Literary Analysis Of Sammy's Essay

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

Sammy begins the story by describing the three girls in bathing suits who have walked into the A & P grocery store. The girl who catches his attention is a chunky girl in a plaid green two-piece swimsuit. As Sammy continues to observe the girls, his interest seems to focus only on the girl who leads the other two into the store. Sammy refers to the girl he likes as "Queenie",someone showing poise and leadership, while the other girls

Updike used foreshadowing in this piece by letting the audience know that something is going to happen, without letting us know exactly what it is. I believe that the best example of foreshadowing is when Sammy thinks to himself, “The sheep pushing their carts down the isle---the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything) ---were pretty hilarious. You could see them, when Queenie’s white shoulders dawned on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back into their own baskets and on they pushed” (Updike 143). By this

Transition -- Finally Supporting point 3--Sammy quickly judges Queenie to be of a higher social class based solely on her voice. Quote- He imagines a cocktail party at her house, suggesting the “men in ice-cream coats and bow ties” are drinking drinks “the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint” (826). Explain/relate quote to point-- When he relates a party scene from his own home, he imagines people drinking malt liquor rather than martinis. Concluding sentence --Sammy childishly makes impulsive judgments about everyone he sees, never attempting to look beneath the surface. 2 Topic Sentence -- Sammy also exhibits disrespect throughout the story. Supporting point 1 -- He shows little respect for age or

We learn about Sammy's station in life through the setting of the story. He is not a big time war hero or superstar but a checker at a small town A & P, not moving up in his job or down, simply stagnant. The town is located north of Boston, five miles from a beach, with a summer colony on the Point. Sammy is ready to make a change. He wants to be part of the girls' world. Sammy's thoughts give us some insight in his feeling that the girls, just like the wealthy summer colony they came from, are out of his reach. "All of a sudden I slid right down her voice into her living room. Her father and all the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties...When my parents have somebody over they get lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every time' cartoons stenciled on."

There is a sudden change in Sammy's attitude toward the girls throughout the story. At first, Sammy and his friend's he work

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.

To begin with, Sammy shows a rude attitude through the story. He indicates little regard for other people’s age or knowledge. To illustrate, Sammy asserts the old aged customer, who reprimands Sammy for scanning her item two times while he is gawking at the girls, is “a witch about fifty … [who] would have burned her over in Salem” (Updike 320). Sammy’s despise toward this old lady—in fact shoppers—is perceptible. Also, when Sammy quits A&P, he talks discourteously to his manager Lengel. The readers soom comes to discover that Lengel is a friend of Sammy’s parents. Lengel attempts persude Sammy from making his rash decision, pointing out that he does not want to do to this to his

To begin, the elements of tone and mood work together to reveal and support the message of survival and struggle. In the novel, Chiger uses descriptive details and her thoughts and attitudes toward the situation that she was placed into set the tone. She describes and explains the agony, hatred, and hopelessness she and others felt in the sewers, revealing her bitterness for the sewers and the Nazis. Chiger also uses mood to present her messages by creating different moods around different characters, making some optimistic and hopeful while making others pessimistic and morose. “This was a reflection of their personalities: my father was gregarious and personable; Weiss was gruff and miserable” (Chiger 107). This is relatable because some people may have disparate attitudes toward a negative situation, and each person may have a different demeanor or mood in response to it. Chiger conveys her themes of struggle and survival through tone and mood, and makes it somewhat relatable.

      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

Sammy's play continues as he his eyes follow the three girls around the store, and he notes the way that the one he has named "Queenie" is definitely the leader. She would "buzz to the other two, who kind of huddled against her for relief" (28). Sammy sees this as a game of follow-the-leader as well as a game of hide-and-seek, because, as Queenie "led them, the other two [would] peek around and make their shoulders round" (27).

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

In a very deliberate fashion, Updike’s uses mood to highlight’s Sammy’s priorities in a way that the readers can understand. Sammy, the narrator, is a very

Queenie is important to the story's conflict and theme because she creates them. Queenie causes the main conflict when she walks into the A & P. The manager of the A & P yells at the young girls about their attire when the are being rung up by the Sammy. At the end of the story, Sammy stands up for himself by exclaiming he quits as the girls are walking out of the door. He does this because he hopes the girls will see him as a hero. As a result he loses his job and never gets the

Tone determines how the impact of the theme and effectiveness of the story goes because it shows the awareness of the audience and sets the story and overall theme