A & P By John Updike Theme

The theme of a story can be viewed as related to the thesis statement of an essay. The theme is the central topic or main ideas that an author is trying to convey in a novel or a story. The theme is developed by the writer’s personal beliefs about life and nature. Works of literature can express and may have more than just one theme. In the short story A&P by John Updike, the theme is introduced very early into the story. Three teenage girls wearing only bathing suits walks into A&P wearing only their bathing suits and catches Sammy’s attention who works as a clerk in the checkout line. As he and his fellow co-workers began to admire the young girls, Lengel the store manager tells the young ladies that the way they were dressed was inappropriate for his store and that they must leave. The theme of the short story A&P is the role of gender appearance in society. Sammy stands up for the three women by quitting his job to show the girls that he respects their right to dress how they feel.

A theme is a specific topic that is continuously repeated throughout a story. The theme is directly intended to provide a source of reflection to the general text. Theme is important because it can be described as the heart and soul of a story or artistic work. It is the perspective the author has in reality and most of the time can be very simple. Theme is also important because it is what connects the reader to a novel or story. Without theme a story would be missing its heart and soul. Theme functions as the understated ingredient in making a story meaningful. Every story must have at least one theme because without it a story only contains events and characters with no specific