Preview

Rites Of Passage In The Story 'A & P'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1040 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Rites Of Passage In The Story 'A & P'
Francis Agbebaku March 07, 2011
Prof. Murray Engl-1020
Essay #2 A person usually undergoes rites of passage when they choose to become part of a certain group. When the rites of passage is completed then they are prepared to be initiated into the group, in the two stories read in class I noted two examples of rite of passage and initiation experienced by the main character of each story first-hand. In the story “A&P” Sammy is at work and identifies his rites of passage when three un-conformed females enter the store and steals his attention , when he see his manager mistreat the girls he feel he must quit in order to gain his un-conformed independence and join the group. In the story “Doe Season” Andy the daughter of a
…show more content…
When the girls walk in Sammy attention was quickly caught by the females and their different choice of clothing. The females are dressed in bathing suits but the beach was 10 miles outside of the town that they lived in. Sammy says it was their act of non-conformity that drew his attention. Sammy did not want to grow up and end up like his co-worker Stokesie which had a wife an two children but still worked at the A&P grocery store, but that’s the road Sammy seen his self drifting into. To Sammy the girls represented something bigger than just rebelling against the rules it was that they represented excitement inside of his boring town. The excitement that made his boring life more interesting, an exciting life that would pull him from his irony fate of growing old and having a life-long career at “A&P” and in order to join the lifestyle he would have to be initiated into it. First, before he began his rites of passage he identified the leaders of the group which he nicknamed “Queenie” luckily it was the one he wanted to impress because he desired her as soon as she walked in the store so determining to take the rite of passage when presented to him would be a “no brainer”. She was followed by he accomplish in non-conformity which were to girls that Sammy nicknamed “Plaid” and “Big Tall Goony Goony” which spotlight was blocked by the spotlight of Queenie which look the best of the bunch. In the store the store manager confronts the girls about the attire they have chosen to wear in the store he tell them it is against the dress code which erupts an verbal argument against the store manager, Lengel and the leader of the group Queenie inside the store. When Sammy see the argument he thinks back to the time he wanted to created a verbal argument with Lengel and becomes even more drawn into Queenie’s lifestyle and when Lengel kicks the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    How do rites of passages effect a novel? In a good book, the main character or characters have to go through many rites of passages to get through conflict or any other troubles. The author uses rites of passages to Frank Beddors’ novel, The Looking Glass Wars, uses rights of passage to get Alyss through her struggles to become queen. In the novel, Alyss and the characters goes through rites of passages to help them through their conflicts.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hey Lawd

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In “A&P” by John Updike, Sammy takes a strong interest in the girls in their bathing suits that come into the supermarket he works at. It is clear that he views the girls in a sexual way by the way he describes Queenie from her “white prima donna legs” (1), to the way the straps of her bathing suit “were off her shoulders looped loosely around the cool tops of her arms” (1) causing her suit to slide down a little, how when she “turned so slow it made [his] stomach rub the inside of [his] apron” (2), how cute it was when she lifted “a folded dollar bill out of the hollow at the center of her nubbled pink top” (3) and her friend whom he “liked better from the back” because she had “a really sweet can” (3). Sammy was so infatuated with them, noticing every detail about each of the girls, that he wanted them to notice him too. When the manager of the supermarket embarrasses them for wearing bathing suits, Sammy uses this opportunity to get their attention and ultimately impress them. Sammy says he quits “quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch [him], their unsuspected hero” (4). He doesn’t stop to think about how quitting his job will affect his parents and his future; he only cares about impressing the girls and getting them to notice him. After his action he realized “how hard the world was going to be to [him] hereafter” (5) over girls that ended up not noticing him or being impresses and…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story is set in a small New England town, and it is an average day. Three young girls enter the store where Sammy, a young cashier, works. He watches and analyzes their every move, and tries to guess their personalities based on body language. Sammy identifies the leader girl as “Queenie,” and takes most interest in her. The girls are only dressed in bathing suits, and gain the attention of the other men working in the store as well. This causes tension between the male characters, and causes Sammy to wonder about his own future in comparison to his male peers. Sammy does not like seeing the girls being objectified. The manager kicks the girls out based on their inappropriate attire. In an unexpected response and strange attempt to honor the girls, Sammy quits the job, and leaves the store, but immediately is overwhelmed by the uncertain consequences his actions will bring.…

    • 2050 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A & P Character Analysis

