is “defending their name”. The girls in the story are a complete opposite of the lifestyle at A&P with their breaking of the store policies as well as the way they carry themselves. Sammy wants to be apart of the Queenie because he wants her and what she…
Sammy is a young teen who works at the grocery store. He is just like any other teen checking out everything going on. One day, he spots three teen girls walking through the door. This begins to show Sammy’s true emotions and character in the story “A&P”. Sammy shows that he is very observant, different, and dissatisfied.…
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…
Fortunately, Sammy and the narrator realize their deficiency infantility after their conflict with other people just like the ancient Greek proverb says, "Through suffering comes wisdom" (qtd. in Vannatta 1637). In Sammy's case, "enraged that Lengel has humiliated the girls" (Uphaus 372), he quits his job trying to defend and impress the girls. However, the girls just ignore Sammy and leave the store. Sammy is then left alone. At the end when he look back into the store from outside, "[his] stomach kind of fell as [he] felt how hard the world was going to be to [him] hereafter" (Updike 20). There is a sense of regret when Sammy mentions the hardship in his life after the loss of job. As Donald J. Greiner points out, "Sammy does not want to quit his job" (398). If he choose not to quit, he doesn't have to face "the ugly world of harried housewives with varicose veins" (Greiner 398), nor he needs to suffer the loneliness he gives up the last help from other people; from now on, he's all on his own. At the end, he finally understands, in his epiphany, that "it is responsible behavior, not playing adult-like' games that will make him a true adult" (Quigley par. 11).…
The author, John Updike, uses characterization to expose Sammy’s true character. Sammy is baffled that the store manager, Lengel, would embarrass the girls in front of everyone. In their defense he stands up to Lengel and scolds him for rebuking the girl’s outfit choices. After the girls leave he then quits his job. When he quits the manager even warns him that “[he’ll] feel this for the rest of [his] life”, but Sammy follows through with his plan. Although he does…
A lot of times when people are unhappy with themselves, they take it out on others. Sammy displays this so blatantly in painting a picture of the girls that come into the supermarket. He devotes five paragraphs strictly to talking about them and every move they make. He spares no detail, describing one of the…
The setting helps contribute to the insight, knowledge and understanding to the meaning of many stories. In the short story “A & P” by John Updike, the setting helps bring to life the conformity and dehumanization in an everyday life. It shows that breaking the norm of society is unacceptable.…
As he watched the girls, he accidentally rings up a customer’s box of HiHo crackers twice in a row, causing the customer to become incredibly agitated that he is not giving her his full attention. Sammy hardly pays any mind to the woman’s agitation and watches the girls idle into the meat isle. It was made perfectly clear at this point that his primary concern is no longer his job, but the girls in the store.…
First of all, in the beginning of the story, Sammy mainly describes the three girls wearing swimsuits caught everyone's attention in A&P. “In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits… The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece…” (1-5). The three girls catch Sammy and every other person’s eyes. They are shocked by what the girls are wearing, because barely anyone has done such a thing before. This shows us that the people in this town always follow the rules. Also, there is another important character in the story. According to Sammy, the old register…
Sammy meets the need of one’s standards that may be classified as a normal and average teenage boy. He works, is easily distracted, and has a keen interest in girls. With Sammy’s vernacular and his actions he comes off as awkward by the time the story ends. He describes the girls the best way he knows how but uses a lot of similes and metaphors instead of just stating what one of their skin looks likes or what her body looks like. And when he describes the shoppers he makes them seem like they are suffering from oppression. As if they are they because they have to be just like he is there because he has no choice. And when something goes wrong or something out of the ordinary happens, like him quitting, they seem lost at what to do next. Just like the customers/shoppers when Sammy said “I quit”, he was not expecting it and was lost himself. And because he decided to quit out of nowhere to be an uncertified hero for these girls that he may possibly never see again, he knows he more than likely cannot…
Sammy is absolutely thrilled when the three girls approach his check out line. At this time the manager of the A&P enters the picture and tells the girls that bathing suits are not proper attire for a supermarket. Then Sammy embarks upon the ultimate form of play that, although immature, is sometimes used by adults to make an impression on others. He ultimately sacrifices his job, saying, "I quit"(129). His motivation for quitting is the hope that "Queenie" would stop and thank him, her unsuspected hero.…
In the story “A&P” by John Updike, Sammy makes a decision to quit his job while standing up against Mr. Lengel’s unacceptable attitude toward the girls’ summer apparel. Meanwhile, talking to Mr. Lengel, Sammy remembers what his father says to him “once you begin a gesture, it’s fatal not to go through with it” (618). This remains a difficult choice because if he did not follow through with the choice, then no one would take him seriously when he has the inclination to quit. Once Sammy makes his choice, then he realizes “my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (619). As well as life will get much harder without a job, especially in a small town, Sammy is not sure what to do after he quits but knows the store is not the place for him.…
The main character, Sammy of “The A&P,” struggles with choosing between the decision to stand up for what he deems morally appropriate, or the option to ignore the mistreatment of three strangers. Unsure of the consequences, this supermarket hero risks his job for the trio of young ladies whom he had never come in contact with before. His irksome attitude toward the customers displays the true feelings he holds for his grocery store career. “I pull the bow at the back of my apron and start shrugging it off my shoulders. A couple customers that had been heading for my slot begin to knock…
2. Updike mainly characterizes Sammy through his thoughts about the three girls in the supermarket. It seems as though Sammy identifies more with the frivolity of his age group as opposed to a more moralistic and responsible approach. Sammy is displayed as a hero (or wants to be) when he defends the girls, but it is soon realized that he only does it for attention. This along with the fact that his plan does not work out makes him less of a hero.…