ipl-logo

A & P By John Updike Essay

692 Words3 Pages

In the short story, “A&P” by John Updike, Updike narrates through the point of view of a 19 year old cashier. Three girls enter the supermarket that the young man works at, in bathing suits, although they catch the attention of the cashier, the manger disapproves of their dress code in the store. The supermarket plays a vital role in Updike demonstrating the rebellion of the younger generation, by the girls not dressing conservative in public, the cashier’s fascination of their bodies, and the older manager disapproval. The first demonstration Updike used to show the teens rebellion was when the girls walked into the supermarket in just their bathing suits. The reaction of the young cashier and his coworker showed how unusual it was for girls to walk around in public with their bikinis on. Updike wrote “The women generally put on a shirt or shorts or something before they get out of the car into the street” (Updike 240). Older women would not have walked into a public store without making sure that the looked presentable. Updike felt that because these girls are younger they are rebellious and had no …show more content…

When the cashier wanted to be viewed by the girls as a hero, so he quit his job because his manager embarrassed the girls. Updike says “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, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero” (Updike 242). Not only were the girls rebellious throughout the story but in the end the cashier showed his rebellious side by quitting because of lust towards Sammy. When his manager disapproved of the very thing he loved so much about the girls, he felt he gained the opportunity to become close with them, if he stood up for them. Once again showing how the opinions of the older generation was not valued by the generation to

Show More
Related
502 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story “A & P”, John Updike tells a story about a boy named Sammy who works at a Grocery store. He explains how this young man watches girls his age and how they were treated in the store one day. Sammy made the decision to quit on the spot because of that and he was hoping the girls would notice his action but they didn’t. The reader is allowed to understand the story and predict the life lesson because of the first person point of view Updike used.

Read More
322 Words | 2 Pages

Identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. In both short stories, the characters struggle with injustices of society. In A&P by John Updike, the main character Sammy is a sexist, rude and chauvinistic young man who judges three young girls who walk into the store by their physical appearances and learns that conforming to societies norms isn't right. Also, in the short story The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara the main character Sylvia is an inner city kid who gets taken to FAO Schwartz and learns the lesson that African Americans and White people aren't equal. Both short stories highlight that the world isn't fair to people, and you have to make a difference to change it.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

A&P Literary Analysis by John Updike In A&P by John Updike, Sammy may be analyzed in terms of the place he comes into contact with, with a customer giving him a hard time as the three girls in bathing suits walk in. Later on, when the three girls walk to the cash register where Sammy is at to get rung up and Lengel comes to tell them their “policy.” Last when Sammy quits his job at A&P grocery store. Sammy is still and adolescent in the process of entering adulthood but this story brings the process of adulthood into an entertain twist. At the beginning of the story, Sammy is ringing a woman up who when the three girls in bathing suits walk in he can’t recall if he rung up the woman’s HiHo crackers.

Read More
1453 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

A&P: The Perspective of Sammy “A&P” by John Updike tells the story of Sammy, a teenage boy working at a grocery store, when he sees three girls dressed in swimsuits enter. Quickly, Sammy becomes infatuated with the leading girl whom he dubs “Queenie”. Eventually, the girls are accosted by the manager for dressing inappropriately and Sammy quits in both an act of rebellion and wanting the appreciation of the girls. All throughout the story Sammy’s sarcastic and inquisitive nature comes out leading to a distinct voice and thought process the reader follows giving the reader a very opinionated view of all the characters and action in the story.

Read More
1261 Words | 6 Pages

In the short story "A & P", John Updike explains how Sammy is a young man working as a cashier. One day three young ladies come into the supermarket half dressed wearing only their swimsuits. Sammy is intrigued by these young women, along with everyone else in the supermarket. Sammy watches their every move, as the girls made their selections. Sammy tries to play the hero at the end of the story; however he may have been his own worst enemy.

Read More
1505 Words | 7 Pages

John Updike’s story “A & P” was written in 1961 and takes place in a small town in Massachusetts. In a supermarket named “A & P,” which is on the town’s Central Street and is across from typical small-town stores – “two banks and the Congregational church and the newspaper store and three real-estate office” (Updike 748) – a cashier-clerk named Sammy witnesses three girls walking into his store wearing bathing suits, and he recounts his perceptions of them, their actions, and how they contrast with his relatively bland setting. Since he objectifies these women throughout the story (using phrases such as “sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it” (Updike 746-7)), it could be suggested that “A & P” is a satire

Read More
564 Words | 3 Pages

The story takes place on a hot, summer day at a grocery store called the “A&P”. The protagonist is a nineteen year old male cashier by the name of Sammy. The central conflict occurs when Sammy watches three girls in bathing suits enter into the store to buy some herring snacks. Sammy gleefully watches them and gets attracted to the middle girl, “Queenie”, eventually being infatuated for her.

Read More
1852 Words | 8 Pages

The setting takes place in a suburban neighborhood like an area in the United States around the 1950's to 1960's. The mentalities of the people in the citizens reflect conformist tendencies of the community because they are negatively judgmental when they notice the girls in the story. The A&P store and customers of the story shape the time and setting to establish what is taking the place of the setting during that time. The A&P supermarket was arguably American's premier grocery store during the 1960s. Therefore, setting the scene of the A&P supermarket highlights the era of the 1960s.

Read More
255 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
941 Words | 4 Pages

“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.

Read More
1224 Words | 5 Pages

Sammy is a nineteen-year-old cashier at a small store. Not used to seeing girls enter the store dressed that way, Sammy is shocked. Not being able to keep his eyes off the girls, Sammy notices details about their dressing. Sammy states, “She had on a kind of a dirty-pink bathing suit with a little nubble all over it and, what got me, the straps were down” (Updike, par. 3). We can see Sammy is sexually desiring these girls by the way he takes in every detail of the girls’ physical appearance.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

The short story “A&P” by John Updike introduces us to a young teenager named Sammy who worked at the A&P grocery store looking to find his freedom. Throughout reading A&P, I 've noticed the main character Sammy had a very keen eye that spotted every minor detail. When Sammy saw the three teenage girls only wearing bathing suits enter the grocery store, he perceived the girls dressed as if they were going to the beach. Sammy explained to us in detail the different bathing suits that the girls were wearing and their physical appearances. The primary symbol represented in this story is the bathing suits worn by the three teenage girls.

Read More
368 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

“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.

Read More

More about A & P By John Updike Essay

Related Topics

Open Document