Decency In John Updike's A & P

The definition for decency varies through generations, as the desire of a teenager to be different from his or her parents not only with the way they live but also their perspective of life. That is what John Updike, author of the well-known short story “A&P”, trying to give through his writings. The character of Sammy and the girls who were living during the 1960s, represents the inner youthful rebellion towards the rigid social system during those times. Through a first-person narrative, John Updike manages to decipher Sammy’s rebellious and opinionated character and, Queenie's boldness by making them challenge the literal paradigm of a decent behavior during the 1960s, with their teenage immature behavior throughout his story A&P. Sammy,

Queenie and her friends were wearing swim suit when they walked into the A&P, which was five miles from the beach. She was clearly challenging the limit of public acceptance of a decent behavior. Not that wearing a swim suit in public is enough, but the girls also walked against the “usual traffic” between the aisle, with Queenie leading the way. The way she “held her head so high that her neck…looks kind of stretched out” (Updike 376) shows that Queenie is pretty confident in herself and, proves that she is also trying to mock the house wives with “pin curlers” that was also in the A&P during that time (Updike 377). As if to show that she is like a blooming flower with a radiant white skin that “dawned” the other customers, she and her girls strode along the aisle with their bare foot. They are clearly do not care about what other people think about their behavior. Updike also contradicts Queenie’s attitude with her other two friends, from Sammy’s point of view, they do seem a bit uncomfortable being the center of attention for something that they know is wrong. What Updike tries to tell his readers is, not all girls are bold as Queenie in provoking the social norm for being decent by taking the risks of being humiliated