Analysis Of ' A & P ' By John Updike

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

Transition -- In fact, Supporting point 2 -- when he contemplates what Queenie might be thinking Quote -- he wonders if her head is empty or “a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar” (824). Explain/relate quote to point -- In his mind she and the other girls are objects, not human beings. Transition -- Even the nicknames he makes up show the sexist attitude of an immature teenage boy. Supporting point 3/Quote -- Referring to the one he likes as “Queenie,” to her tall friend as “Big Tall Goony Goony” or other female shoppers as “houselaves” indicates that women in his view have no place or identity beyond themselves(825). Explain/relate quote to point -- indicates that women in his view have no place or identity beyond themselves Transition – further Supporting Point 4 -- His false-chivalric gesture at the end reveals his immaturity. Quote -- He assumes that the girls need an “unsuspected hero” to save them Explain/relate to point --, that they cannot take care of themselves or handle a little embarrassment (827). Concluding sentence -- Clearly, Sammy has much to learn about heroism, chivalry, and

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 seems to never hit, at the top of the backs of her legs"( Updike 596). Once Sammy finished his portrayal of the girl he noticed he had a item in his hand and could not figure out if he had rang it up or not. Sammy proceeded to ring up the item which he had already done, and got himself in trouble with a customer who proceeded to yell at him. Sammy's immaturity can be explained here because he let the presence of the girls interfere with his work. Once the woman was gone Sammy went on to describe the other girls. He says, " there was this one, with one of those chubby berry-faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose, this one, and a tall one, with black hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes, and a chin that was too long- you know, the kind of girl that other girls think is very "striking" and "attractive" but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much" (Updike 596). As you can see, Sammy shows his immaturity by going on a tangent only to describe the physical attributes of the girls and does not seem to care about anything else.

When Sammy sees the store manager, Lengel, embarrass the girls, not only does Sammy see the ability to look heroic in front of his three mystery girls, like an "unsuspected hero" (Updike 618), he also sees the ability to get out of his boring nine to five job. Partially, because he is only nineteen and very immature in the way he views the world, he may have thought the girls would find him heroic. However, as soon as he quits his job

      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

First, reason I believe some readers find the story offensively sexist is because of Sammy’s behavior as he describes the three ladies that caught his eye in 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 two crescents of white just under it. (358)” Sammy is describing the girls bottom which I know would be offensive to some ladies reading this story. He is just describing what he is seeing but he is looking more in a lustful way. He described another one of the girl’s as having “long white prima donna legs. (359)” He also mentions one of the girls taking the money from her bra “I uncreased the bill

Sammy is shallow and sexist in the way he has named these young women according to his first impression of their bodies and behaviors. Patrick W. Shaw notes that "Sammy knows what is on each aisle in the store and constantly thinks of what is inside bottles, cans, and jars; but he has no idea what is inside the girls, no sensitivity to their psychology or sexual subtlety. His awareness stops with their sweet cans and ice-cream breasts" (322). Sammy further demonstrates his childishness and chauvinism by commenting on the mental abilities of the girls: "You never know for sure how girls' minds work (do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)" (27).

John Updike is viewed by his readers as a progressive voice in his work that promotes feminist issues. He makes these issues stand out more evidently, rather than hidden, in order for the reader to realize how women are viewed in society. From reading Updike’s A&P, the story sends the message to readers of genders working together to strive for equality. If readers do not carefully and actively read A&P they may miss key messages about the power men hold over women, not just in society but in literature as well. Even though Updike’s A&P seems to be a story about a teenager finally standing up to his boss and quitting the job he hates, the tone used reveals the hidden message on how women are in a male-oriented world. The relationship between both men are women are shown as unequals, men on the top and women always below them, Updike makes sure to open up the reader 's eyes in realizing the way females are being treated unfairly.

