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A & P Theme Essay

668 Words3 Pages

The theme of a story is a very important factor when depicting the impact the story has. Theme of a story is the comprehension of general message or idea that is conveyed throughout a literary work. As a story progresses the theme is often conveyed regularly and emerges in varied ways. Sometimes a story can have more than one theme portrayed within it. In the story “A&P” there is more than one theme present in the story. The theme in this story is developed by characters, point of view, setting, and symbolism. The significant characters that contribute to the theme of the “A&P” are the main character, Sammy, his boss at the grocery store, Lengel, and the three teenage girls who enter the store wearing only bathing suits. The story is told from …show more content…

In an attempt to impress the girls, Sammy abruptly decides to quit his job. “The girl, 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 434). When he leaves the A&P he realizes the girls have already left and he may have just given up his job for nothing. “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone, of course” (Updike 435). “...as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike 435). Sammy made the mistake of acting on desire while overlooking the consequences. Had the character's, point of view, setting, or symbolism in the story been altered the meaning of the story may have changed entirely and the themes we distinctly see in the story, could have been completely different. The characters, point of view, setting, and symbols in “A&P” assisted the development of the themes enclosed in the story. “A&P” depicted themes of women do not have the same rights as men and do not act on the power of desire. Other themes can also be found in this story but these two stood out to me the

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The use of various and different archetypes such as the threshold guardian and the defiant anti-hero in “A&P” coveys John Updike’s changing perception of women and the values in today’s society. When the reader is first introduced to Sammy, they see him observing “three girls in nothing but bathing suits” and privately starts pointing out distinct physical features such as their “sweet broad soft-looking can” and how “the third one wasn’t so tall. She was the queen.” (Updike 1). Sammy is a very atypical person and doesn’t fall under society’s norm of a gentleman or one who shows any form of chivalry towards women..

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