John Updike's A & P

The plot in each of these short stories focuses on normal American, middle-class life. “A&P” is about a young man that does not want to conform to society and what others want him to do. Sammy deviates from the social norm by quitting his job at the A&P while attempting to defend the girls wearing bathing suits. M. Gilbert Porter wrote an essay in The English Journal called “John Updike’s ‘A&P’: The Establishment and an Emersonian Cashier”. In this essay, he states that “Updike reveals the sensitive character of a nineteen-year-old grocery store clerk named Sammy, who rejects the standards of the A&P and in doing so commits himself to a kind of individual freedom” (Porter 1155). Porter is describing Sammy as a martyr for quitting his job because he believes that the standards of the A&P are unjust. He also states that Sammy

The lifestyle that Sammy wants to live is similar to that of Queenie and her two friends who enter the A&P supermarket. Sammy asserts, “I slid right down her voice into her living room…the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks…they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them” (Updike 19). Sammy admiringly explains what he thinks the girls’ lifestyles are like. He specifically describes the types of food and drink being consumed to express the comfortable and pleasant lifestyle that the girls have. This type of lifestyle belongs to the upper classes of society. Sammy states, “She remembers her place, a place from which the crowd that runs A&P must look pretty crummy” (Updike 19). Sammy compares the girls’ lifestyles to his own and ultimately prefers their comfortable and classy lifestyle over his working at the A&P. He feels as though the girls are able to live carefree and is able to enjoy their summer because they don’t need to work summer jobs that they don’t want. Additionally, Sammy mentions that after he quit his job, he realized how hard life was going to be. He was not going to gain a lifestyle like Queenie and her friends automatically. Sammy would have to go to college and do a lot of hard work before being rewarded with an upper

Sammy creates an extremely vivid image of the girls as a way to show how only their appearances are important to him: “Now her hands are empty, not a ring or a bracelet, bare as God made them, and I wonder where the money’s coming from” (Updike 34). First of all, Sammy is widely inappropriate. Women do not want to be seen as pieces of meat. Sammy looks at these girls and all he can think about is their bodies. He would not feel this way if he was being ostracized and made uncomfortable by every woman he meets. Sammy only cares about the girls’ physical appearances. The world views women as those who are subordinate to men. So if that’s the reasoning, then women should look the part and be physically attractive. The irony in this is that Sammy must not be as good-looking as he thinks, or the girls would even acknowledge his existence. The only reason why they walked up to his cash register is because the other one was busy. But because he is a man, he doesn’t need to be good-looking, the girls do. The way he treats these girls is unfair, he idolizes the leader of the pack for her beauty, but he only likes the other girls for their assets: “…and the plump one in plaid, that I liked better from behind—a really sweet can…” (Updike 35). Sammy is just a typical teenage boy. He only likes the girls because he feels that they can please him sexually. The plump girl may have been the nicest girl in the group, but the reader will never know because Sammy only cares about the size of her buttocks. Why should that matter in a woman? Why must her rear-end be aesthetically appealing to make her attractive? Most of all, why must it be known that she is or is not attractive? It does not make the world stop spinning on its axis if a woman in literary work is not noted for being beautiful. He does not only critique the plump girl’s appearance, he refers to the leader of group’s bosoms as “the

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.

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

The short story, “A&P”, by John Updike, gives readers a glance at the life of a teenage boy, Sammy, who makes a rash decision after encountering three girls at the local grocery store. The theme of “A&P” is that desire for a new life can be dangerous when it provokes irrational action. Updike effortlessly conveys this theme through his use of setting, characterization, and symbolism throughout the short story.

In John Updike’s coming of age story “A&P,” the protagonist Sammy sees what he believes to be an unfair act to three teenage girls in bikini in the grocery store. He makes an immature decision and quits in front of his manager that decided to address the girls about their clothing choice in front of the entire grocery store, instead of talking to them in private. Unfortunately, the teenage girls do not notice Sammy’s heroic act, and he is left alone in the parking lot to face the repercussions of his childish actions. John Updike chooses to write in first-person, so the reader gets to know the narrator’s real character. In his short story “A&P,” John Updike demonstrates that Sammy is an immature character immaturity from his disrespectful personality, judgmental attitude, and misogynist beliefs.

The girls, despite their obvious fashion faux-pas, carry themselves with a certain confidence and individuality that is rare in this society. Updike has Sammy refer to the other customers as sheep, pigs, house slaves, and even as having a fuselage- revealing how ‘empty’ these citizens are. The references to sheep are clear symbols for the conformity of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The trend (or revolution) towards non-conformity is quickly approaching as the three girls are leaders of this new movement.

Throughout the short story A&P written by John Updike, we see how men and women are seen in that time. By taking the Marxist approach, Updike was successful in placing sexual, gender and authoritative powers throughout A&P to portray how males objectified women in society of the early 1960’s. By using the emphasis of the girl’s bare skin we see the influence of sexual power. Having the story told from a man’s point of view, we see the stereotypical way they view girls and how this may affect them. From the presence of Lengel we see the power of authority switch from the girls to the older man in the conflict of the story.

In the story “A&P” by John Updike he tries to portray the conventional lifestyle and tendency of his community. The story “A&P” proves how feminism was a large part of the conservative lifestyle and is still present today. A&P helps you visualize how sexism could be happening right under our noses. The story is told through the main character Sammy, who is an ordinary teenager in the small town. Sammy makes a courageous effort to fight feminism and introduces ideas of liberalism but sadly loses his job in the process. The story A&P, based in the 1950’s, directly correlates to how women were treated in that time period. From the story A&P we can learn the distinct and harsh gender

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,

This imagery shows the kind of scandalous clothing that they were wearing giving them the power to bring attention and desire to Sammy and his coworkers. They stood no chance to these appealing looks that the girls had with the help of the bathing suits and the environment that they were in as Sammy describes “You know, it’s one thing in to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach, where what with the glare nobody can look at each other much anyway, and another thing in the cool of the A & P, under the fluorescent lights, against all those stacked packages, with her feet paddling along naked over our checker-board green-and-cream rubber-tile floor.” (Updike 165). This also shows that Sammy can not control himself once he unleashes his descriptive imagination when thinking about Queenie and her friends walking through the store.

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

John Updike’s highly popular and studied short story “A&P” was published in the New Yorker in 1961. It told a story of a young man’s decision to quit his job at an A&P supermarket after an encounter with three bikini-clad girls. The story, seemingly mundane and trivial, exemplifies the type of social context which Updike was widely inspired by. During the story’s writing, there were many elements of societal culture which influenced Updike in his work. This is evident in his usage of specific world references, colloquialisms, and particular societal movements in his story. In “A&P”, Updike showcased some elements of popular middle class life, thoughts, and movements of the `60s.

It has become a fact of life that our world is governed categorization. There is nothing in our realm of awareness that has not been labelled or ranked. These practices originated from the basic human conditioning for survival and understanding. However, they soon developed into numerous attitudes, behaviors, judgments and systems of policies that have constrained and segregated our population (Kadi). Heeding the ominous effects of these systems of classification, John Updike utilizes his short story “A&P”, as a reflector of our society. Updike exercises the literary elements of a condescending tone, commonplace setting and the characterization of Queenie to showcase the influence of classism in our country. Updike’s