Even though Sammy’s mindset is childlike, he still tries to portray himself in an adult manner. The reader can observe throughout the story the way in which Sammy thinks to be immature and quick to judge. Having his concentration only on the girls, he made a mistake while ringing up a customer. Because he is so focused on how the girls are dressed and what they are up to, he has full descriptions of each girl and thinks he has them all figured out. He points out the leader and even names her “Queenie” while not giving the other two as much attention. The reader can see how Sammy sort of mocks some of the customers when he sees Lengel “checking the sheep through” (Updike 435). Sammy’s priority, which should only be ringing up customers, but happens to be seeing what the girls are up

Work is one of the most important tasks fulfilled in an individual’s daily life. Whether, working in an office or at a super market in your local neighborhood, it is one’s dream to find a well-paying job to please his necessities. Workplace can either turn out to be the most fun place or the most miserable place to be on a daily bases. It depends primarily on the workers attitude towards what they do. The protagonist, Davis, is very negative towards his job in Ray Miller’s short story “work.” His job takes place at a basic office where the atmosphere of his surroundings is very frustrating, since none of the employees seem to want to go home even as the night approaches. On the contrary, Sammy, from John Updike’s short story “A&P,” works at a local supermarket named A&P where he is required to ring up groceries for all the customers. To him, this job is nothing but torture and depressing, until comes three ladies dressed in only bathing suits. The teenage cashiers felt excitement when seeing these girls; however the manager Lengal wasn’t quite happy. Instead, being an adult that he is following the societal norms, told them angrily to obey the dress code. This caused Sammy to go against conformity and fight for the girls rights to dress however they want causing him to quit his job. In both literary works, the narrators reveal their attitude towards their workplace in which they feel it’s banal and insipid.

The story A&P is in 1961 and it takes place in an A&P grocery store in New England. The Narrator is Sammy which is also the main character. He is an employee at this store named A&P. He sees these three girls that are wearing swimsuits and also looked like they just came back from the beach. The girls are looking around the store and seeing what they need and awhile they are doing this, Sammy is looking to see what everyone is saying about these girls. He also notices that they are all are independent of one another. It seems that he can tell us about these girls in such good details. After that is when the girls are caught by the store manager and kicked out for what they have one and how it is not allowed in the store. Sammy’s manger tells the girls that swimsuits that they aren’t

The story “A & P” by John Updike constructs a simply characterized, a transition from childhood to adulthood, searing honest and often wildly funny thoughts of a 19-year old grocery store clerk at a small town in New England. Eventually teenager develop easily the capacity for falling in a romantic emotions. It is an integral part of “ Growing Up” and that is the theme.

In John Updike’s short story “A&P”, the reader will focus on the main character, Sammy, who delights us with his perceptive observation, his energetic interest in the subject of the three girls, his moral impulsiveness and his witty sense of humor. The counteracting emotional payoff of the narrative comes with seeing Sammy take a pointless ethical stand. The reader is left to decide whether to admire Sammy’s quick act of unrecognized chivalry, or whether to see it as the first futile act of a long lifetime of disappointment, as Sammy seems to recognize it as, saying in the last line, “…and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” To help the reader with this decision we must dig deeper, into the mind of the omniscient third person,

At the beginning of your blog post, you used a quote that really made me think: "Reading or interpretation is not primarily a matter of forming or reinforcing personal opinions but rather a process of negotiation among contexts,” (Nealon 205). As you mention interpretation, opinions, and imagination while discussing the quote the short story "A&P" by John Updike came to my mind. When I first read the story I immediately hated it. Through the whole thing, the worker at a store is totally sexualizing a few girls who walked into the store in bikinis. He makes comments like "There was this chunky one, with the two piece..." and "...and what got me, the straps were down. They were off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of her arms,

Working at a supermarket means keeping up with their policies, there are certain regulations that may seem trivial and should be acknowledged to an extent. When someone does something or notices someone in a possible dilemma, you should treat them politely and give fair warnings. This brings me to the A & P, the market that Sammy was employed with, the main conflict in the story occurred shortly after three young girls came into the store. Sammy was at the register when a group of three young girls come in wearing revealing bathing suits which are not appropriate for the market occasion. From the beginning of the story you catch on that Sammy’s boss Lengel, is somewhat of a controller, you first notice when he tells Sammy and Stokeies to turn off the music and get ready to open.