Personal Narrative: Jenn And The Grocery Girl

In the short story “A & P,” the author, John Updike depicts a grocery store called “A & P” in a small town of North Boston, Massachusetts. The store is located on a point about four to five miles from a hot, sunny beach. Because of the hot summer weather, you are going to see bathing suits, flip flops, swimming trunks, or sunglasses. The story starts with three teenage girls that entered and stroll around the store barefooted along with their bathing suits on. The story vividly illustrates the characterization, conflicts, and imagery based on the clothing in which Updike uses to communicate the theme of the story. Updike shows the readers how Sammy was attracted to those three girls who however, were not obviously interested in him. He took no initiative to stop and think before he made his grand final decision. Likewise, his manager, Lengel watches his whole life change and unravels in seconds based on his immaturity. At the end of the story, Sammy perceives that the whole world is going to be hard on him; also reality sets in because he now has to expect

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

But he is smitten with the girl he calls Queenie who appears to be the leader of the group. He talks of her "long white prima-donna legs" (97), straps that are "off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of her arms" (98) so that "there was nothing between the top of her suit and the top of her head except her... I mean, it was more than just pretty" (98) and with breasts like "the two coolest scoops of vanilla I had ever known were there"(101). Age, physical characteristics and dress aren't the only differences that he notices between the girls and the regular customers. The girls also walk the store aisles against the usual traffic pattern and the regular customers find that disconcerting. Obviously, these girls do not follow the social conventions of the town.

      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

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,

Sammy faces the decision of staying at his job or leaving. His parents are friends with the manager of the store, Lengel. One day three girls walk into the store wearing nothing but bathing suits. Seeing it is a slow day, Sammy observes the girls as they go through the store and to his luck come to his check out station. Lengel then sees them at checkout and confronts the girls to tell them about the store’s policy that they should be dressed decently upon entering the store, “‘Girls, I don’t want to argue with you. After this come in here with your shoulders covered. It’s our policy’” (Updike). This is where Sammy has his transitioning experience. Upon hearing this conversation, Sammy tries be a hero for the girls by making the decision to quit his job, “The girls, and who’d blame, them are in a hurry to get out, so I say ‘I quit’ to Lengel quick enough for them to hear,

At the opening of the short story, “A&P” by John Updike, the clerk, whom we later learn is named Sammy, takes the opportunity to ogle the three barefoot, bathing suit clad girls. Sammy goes to into great detail describing their progression through the store. He assigns them ranking and attitudes based on their appearance and how they acquit themselves. After the girls as for direction by the meat clerk, Sammy starts to feel sorry for them and how the males are drooling and the housewives are avoiding directly looking at them. When the prudish store manager, Lengel, re-enters the store and sees how the girls are dressed, he says to them “Girls, this isn’t the beach”, which causes embarrassment, noted by blushing, of the girls and a small

Distracted by the trio of girls, Sam causes the woman to gripe about his lax in service. Consequently, Sam’s point of view sways reader's opinions of the woman to develop a miffed distaste for her as she leaves the store with a hearty snort and huff. However, Sam's influence is sprinkled throughout the story especially at the climax of the story, the girls finally make their way over to Sam’s check-out counter . Mr. Lengel, the dreary store manager, spies the scantily clothed girls and walks over to gently inform the girls that the store is not a beach and that they should be decently dressed when they enter the store. This causes the girls to blush in embarrassment and refute his claim. Yet, he doesn’t argue with them but simply asserts the store policy. As readers, when we isolate the manager’s interactions with the girls, he is harmless and lays down the law without insult, after all, it is their policy and it’s not unreasonable. However, Sam’s hormones kick in when he sees the

In the grocery store the male employees married or not all stop to observe the girls. The men in the store appear somewhat stunned, but appreciative, in a hormonal way, of the young girl's attire. Young Sammy quietly observes the girls mentally, but does make a few crude comments addressing the girls' physical features. Stokesie the 22-year-old married man, makes a verbal acknowledgment of the girls. McMahon the old butcher makes a more physical, obvious, and inappropriate observation of ogling the threesome. After the store manager Lengal notices the trio, he is blatantly upset at their attire of choice in the store.  It all seems to be a deliberate act to cause a commotion in the local town store. The women who are currently shopping notice

The girls wasn’t dressed appropriate so the manager did have a right to say what he said. “You know it’s one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach… and another thing in the cool of the A&P…” shows that the girls wasn’t dress fully. By the manager staying calm when Sammy said he quit was a good thing. Lengel said “I don’t think you know what you’re saying” shows that he was calm. It was confusing when Sammy went from being in the store to her living room when he quoted

Ashley Gavin, one of the associates, stated that she was helping the subject. The subject had a shopping buggy with her. While Ms. Gavin was conducting other business, the subject moved down the aisle toward the exit door, still looking at clothes. A second

In the story, three girls, Queenie, The Girl in the Plaid Bikini, and The Tall Girl walked into the store with mothing but their bathing suits, looking like they just came back from the beach, in search for a snack for Queen i’s mother. As they were walking in the store, two cashiers stared at the girls, the first one named Stokesie, who is the oldest one, and the other cashier in the checkout lane named Sammy, dramatically falls in love with one of the girls instantaneously. He was so deeply in love even without meeting the young lady, that he could not even focus and do his job properly. Once the ladies found the item, they went to the checkout lane that the Sammy works in. As the girls walked up to the lane, their eyes both met while he grabbed the item, just gazing into each other’s eyes; one would assume what

A group of teenage girls in bathing suits walk into a grocery store, making the customers heads turn but drawing the admiration of the young men working the cash registers. The older manager confronts he girls and tells them that they should be properly dressed when they enter any store especially their store and that in the future, they will have to follow the store's policy and “cover themselves”. The story is told from the first person point of view of Sammy. From the beginning, "In walks, these three girls in nothing but bathing suits"

In the following day, CoCo and I chose to go shopping. I was looking like a bum because I didn’t care for my appearance, knowing I’m not in my hood. “Who could I possibly run across.” The answer is familiar faces like Tea. He coincidently happened to be at the same clothing store. When he looked at me I felt belittle.” Why me.” I screamed at my thoughts. However, he looked at me like it was a normal day. I escaped his stare by leaving the store.

Everybody stopped in their motion and looked at him. My friends and I were confused why he did it, but when he said that we quickly left the store.