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A & P By John Updike: Character Analysis

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In the short story A&P by John Updike, the main character Sammy quits his job in the end. I believe this is justifiable, by his views of Lengel/ Stokesie, by his beliefs, and by connecting his actions with my personal experiences. In the story Sammy his very particular views of Lengel and Stokesie. “Stuffy and uptight, Lengel is, to Sammy, a prisoner of the system as well as an authority figure”, his view of Lengel is that he is so far gone and the system has him. “However, Sammy also identifies with Stokesie in some ways and sees him as a cautionary example of how he himself might end up”, His negative connotation with the life of these characters are enough for him to start to put his job into consideration. (SparkNotes3). From Sammy’s views of Lengel and Stokesie; a drone and a want to be a drone. One can see Sammy’s beliefs oppose the beliefs of an ideal worker to corporate; get a job and climb the working latter to success.” The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle”, in this quote he shows his mentality towards the masses (Updike, par.2). If you are the sheep you are not aware and are getting played. Sammy believes this is what …show more content…

Sammy knew the veterans of his job and the people with ambition to climb the corporate latter and had an admonitory example of how he might end up. When I worked at outback and heard that there were workers in their mid-twenties that have been working here for 10 years. This was my admonitory example. While working at A&P Sammy saw himself as aware and the masses sheep or drones. While I worked at outback this is how I felt about the people coming in ready to spend their money and workers. On the last straw Sammy quits because the girls, and how does not want to be perceived as a Lengel or Stokesie by the girls to get them. My last straw was being asked too much of and constant rule switching between the managers, so I said “this is bullshit” and shortly walking out after

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In “A&P”, John Updike wrote a short story about a male clerk at A&P grocery, named Sammy, who worked at a hot summer day shift when three young women in his age entered the store only in swimsuits to purchase some snacks. Even though shirts and shoes are required, Sammy did not report on the girls to the manager, but instead he allowed them to continue shopping as he looked and imagined the girls based on their appearance. As Sammy watched, Lengel, the store manager, felt that the three girls did not had shirts and shoes on, reprimanded them the rules, which the manager thought Sammy reported on them. Sammy did sign out after the girls left, which he not just realized the three girls’ affection, also was disappointed on this

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In John Updike’s short story “A&P,” Sammy is the narrator and cashier at the grocery story A&P. The author uses dynamic characters with immensely different personalities to portray conformity and rebellion in our society. Through out the story Sammy challenges conformity and social norms at his work place for personal reasons. Sammy is very bitter character and taken as a realist which fuels the story. Queenie, a rebel against conformity, sparks Sammy’s emotions after the way she is treated by his boss Langel when she walks into the grocery store with nothing but a bikini covering her skin.

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Sammy took the job, so he can help his family. Throughout the story, you can tell that Sammy is unhappy with his decision to take the job because " he can't remember" if he ringed the costumer's crackers or not. As mentioned before, people sometimes do things that make them unhappy because they want to please someone they love. Sammy took the job at "A&P" because he had to help his family, he was their provider. Towards the end of the story, Sammy made another decision.

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Quitting his job was a spontaneous decision he made to protect his ego. Lengel calls out “you don 't want to do this” but Sammy keeps walking (Updike 5). Sammy’s stubbornness to admit he’s wrong can be interpreted by the quotation: “It 's true, I don ' t. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it 's fatal not to go through with it” (Updike 5).

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Humans in general, often times desire something that they don’t possess. For instance, in the short story “A&P”, the protagonist, Sammy, works at the A&P and notices three girls walking into the store with nothing but bikinis. Over the course of the story, Sammy observes the “main” girl, Queenie, and her friends and eventually, quits his job when the manager tells the girls to follow store policy for wearing bikini-clad clothing. In the end, Sammy is left jobless and empty handed with the girl, Queenie, and is then pondering about the future. Overall, Sammy’s desire for Queenie and him advocating for her due to her clothing led him to be somewhat of a hero.