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the short story, three girls enter the “A & P”, each wearing a swimsuit. As Sammy is spending his time judging the shoppers, calling them “sheep” and “house slaves”, the girls come into his view. This strange incident causes Sammy’s attention to drawn to them and their bodies. Much like a simple judgmental teen, he begins to judge them solely on their looks. He becomes especially drawn to one of the girls he refer…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This story concentrates on a particular ordeal that strolls in and enters a store and trough Sammy's perception, and examination of the young ladies and alternate Patrons, the person who understands…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    One example of the setting being so important to this story is that it is taking place in a small town surrounded by local businesses where there is a certain standard in what one would think appropriate attire would be. If this story were to take place in a small beach town, a couple of young girls walking around in their bathing suits might not cause such a reaction because people would be used to it. It can be understood when the narrator, Sammy, explains, “we’re right in the middle of town, and women generally put on a shirt or shorts or something before they get out of the car” (34), that the towns folk are not accustomed to women walking around in next to nothing. It is considered inappropriate, and by describing that there are people in the town that haven’t even seen the beach in many years (34), he is reiterating how unusual it is to see women like this.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sammy tells the story as if it is just another day while the life-changing event unfolds in a manner of minutes. He gives insight about the town by giving short character descriptions that are revealing, not only of each character, but also of Sammys feelings about the town, the people in it, and his personal perspective on the life that he is living there. Although the character descriptions paint a negative picture, the negativity has more to do with Sammys thought of living in this town with these characters for much more of his young life. It is clear that Sammy is more than ready to move on, beyond where his life is now.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rites Of Passage Analysis

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rites of Passage is a process that people of Apache in New Mexico provide to thirteen years old girls, who are going to enter the womanhood. This ceremony started in ancient traditions and as the young girls became women, their family and friends were there to support them mentally and spiritually. It is completed with the young girls’ beloved ones, and they all participate and witness the girl’s journey. Rites of Passage lasts four days and participants are tested in strength, endurance, and character. The whole process requires the girls to perform strict rules; have a small amount of food, little sleep, and no emotions.…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A + P Feminism

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The majority of the story takes place in 19-year-old Sammy’s mind. Here he describes, in detail, three girls in bathing suites, the men working in the store, and the townswomen shopping there. His mental voice flows and is constant, indicative that this is the norm for men to think in such a way. He first describes the townswomen as “sheep,” “pigs,” and “houseslaves,” not even having the decency to call them “women,” or “ladies.” Even going so far as to say their reactions to the girls “were pretty hilarious.” He sees the women as his source of humor. This is exemplary of society’s suppressive nature on the women in this setting. To be described as “sheep” means they are uniform – not just in how they look, but also in their mentality – and are herded, dumb, un-straying beings. This is what the patriarchy of the setting has reduced the women in society to being; after all, who herds the sheep?…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ceremonies that mark important transitional times in one’s life, such as birth, graduation, marriage, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, and death just to name a few. Rites of passage usually involve ritual trials and teachings intended to strip individuals of their original roles and prepare them for new roles. Rites of passage can be coming of age, religious, academic, military, professional, and cultural. People in tribes and certain societies take these rituals very seriously and most go through tremendous amounts of pain…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Every person begins their life with a birth and ends it with death. In our lives, there will be other rites of passage that will still have great importance; celebrating birthdays, graduation from school or collage, getting jobs, marriage, having kids, transition from child to adult and even divorce. Rites of passage help many people feel part of their respective society. Making their lives sweeter or bitter. Easier or harder. Better or more difficult. Their changes are huge, but not only for the person itself, but for their new roll on a society as well. Since forever, people want to be accepted. They even feel the need to be accepted in their society and it has always been the same but in so many different kinds of societies.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I will be writing a thesis essay on “Right of Passage” written by Sharon olds. “ “Rite of Passage” is a poem whose denotative meaning expresses the feelings and details of a young boys birthday party through the eyes of his parents. In accordance to the denotative definition of this poem, the connotative interpretation I will be focusing on, are the stages of boyhood and the feelings and emotions that run through the minds of these young kids during the early stages of their lives.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    'Stand by Me' Essay

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Rites of passage, refers to the important events of our ultimate quest through life. They are the universal changes that can be as insignificant as a first kiss but with everlasting effects on our perspective of life. Stand by me has close ties to individual rites of passages that explore…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the lives of people all around the world, they must go through what is called is a rite of passage. Some go through numerous rites of passage during their lifetime. This idea of the rite of passage is a time in one’s life that they experience a change in identity. For women as an example, beginning the steps to womanhood come with an adolescent girl getting her first period, but in other cutlers they may see the steps towards womanhood very differently. As one begins to go through a rite of passage, they must go through three stages, separation, liminality, and incorporation. In my own personal life I have been through many rites of passage. Some may not be as significant as others, but they were each life changing moments in my own life. The rite of passage that I had most recently gone through was moving in with my future husband. This may seem as an everyday thing for many, but it was actually quite a special moment in my life.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A&P Reflection

    • 1149 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The girls have a profound transformative effect on the men in the A&P, especially Sammy. They inspire the men to act piggishly, as they stare at the girls while making lewd comments to one another. For these men, their response seems rooted in hormones, and Lengel’s attempt to get the girls to respect social norms is an effort both to control the desire of such young men and to protect the girls from it. In Sammy, however, the girls inspire a more profound reaction. Under the influence of his desire for Queenie, Sammy’s imagination is awakened, and he takes a dramatic step to change his life. Sammy’s actions are not purely motivated by his desire, but they are inseparable from it.…

    • 1149 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics