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Decision Making And Consumerism In John Updike's A & P

1862 Words8 Pages

Albert Einstein once said, “I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking,” Einstein meant he did not make discoveries by thinking situations through, but by trial and error where his failures made him realize his wants. James Joyce’s short story “Araby” is about a young un-named boy infatuated by the thought of his friend Mangan’s sister. His obsession drives him to attend a bazaar late at night to buy a present for Mangan’s sister could who could not attend.“Araby” is retold in “A&P”, a novel by John Updike’s about Sammy, a 19-year old cashier fascinated by girls in bathing suits. Despite the obvious teenaged boy’s attraction to girls, “A&P” has a deeper meaning of rushed decision making and consumerism. Sammy …show more content…

Sammy, a 19 year old cashier is attracted to a young customer in a bathing suit who was being told by Sammy’s boss that her clothes were not appropriate. Sammy fears his nearing transition into adulthood and uses the situation presented to him to quit his job. The unnamed boy is alike Sammy attracted to a young girl, in this case his friend Mangan’s sister. Both Sammy and the unnamed boy go out of their way to please these girls, but Sammy ends up with no job and no attention from the girl and the boy at a bazaar late at night realizing all everyone cares about is money. Sammy notices how consumerism is dominating the people around him and no one interacts with each other unless it is to purchase name brand items that raise the status. The unnamed boy is disappointed when the girl at the bazaar is talking with two young men and pays no attention to him unless he wants to buy something. Alike Albert Einstein, the boys had to realize their failures through trial and error. Sammy and the unnamed boy have significantly similar lives and situations as they rush into decisions and live in a world dominated by

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Although Sammy initially views himself as a hero for standing up to authority, he soon realizes that his actions have consequences. His boss Lengel tells him that "You'll feel this for the rest of your life,..." (Updike 2). This statement ironically highlights Sammy's naivete regarding his impulsiveness; he thought he was doing something heroic but instead discovers that it had serious implications for his future. Sammy's realization that his actions have consequences is a powerful moment in the story.

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“A&P” by John Updike is written through the eyes of a young grocery store clerk named Sammy. While working, a group of girls walk into the store, wearing their bathing suits, causing all the workers to drool over them, but when they come to check out the manager Lengel tells them that what they are wearing is against policy. As the girls leave, embarrassed, Sammy courageously quits his job due to this incident, hoping to impress the girls, but as he walks out of the A&P he realizes that they are gone. Post-Structuralism, also known as Deconstruction, is a school of literary criticism where the reader “focuses on the inherent, internal contradictions in language and interpretation” (deconstruction).

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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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In John Updike's short story "A&P," the narrator, Sammy, is negatively impacted by his human connections with the other characters in the story. Sammy's interactions with the customers and his boss at the grocery store represent a world of conformity, predictability, and boredom. However, when three young women in bathing suits enter the store, Sammy becomes infatuated with them, and his perspective shifts. The sexuality of the females in the novel causes them to become a distraction for Sammy the narrator, and when people have a physical connection instead of a personal connection, it eventually has consequences. This has a negative effect on the character.

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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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The story takes place on a hot, summer day at a grocery store called the “A&P”. The protagonist is a nineteen year old male cashier by the name of Sammy. The central conflict occurs when Sammy watches three girls in bathing suits enter into the store to buy some herring snacks. Sammy gleefully watches them and gets attracted to the middle girl, “Queenie”, eventually being infatuated for her.

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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

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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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In the short story “A&P” by John Updike the readers are introduced to Sammy, a young cashier at an A&P supermarket. The story is told from Sammy’s point of view and the readers see how Sammy’s heroism attempt failed. When three girls walk into the supermarket with nothing but their swimsuits the girls get scolded by the store manager, Lengel, and since Sammy was attracted to one of the girls, who he called Queenie, he thought that standing up to his manager for them by quitting his job would get her to notice him. Instead, by the time he got to go after the girls they were gone and it was like they didn’t even know he existed. The climax of the story is located towards the end when Sammy quit his job because Legnel shaming the girls for wearing the swimsuits is Sammy’s breaking point and the climax affects my attitude towards Sammy in negative way because he made such an idiotic decision over a girl

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941 Words | 4 Pages

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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1222 Words | 5 Pages

In John Updike’s story “A&P” he places the reader within the average run of the mill grocery store viewing your daily shopping shenanigans. We are able to see every action through the eyes of the nineteen old cashier, Sammy, who is just trying to find his own identity in a town full of what he calls “sheep” (Updike 132). He strikes you as the typical teenager who feels as if he has the entire world figured out, but as you continue through the tale a different side began to reveal slowly but surely about him. Sammy’s initial actions strike the readers as judgmental yet reserved but as the reader progresses through the pages, we can witness the transition into his new bold persona. Sammy’s character proves to change from his inclusive domineer that was in the beginning into a courageous young man who looks at the world in a new vibrant perspective after breaking free of society’s norm in the end.

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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.

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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.

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