ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast A & P And Adam Raised A Cain

657 Words3 Pages

“A&P” Compare and Contrast with “Adam Raised a Cain”
Generation gap has been a reoccurring theme in literatures of all eras and cultures. Such are the cases in John Updike’s “A&P” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Adam Raised a Cain”. In Updike’s “A&P”, conflicting values between two generations accelerate as nineteen-year-old Sammy decides to quit his job. The conflict between Sammy, Lengel, and their different attitudes towards reality reflects Updike’s subtle yet pronounced commentary on the generation gap. On the other hand, Bruce Springsteen’s “Adam Raised a Cain” operates on a similar principle in a realistic way, reflecting reality through biblical references. The adult singer reminiscences his boyhood encounters with the generation gap throughout …show more content…

Generation gap plays a subtle role in “A&P”, whereas it serves as a cause for the regretful memories in the song lyrics. In John Updike’s “A&P”, the generation gap is first foreshadowed by the accusing customer in the first paragraph, as Sammy mocks “she'd been watching cash registers forty years and probably never seen a mistake before” (1). Sammy’s exaggeration is hereby indicative of how he perceives the older generation: discipline now connotes inflexibility, and rationality considered a conceit – all of its best features are replaced by shortcomings. The conflict reaches a boiling point in paragraph twenty-two, with Sammy quitting his job in protest to Lengel’s rebuke against the girls. When Sammy accuses Lengel by saying he “didn’t have to embarrass them” (23), Lengel gives a firm reply that “it was they who were embarrassing [them]” (24). This simple …show more content…

The endings of both pieces illustrate the different conclusions Sammy and the son have arrived at on the generation gap. Updike’s “A&P” ends with Sammy declaring that "the world will be at hard to [him] hereafter" (32), but he does not elaborate on why that is. Considering his statement in paragraph twenty-one, that “once you begin a gesture, it's fatal not to go through with it” (31), Sammy is not fully aware of the generation gap, which he must surmount in his days to come. However, the son in Springsteen’s “Adam Raised a Cain” has resolved his generational conflict with his father, as he becomes aware that “daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain” (22), and he understands why his father “walks these empty rooms looking for something to blame” (23). The two young characters in the story and the song figuratively highlight the necessary pain in growing up and giving acknowledgement to the older

Show More
Related
214 Words | 1 Pages

It is wholly recurrent to blindly skim through a detailed piece of literature and be unconscious to the likeness it shares with other pieces of literature. I am surely guilty of this ignorant practice, however. As I was reading “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde and “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins, I didn’t truly perceive the connection right away. The obvious was already divulged in my mind; they’re both in the points of views of children. They, however, both have a mutual theme; growing up brings uncertainty and disappointment.

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

While the two short stories "A&P," by John Updike and "Barn Burning," by William Faulkner are both coming to age stories, but consist of different story lines, the protagonist in each story (Sammy and Sarty) stand up for what they believe in. These two stories have many similarities and many differences. In "A&P", Sammy is around nineteen years of age, works as a cash register at the towns local grocery store named A&P, and his life looks like it is going well, until three girls walk in with just their swimsuits. Lengel, the manager notices the girls and calls them out for their choice of clothing. Sammy being who he is decides to stand up for the girls, but he does not just defend them he quits his job also.

Read More
436 Words | 2 Pages

The Narrator in the story A&P by John Updike tells an experience where he chose to make a decision that would change his life and take him to new places. This decision was one that was derived from the need for freedom and change. Usually a decision like this takes a realization that growing up and taking a new path is necessary. In this story, this realization began from the narrator seeing how his manager treated the girls in the store with such hostility because they were just wearing bathing suits. The boy, watching this, realized he wanted to live like the girls had been living.

Read More
1107 Words | 5 Pages

5The story of A&P adopts the uses of figurative language by John Updike to embellish the key moments of transition of people lives, particularly in the life of Sammy. Updike utilizes the craft of imagery in his story to project the idea of "life passages." Also, Sammy undergoes a series of events that enables him to transition him as a person in his life. The main components of the story start with three girls dressed in a bikini and two-piece outfits walking into the A&P store, Queenie is the ringleader of her group.