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John Updike's short story "A&P" is about a 19-year-old boy “Sammy” who is going through changes in his life, and has to make crucial decisions that are going to affect his job and his future in the long run. The story is set in an A&P grocery store, in a town north of Boston, and begins with Sammy’s description of the three girls that enter the store. Sammy decides to quit his job in order to impress the girl “Queenie.” Unfortunately, his gentlemanly act goes unnoticed by Queenie and her friends, and he has no choice but to face the consequences of his action. The author of the story clarifies that Sammy’s immaturity comes from his judgmental attitude, sexist beliefs, and disrespectful attitude.

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The time to Mature As the story of “A&P” unfolds, readers can see a change in the main character from the start of the story to the end. John Updike’s main character Sammy in “A&P” conveys the theme of growing up through making decisions based on how others are treated, and what he wants for himself in order to mature and find his identity. Throughout the beginning of the story readers can see that Sammy is still a very immature nineteen year old because he easily gets distracted by three girls who enter into his job in bathing suits. “The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece”.

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Willpower is thought of as a muscle of the mind; those who train themselves to be strong in austerity have a higher chance of leading a prosperous life, according to Florida State University social psychologist Roy Baumeister and New York Times science writer John Tierney (theguardian.com). Willpower is having the strength to carry out decisions, wishes, or plans with total determination. Self control goes hand in hand with willpower; without control we make decisions that aren’t always the smartest choice. The human civilization is separated from the likes of the animal kingdom because of the restraint that governs our impulses. With the right balance of self-control, a healthy diet, exercise, avoidance of drugs and alcohol (in excess), retirement savings, procrastination, and all other sorts of noble goals would be easily obtained.

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Social status is defined as a person's standing or importance in relation to other people within a society. Social status has affected the world for hundreds of years, from where you were allowed to go to the bathroom, to if you were allowed to vote. The way a person is viewed and treated is all caused by what is believed to be their rank in society and in the short story, “A&P”, John Updike uses irony, symbolism, and characterization to show this. Sometimes people dissatisfied with their opportunities get caught up with what others represent, causing rash decisions that lead to disappointment.

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“A&P” by John Updike is a short story expressing the issues of female objectification and degradation in society by following a young A&P employee’s views (Sammy) as they change through experiences second hand. Sammy goes from stereotyping objectifier to a form of a public defender, standing up for girls who can’t really do so for themselves. Sammy initially characterizes and describes all of the people in the store based on their looks and his initial opinion of them, rather than waiting to make judgements based on their personality, or not at all. He is very critical of looks, and is judgmental about why and how they look or act the way they do.

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Lengel is the story manager, but Sammy does not want to be like him either because he emphasized the stores policys (it would be nice to own a store

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Jerry’s is far more popular than the Heartside, however, the employees are treated more harshly. There are no breaks, so most employees participate in smoking to get through the day. In the end, Ehrenreich can not handle the labor of both jobs, so she quits her job at Heartside and continues to work at

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Discuss one of the following regarding John Updike's "A&P": Characterization, Setting, Theme. Sammy is the narrator of this story. He is an opinionated teenager who describes people shopping at the store as “sheep”. He believes everyone acts the same.

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“Feminism is not just about women; it's about letting all people lead fuller lives,” Jane Fonda. Fonda refers to feminism not only as an idea, but a way of life and amenable views. “A&P” by John Updike is a short story about three girls in a grocery store who are judged head to toe by multiple characters and speaker, Sammy, reflecting the idea that feminism is still not accepted. Updike uses literary devices, characters, and feminist views to show the objectification of women in the 1960’s. Generally speaking, Updike uses literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and symbolism to help the reader visualize what is going on.

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Point of View of John Updike’s “A&P” In the short story A&P written by John Updike is written in the 1st person naïve point of view. A&P is considered 1st person naïve because the narrator is too young to be trusted. He also is telling us the story as he feels to be the truth. The main character of this story is Sammy and the author Updike chooses 1st person to Naïve because he wants to show the readers what Sammy is thinking from his point of view aka his emotions and reactions to certain situations.

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