Essay on A&P: Point of View

The first-person narrator helped the readers to hear the story from a teenager who pretended to be mature, setting the naive and immature tone. Take a look at Sammy’s narration. When he noticed that the entire store was interested in the sexuality the girls in bathing suits presented, he remarked, “Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldn't help it”(3, Updike). At the

Point of view is one of the literary devices that allows authors to accomplish this purpose. The point of view is the manner in which an author interacts with his/her literary world. It provides a creative avenue for skillful readers to capture and direct the attention of the reader to particular emotions, details, and opinions. Thus, the point of view is simply an angle of considering things as embodies with the manner in which the author narrates a story. This paper provides a clear and concise analysis of the short story Brownies by ZZ packer with particular focus on the point of

Life is always about making important decisions that could change your life completely. Like the story A&P, Sammy made a huge decision to quit his job due to his boss being rude to three young girls wearing bathing suits. John Updike used several literary elements to make the story stand out and for people to relate to Sammy. The most important elements that is used in this story is setting, point of view, and characters.

Readers that interpret Sammy’s tone as that of a simply refreshed individual view him as an innocent teenager; he sees these three girls that don’t fit into the grocery store setting and simply tries to stereotype them based on what he sees and what he knows as a force of habit. Updike uses a lot of detail to emphasize how closely Sammy observes the girls. After all, people use many stereotypes in order to decide whether to trust a person or befriend them; it’s a safety measure at times. However, readers that interpret Sammy’s tone as conceited see him as a budding sexist; to them, he objectifies the girls based on their outward behavior and looks, he arrogantly judges what their individual reputations are, and he is so sure of himself that it is annoying to

Sammy based his opinion of what part of society the shoppers belonged to by the items they would purchase. The girl that he favored was purchasing some kind of fish in a can with some sort of fancy sauce, not usually something that a lower class citizen would purchase. He figured since she was purchasing such a fancy item, she must be part of the higher class society, which he was not. He wished that he could be and he envied the fact that she was part of a society where they could do anything they wanted to do. To be able to buy and wear whatever pleased them. To say whatever it is they wanted to say. It is also present when the store manager threatened Sammy when he quit his job. By saying to Sammy, “you don’t want to do this to your mom and dad” and “you’ll feel this for the rest of your life” (Updike 21), not only is he wanting to keep control of him, he is telling Sammy that he and his family will be looked at differently. They will be moved into a lower class and by quitting, not only is he going to ruin his life, he will affect the life of the rest of his family as

      A more likely explanation for Sammy's abrupt resignation from his job is his complete boredom with it. This dissatisfaction with his work situation is plainly seen in his regard for a group that Sammy holds in even more contempt than the girls: the regular, paying customers. His references to them as "sheep," "houseslaves" and "pigs" reveals his attitude toward the group that keeps his employer in business--and Sammy in a job that he hates. His diatribe in the story's beginning directed at the "witch" who points out to him that he rang up the same purchase twice shows the unreasonable nature of this contempt for the customers: the mistake was quite clearly Sammy's fault, yet he lashes out at a customer who simply did what any

Although it turns his life to unordinary, Sammy views the girls as a refreshing and escaping scene for himself. He was used to seeing the regular, ordinary customers that he referred to as sheep. Something about the girls demeanor when entering “A&P” left Sammy with a inspirational, riving feeling. Porter later in his article discusses why he thought Sammy quit his job, which ultimately made his life change. He viewed it as Sammy making a gesture as both a statement towards the girls decency and a rejection of “A&P” and the misdirected values for which the store held. The action that Sammy made was an exaggerated result from his youth. His action does not diminish from the simple goodness of his chivalric intent, nor does it take away the importance of his personal commitment. Although Sammy knows that he will feel this for the rest of his life and that he separated himself from the flock and the “A&P” crowd. Sammy chose to set himself against the majority. But Sammy also understood that he could not start something and not follow through with it whether it made his life ordinary or not. Once Sammy realized that not to follow the voice of conscience is to be false to ones own integrity and would be living a lie, he chose to live an honest and significant life instead.

In “A&P”, the author John Updike utilizes symbolism, point of view, setting, and imagery to convey the message of choices and consequences in Sammy’s life. The protagonist, Sammy, makes immature decisions that he believes that’s what adults do. But what he thinks is an act of courage and chivalry doesn’t catch Queenie and her friends’ attention, but he still facing the consequences of his child-like behavior.

