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A & P By John Updike Sparknotes

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In John Updike’s “A&P” the main character Sammy is working at the A&P grocery store when three girls walk in only wearing bathing suits. These girls caught his attention. He became intrigued by their features and longed to know more about them. The store manager embarrasses the girls making Sammy mad. Sammy threatens to quit his job while the store manager Lengal tries to change Sammy’s mind. Sammy ends up quitting all for some girls. While most people may see the store manager Lengel as the antagonist of the story, I see him as the protagonist who knows his morals. To further exemplify, “A&P” begins when three teenage girls walk into a grocery store only wearing their bathing suits. The young man working the check outline is named Sammy. …show more content…

Sammy is most interested in the girl he says is most attractive and names her Queenie. Sammy says the store is nowhere near the beach which makes him more curious as to why the girls are wearing bathing suits. While Sammy is joking with his coworker Stokesie, he realizes they are quite similar but does not want to end up like Stokesie who has resigned with working at the A&P for the rest of his life. Sammy wants to believe that he is nothing like his coworkers but knows deep down that they are very much alike. Sammy starts to feel sad then feels satisfied when the girls choose his check out line. The store manager Lengel then approaches Sammy’s checkout line and embarrasses the girls by chastising them for wearing bathing suits in the store. The girl Sammy named Queenie says "My mother asked me to pick up a jar of herring snacks." …show more content…

Like many others Sammy manipulated his story. He wants the readers to see him at the “unexpected hero”. That is why from Sammy's view most readers would see Lengel as an uptight by-the-books manager (Kristoff). I think we need to stop looking through Sammy’s point of view and get our own impression of Lengel. First off Lengel is only doing his job. Although it may seem like he is being tough, he just does not want to be fired for not enforcing the stores policies. Policies are important in many jobs. They not only tell employees what they can and cannot do, they allow the employees to work more efficiently. Many others would have done the exact same thing as Lengel so why are we accusing him of being the bad person when he is actually the one who is

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A&P” is a short story that is written by John Updike. It is a story that develops in setting of a grocery store (Updike, n. p). On a broader sense, the setting is a beach town, and the story majorly focusses on how ladies dress. A lot of the characters find the dressing intimidating and one goes even further to warn them about it. It is the view of this paper that the setting of the story forms the cornerstone of its development.

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John Updike's short story “A&P” explores teenage rebellion and coming-of-age, through multiple stylistic elements such as symbolism, metaphor, and irony; Updike can portray his theme of the consequences of making decisions based on impulse and youthful idealism specifically through the character Sammy. The “A&P'' grocery shop is a particularly effective symbol in this scenario. The narrator, Sammy, who works at the shop, has both a physical and symbolic role in the story. In addition to Sammy's workplace, the store represents society's expectations of conformity. Other customers are described as “sheep” who came in wiping their hands on their skirts as though the shelves had been dusting themselves since the last time they were in.

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Lengel informs them about their indecency. Sammy- who was initially in love with Queenie and sexist- sides with the three girls especially Queenie. Although Sammy then realizes that their human as well and, shouldn’t be treated differently because of appearance is different. Queenie leads to him quitting his job after realizing his behavior was quite ardent and the situation he got in was unfair to himself.

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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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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.

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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.

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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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As such, "A&P" and "Sonny's Blues" serve as powerful literary examples that dive into the intricacies of human identity and the ways in which individuals strive to break free from societal constraints to assert their individuality. In John Updike's "A&P," the main character, Sammy, impulsively quits his job at a grocery store after defending three girls in bathing suits who are reprimanded for their attire. However, as Sammy searches for the girls outside the store, he realizes the potential consequences of his impulsive action. The grocery store represents a commodified society where people's desires are determined by their purchasing ability.

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Female Objectification In John Updike's A & P

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As made apparent by Sammy’s first thought outside, “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone of course” (pg. #7), Sammy initially quit his job in the moment to gain praise from the girls and hopefully to have them swooning over him, but all along he knew the chances of gaining praise from them was slim. Although Sammy was hoping the girls would be waiting for him after he quit his job to stand up for them, he wasn’t really surprised by their absence; He expected it. As Sammy stated “I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter,” (pg.#7) without a job and without any form of reward for his somewhat heroic act, Sammy finally realized the challenges women in society face. Overall, A&P by John Updike is a short story raising awareness for women’s rights as well as proving that you shouldn’t judge someone based on their appearances.

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Lengel states, “We want you decently dresses when you come in here”. Which the girls respond, “We are decent”. Blushing, the girls seem to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. Disliking how Lengel speaks to the girls, Sammy decides to take a dramatic step and quits his job. He tries to impress the girls with this gesture, but the girls had already left.

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A & P By John Updike Analysis

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At first read, I thought this story was about the young cashier Sammy and his job at a small beach-town grocery store, or even how Sammy is smitten with some bikini-clad girls who come in the store. But reading deeper into John Updike's "A&P" and getting to the meat of the story, it is obvious it is about so much more. This is clearly a story about standing up to what you believe is wrong, and doing what is right, even if there are implications for your actions. As I was reading this story, I was taken in by the detailed descriptions Updike used when referring to the store and the people inside.

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This is where the dramatic conflicts comes into place because Sammy is upset that Langel has embrassed the young ladies. (Until almost the ending where Sammy confronts Lengel) Sammy does not stay quite and starts to stand up for these girls. Sammy is so displeased with Lengel's actions that he quits. Sammy quits his job because he wants to start living the life that the girls in the bathing suits were living.

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While he was ringing up a customer at the cashier he was distracted from the three ladies that walked into the store. Sammy was very heroic person at the end of the short story, he wanted to stick up for the girls before they left the store. Lengal the boss was complaining about the girls wearing there bikini in the store and Sammy felt like Lengal was being rude to the girls so he tried to get Lengal to apologize. Again being a heroic character he told Lengal that he quit hoping to grab the three girls

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