Essay on A&P: Short Story

Before the girls enter the store, Sammy is unaware that the setting he is so judgmental of reflects his own life. Sammy feels that he is better than the rest of people at the A&P, referring to them as "sheep" and "house-slaves" because they never break from their daily routines. He also condescendingly talks about "whatever it is they[the

In John Updike's J and P, Sammy a hard working young man takes an easy decision that not only makes him lose his job, but change his life forever. Sammy who’s works as a cashier at a local grocery store. Is put in a situation where “three girls in nothing but bathing suits,”(Updike), walk in the store and aren't following the dress code. Unfortunately everyone was staring at them with disrespect; everyone but Sammy, who believes what Queenie and her friends were making a statement that shouldn't be overlooked. He wanted to stand up for the girls, but Sammy began to look at both sides of what

When three young teenage girls enter the store wearing nothing but bathing suits, things begin to change for Sammy. Sammy takes notice of the actions of the girls; how they go against the normal “traffic flow” of the supermarket and break the social rules of society with their attire. It is these attributes that attract Sammy to them, as they represent freedom and escape from the life he finds himself in. When Lengel approaches them and reprimands them for what they are wearing, Sammy quits in the hopes of becoming the girls unsuspected hero.

When Lengel sees the girls at the checkout counter, he says, “Girls, this isn’t the beach.” As the girls leave the in a hurry, Sammy says, “I quit.” Sammy hopes that the girls will hear, but they don’t and just keep on walking out to their car. Lengel reassures Sammy that he doesn’t want to quit, but Sammy wants to be these girls hero. As Sammy gets out to the parking lot, he looks around for the girls. He hoped that they would wait for him. Sammy thinks that he could hook-up with Queenie if he quits his job.

In the story “A+P”, Sammy is immediately interested in the three females that enter the grocery store. His interest possibly provoked by the natural tendency of being a young teenage boy and they being three girls dressed in bathing suites alone. Once the three girls make their way through the grocery store, Sammy immediately begins making his own judgment of their character based on the way they walk and the way they look. Sammy while observing the three girls, names the middle girl, “Queenie” simply based on her appearance and the way she walks. He describes Queenie in a condescending way, “She didn’t look around, not this queen, and she just walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima-donna legs. She came down a little harder on her heels…” (Updike 259) After watching the girls walk through the grocery store to find their item he insults their intelligence without having spoken to them, “…(do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz

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,

As Sammy is about to help them, the store administrator, Lengel censures the ladies appearance and states what they're wearing isn't decent. The girls go ahead to contend with Lengel, as they’re bickering Sammy quits his job. While Updike doesn’t directly state why Sammy resigns his job, there are bits of evidence that indicate that Sammy quit his job for the only reason of impressing the girls.

Sammy philosophical differences first show in his feeling sorry for the girls at the way McMahon, the butcher had leered at them, even though Sammy himself was guilty of the same lewd conduct. I believe Sammy thought it acceptable for him to leer at the girls, but not for old McMahon because of the difference in age between Sammy and McMahon. Sammy's philosophical differences culminate with him quitting his job because of the way his boss, Lengel, treated the girls. Even though Lengel states its the store policy and it applies to everyone, Sammy views this as unfair treatment of the girls and uses this to take a stand for his beliefs and quits. Sammy realizes the magnitude of his philosophical decision when he walks out and finds the girls are gone and nothing has changed. Sammy realizes he has made a choice and he must stick to that choice even though nothing has changed. The decision he made was his choice based on his personal belief of right and wrong, even if Mr. Lengel and his parents couldn't understand that.

Even though Lengel understands the situation he is making a big deal out of it. For Sammy it is like a journey to the center of the Earth as he experiences and remembers that there is more to life than the boring job he does and the dull life he lives. According to the narrator “All this while, the customers had been showing up with their carts but, you know, sheep, seeing a scene.. not wanting to miss a word”(272). As you can imagine, Lengel was causing a scene and the way he handled the girls was unnecessary.

The desire Sammy feels for the main girl “Queenie” is described through extreme imagery and characterization. Soon this feeling overrides everything else going on around him. Lust and desire can completely blind those who are out of touch with reality.

In “A&P,” write the story by John Updike in 1961 about Sammy’s 19 years old to work the cashier to a grocery store. During the summer job for teenage begins as while Sammy is quitting his job. Because he to observe the three adolescent girls wearing nothing but bathing suits into the store; “The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece. She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs” (Updike, 17). Some of the girls can see like swimsuit being looked after Sammy would want her to become a Queenie. Come to the cashier while smile to him about Sammy with Queenie when talking to our two girls talk something. Leave Queenie to create a Sammy can see to eye make a blushing. The customer is a boss to store manager for Lengel while catching with Sammy can feel gasping out and he says, “I quit.” Sammy that is happened to the job never come back again at the A&P is a grocery store because the boss said. Girls leave a ride on Cuban car away and Sammy was disappeared to her away to the end of love.

In the story “A&P” by John Updike we hear a story told by Sammy, a nineteen-year-old cashier at an A&P convenience store. When three girls walk into to the store wearing nothing but bathing suits Sammy can't help but stare. The girl in the lead catches Sammy's attention in particular, and he refers to her as “Queenie.” Yet, when the manager walks in and demands that they dress properly and embarrasses them for their indecency, it forces the girls to leave. After watching the ordeal unfold from his place at the counter, Sammy quits his job. Sammy has a crush on Queenie and feels guilty for not intervening while she was being humiliated. To make it up to her he quits his job so he could be her hero.

“In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits (Updike 430).” The opening of the short story written by John Updike, called ‘A&P’, immediately creates a sense of bewilderment. The setting the author uses as the backdrop is very essential to the story and helps with understanding the main character’s decision to eventually quit his job at the end. The protagonist and main character is Sammy, an employee of the A&P. Sammy not only walks away from his job, but he also chooses to leave the A&P and what the store represents in the story. John Updike’s ‘A&P’ uses the setting of the story to create a feeling of being restricted.

In the john updike's A&P story sammy does not agreed with his manager because he's doing the wrong thing on treating the young ladies like that. Sammy thought it was unfair because his manager was doing was screaming at them just because they were in the store buying things. His manager didn't agree with sammy because he thought that the girls were embarrassing his store because they were not dressed up right. “You didn't have to embarrass them."It was they who were embarrassing us.”(John Updike A&P pg.6 ). All the manager was thinking about was that his store was getting embarrassed by these 3 girls.This shows that there's a new generation of people that are fighting for what is right and even though he kind of regretted the decision he made it still shows how people back then know what is wrong and what is right.