In the 1st person point of view the reader sees the story unfold from the perspective of the narrator. Many novels use this convention such as classics like Catcher in the Rye and Treasure Island. This point of view allows the reader to sympathize with the narrator/main character and place themselves in the lives of these characters. Because of this, however, 1st person narration is limited and biased. The narrator can only know what is taking place around them and even then, the narrator can be considered unreliable due to being able to change certain

Originally when the girls come into the store Sammy thought the three girls were ignorant and foolish. This is seen from his lack of understanding of women “You never know for sure how girls’ minds work” (Updike 1) When Sammy says this he reveals what he really thinks of women. This not only shows he does not understand women but also how he assumes without previous knowledge that these three girls were ignorant. Sammy assumes they are ignorant because they do not see things the same way or do not see eye to eye. Sammy shows more of this when he says “Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldn’t help it” (Updike 2). Sammy assumes that just because they are girls that they lack intelligence that men possess. He thinks that the girls should be afraid or fearful for trying to stand up for their cause. Sammy also does not view the girls as beings but rather objects. As in the story Sammy says “It is alright for those young girls to walk around in their bathing suits, but other women with six children and varicose veins, should put on some clothes.” (Updike 3) Based on this we can conclude that Sammy is not as interested in the

In a continuing attempt to reveal this societal conflict, Updike introduces the character of Lengel, the manager. He accosts the girls and starts to make a scene accusing them of being indecent: “‘Girls, I don’t want to argue with you. After this come in here with your shoulders covered. It’s our policy.’ He turns his back. That’s policy for you. Policy is what the kingpins want. What others want is juvenile delinquency” (Updike, 600). When the store manager confronts three girls in swimsuits because of their indecency (lack of proper clothes), they are forced to leave humiliated. At this moment Sammy makes the choice to quit his job in protest of the manager’s handling of the situation. In his mind, and arguably in John Updike’s mind, the standards of walking into a grocery store in a bathing suit and humiliating someone in front of other people are both unacceptable. This part of the story is pivotal for one main reason: a voice in the business community is speaking. As a manager at A & P, Lengel is the voice of The Establishment and guards the community ethics (Porter, 321). Queenie’s (the ringleader of the girls) blush is what moves Sammy to action. Here are three girls who came in from the beach to purchase only one thing, and this kingpin is embarrassing them in order to maintain an aura of morality, decency,

The setting of A&P describes an average grocery store and is woven with the eventful shopping trip of three girls. Sammy’s recount of events that unfold during the story shows details typically overlooked every day and expresses his feelings and how they shift from amusement of the girls, to defensive against Lengel. It is obvious Sammy knows the girls will be perceived as indecent by others, but he feels like he must come to their defense especially against Lengel. Unfortunately for Sammy, he was an unrecognized hero that sacrificed his job to do what he saw as right at the time. Understanding Sammy’s conflict between how society perceives and treats girls based on what is considered acceptable is tied in with the descriptions of the story’s setting. Sammy views the people in the store or society as mindless sheep, it is apparent he believes himself to be freethinking and progressive in comparison. The reality of facing the real world, alone with no one around or girls to cheer him on sets in at the end, almost defeated as his stomach falls, and he accepts the consequences of his

Writing from different viewpoints allows the author, Tim O’Brien, to express himself in a more comfortable manner. Written in this viewpoint, the story is read as a tale instead of an autobiography and the author becomes more distant with the story like he is looking into it rather than writing it.

There are many elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a piece of writing. One element in particular that adds to how effective a piece of writing can be is point of view, which can determine what the reader knows and understands, and how the information given is interpreted. As a result, point of view contributes to character development and the emotional impact of a piece of writing. Marjane Satrapi utilizes the impact that point of view has in her graphic novel Persepolis. The story, which is written as a memoir, includes Marjane herself in the images, which makes the text seem to be told from more of a limited third person point of view, while the narration of the story is told in the first person. By including herself in the

Point of view is defined by a particular attitude or way of considering a matter. Point of view is a very universal term, yet it is mostly applied in a highly subjective matter. Different people have different points of view, which is a crucial element in shaping their unique characteristics. Characterized by distortion and reversal, points of view of the Author, Hulga, and Mrs. Hopewell project their flawed psyches, each as an incoherent man, a naïve fool, and a condescending woman. They are completely different characters, but they often mirror one another due to the fact that they are all incapable of viewing the world as is.