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Dramatic Conflict In A & P

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Where does the dramatic conflict in A&P become apparent? Why does Sammy quit his job? What do you understand from the conclusion of the story? ( use examples from the text) The dramatic conflict in A&P is not apparent until the last part of the story. This allows Sammy to give us insights of what dull world he lived in. As well as describing some of the ways the other characters live their life. For example he mentions, Stokesie is married and has two children but Sammy does not want to live a replica of his life because he is still young. Another insight of another characters life that is given to us is Lengel. Lengel is the story manager, but Sammy does not want to be like him either because he emphasized the stores policys (it would be nice to own a store …show more content…

This is where the dramatic conflicts comes into place because Sammy is upset that Langel has embrassed the young ladies. (Until almost the ending where Sammy confronts Lengel) Sammy does not stay quite and starts to stand up for these girls. Sammy is so displeased with Lengel's actions that he quits. Sammy quits his job because he wants to start living the life that the girls in the bathing suits were living. When Langel critized the girls, to Sammy it meant he was critizing their lifestyle. Sammy was not going to let Lengel critized the life he wishes to have. Once he quits it was the first step of independence he gained. (Future lifestyle) In conclusion of the story Sammy has realize that there will be consequences to his actions when he mentions "...my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter"(Updike 21). Although he knows he will have to confront them in order to start living his life. He is only 19 and does not want to stay in that boring place where he has no independence since his parents were the ones who got him the job. Although he gives details about how he see his life now "...the door heaves itself open,

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Sammy defends the girls from his boss' policy. “The girls, and who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say “I quit” to

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1. This exposition that includes details about Sammy is vital to the story’s development because this part shows us who Sammy is as a person. The exposition allows us to see what his opinions are in life and what he believes in. We are able to see his personality traits and his social class in relation to others. The author, Updike, illustrates how Sammy is slightly insecure and immature about approaching the girls and instead spends time with his coworkers discussing them. The exposition shows how he is longing for something different in life, to move away from working in the same store just to please his parents.

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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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1437 Words | 6 Pages

Quitting his job was a spontaneous decision he made to protect his ego. Lengel calls out “you don 't want to do this” but Sammy keeps walking (Updike 5). Sammy’s stubbornness to admit he’s wrong can be interpreted by the quotation: “It 's true, I don ' t. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it 's fatal not to go through with it” (Updike 5).

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These traits allow the story to flourish a change in Sammy that couldn’t be seen if the story wasn’t told by him. The audience sees his change from a boy attracted by a bunch of girls to a rebellious man challenging the system he doesn’t want to take part in. The interesting thing is that both of those desires are ultimately why he quits his job. This is seen when he says “... “I quit” to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero,” he wants the girls to like him because he’s still an immature boy looking for their affection (Updike 23). Though soon Sammy is challenged by his Lengel to think about his actions and he thinks “But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it,” this shows that it’s also Sammy convictions that push him to quit.

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Additionally, Sammy distances himself from his co-workers, Stokesie, who “thinks he’s going to be manager some sunny day”, and Lengel, the

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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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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.

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In conclusion, the climax of this story is located in the end when Sammy leaves his job. Also the climax affected my attitude negatively because I completely disagree with Sammy’s decision. Finally, in my opinion “A&P” teaches us that some decision that are thought out of impulse should not be

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Sammy’s decision is stated by all as a terrible mistake. Sammy slips out of his slot and walks straight towards the door and walks out without looking back. Not surprisingly he thinks to himself, “I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course.” While trying to use a heroic gesture to feel equivalent to the girls they seem to have not appreciated the gesture and leave.

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“A&P” by John Updike is a short story expressing the issues of female objectification and degradation in society by following a young A&P employee’s views (Sammy) as they change through experiences second hand. Sammy goes from stereotyping objectifier to a form of a public defender, standing up for girls who can’t really do so for themselves. Sammy initially characterizes and describes all of the people in the store based on their looks and his initial opinion of them, rather than waiting to make judgements based on their personality, or not at all. He is very critical of looks, and is judgmental about why and how they look or act the way they do.

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1224 Words | 5 Pages

Lengel states, “We want you decently dresses when you come in here”. Which the girls respond, “We are decent”. Blushing, the girls seem to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. Disliking how Lengel speaks to the girls, Sammy decides to take a dramatic step and quits his job. He tries to impress the girls with this gesture, but the girls had already left.

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1078 Words | 5 Pages

He comes over and says, "Girls, this isn't the beach." " (Updike pg. 163). Lengel tells the girls that their outfits go against store policy and that they must dress differently the next time they enter the shop. This embarrassed the girls and enraged Sammy. He tells Lengel that he quit and that Lengel didn't have to embarrass the girls the way he did.

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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.

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368 Words | 2 Pages

When he sees the girls, he feels that there are people who are able to break out what is expected and can act different. By quitting his job, Sammy shows he is no “sheep” and have authority to act differently. The story takes place in a grocery store in a beach town. Without the setting, the girls would not have wandered the aisles and Sammy would not have a chance to quit his job. The theme of the story is appearance.

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