A&P is one of John Updike’s most successful stories and is particularly his most analyzed story. The secret to its success is embedded in the literature arising from Updike's use of allusions to art to evoke dramatic irony to its readers. In summary, the story revolves around Sammy, who as he comes to age decides to fight against conventional morality. This marks a defining moment in his life, where an ordinary 19-year old boy becomes realistic and views life from a different dimension. Though Sammy was largely controlled by his sexual urges, he now viewed things from a different perspective. In consequence, this response essay will be mainly analyzing some of the things happening in the story and interpreting their meaning to understand what Updike implied in his writing.
Thinking about the representation of the A&P store, Updike appears to imply much more with the display of the three girls in their bathing suit, which Sammy describes as the corporate structure of the world. This
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The three girls show the first one and most obvious. They clearly, they living at present rather than follow the usual social order currently in the world. Dressing in the bath suits appears to be quite extreme, which causes an unusual disorder in the store. This stirs up an unexpected reaction in Sammy where he for the first time goes against the social orders (Updike, & Perkins, 2002). In addition to admonishing the acts of his manager, he goes on to quit from his position since he no longer wants to work for people that do not respect people’s differences. Though the decision to quit from his position appears to have been made hastily, he appears to have widely thought and articulated on the issue. This is especially since, for the first time in his life, he decides to make a decision as an individual, therefore, rebelling from the usual social order in place to control people's lives and their actions as