Read More
1052 Words | 5 Pages

Growing up is something that we all experience some time in our lives. Whether we eagerly await or stubbornly resist it, the coming of age is an inevitable and crucial time in our lives that builds up our character and personality. Correspondingly, in Something Wicked This Way Comes, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade are both struggling to go through this transition as they face the temptation and evil that comes along with growing up. In the fantasy novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, Bradbury applies the theme of coming of age through the difference of mentalities, the change of self identity, and finally their approach to the world.

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
905 Words | 4 Pages

East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, reflects the complexities in father/son relationships. The connection between a father and his son is vital to their development. The novel explores the impact of these relations is immense. The central allusion of the novel is comparing several characters to Cain and Abel, who were formed through their attempted relationship with their father-like figure, God. They struggled and vied for the attention, love, and respect of God, which subconsciously influenced their actions and thoughts.

Read More
1852 Words | 8 Pages

3 The story of “A&P” by John Updike adopts the uses of figurative language to embellish the critical moments of transitions of people’s lives, particularly in the life of Sammy. Updike utilizes crafts of plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, and symbol to constitute the story, and to project the idea of "life passages. " Also, Sammy undergoes a series of events that enables him to transition as a person in his life. 3

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
500 Words | 2 Pages

A major theme in A&P is personal freedom. Throughout the story Updike uses metaphor for all elements in the story to implies the theme. At the beginning of the story, Sammy uses sarcastic tone to describe the customers as “sheep” and “houseslaves” which implies he is different from them in mindset. The way how Sammy talks about others shows his intellectual mind. He is not same as Stokesie who wants to be a manager one day.

Read More
1058 Words | 5 Pages

Book Review: Sons of Cain a. Overview Sons of Cain, by Peter Vronsky, is a book that focuses on serial killers dating back from the stone age to modern day serial killers. Not only does the book talk about specific killers, but it also slightly talks about the criminal theory behind some of the killers and their tactics/motives. Vronsky has written the book objectively, he mentions how many cases of serial killing and other severe crimes are not taught fully in schools, because it would shed a bad light on certain countries, specifically ours. b. Purpose Vronsky’s purpose in writing this book was to shed light on well-known-- and lesser known-- serial killers, as well as providing reasoning and possible explanations as to why they killed.

Read More
1149 Words | 5 Pages

John Updike’s story “A&P” is a literary masterpiece that reveals the expectations of a man at the prime of his youth and an old manager in a society that is seemingly so strict on social ideals. Told from the first person point of view, the story is a strong way to show what the character Sammy learns in the shop as he develops his personality traits through the buyers and the manager. Written in the present simple tense, the story proves to be more appropriate for oral presentation. The purpose of this essay is to present a critical analysis of the personality traits of the character Sammy. In order to present the character traits analysis, the essay contends that a person is described through what they say, do, and think, what others think or say about them, or how the author describes them.

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
894 Words | 4 Pages

In “Salvation,” Langston Hughes presents his momentous coming-of-age story as a dark and saddening ending to his childhood that provides the reader with understanding of the loss of innocence; and faith he faced and how it impacted who he came to be. Hughes makes a strong implication that children become less and less innocent over time. Hughes himself proves that through the tone of his entire essay. It begins with a light toned; yet still ironic introduction, but ends with a dark, depressing final line. Hughes supplies his reader with multiple literary devices such as imagery, flashbacks, and irony to present this comparison of his younger self and his older self.

Read More
1085 Words | 5 Pages

The Impact of Setting in John Updike’s “A&P” “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle--the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything)--were pretty hilarious” (Updike 651). As an average cashier at a plain A&P store in the middle of town, the protagonist Sammy is unaccustomed to customers in provocative attire. Queenie and her two friends (one chunky, one tall) are outcast in a setting of tremendous social conformity, and quickly catch Sammy’s watchful eye with their unexpected bikinis. Unabashed in teenage ignorance, these three girls continue to shop for herring snacks, unaware that consequence is at their doorstep.

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast A & P And Adam Raised A Cain

Related Topics

Open Document