A&P” is a short story that is written by John Updike. It is a story that develops in setting of a grocery store (Updike, n. p). On a broader sense, the setting is a beach town, and the story majorly focusses on how ladies dress. A lot of the characters find the dressing intimidating and one goes even further to warn them about it. It is the view of this paper that the setting of the story forms the cornerstone of its development.
John Updike’s story A&P is one of initiation. According to “What is an Initiation Story?” located in The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, an initiation story is where the author intends for the young protagonist character in the story to undergo a situation where they will experience a significant change of knowledge, whether it is about himself, the world, or a change of character, and the significant change will lead them towards adulthood. What is comprehended from an initiation story is that when one gains something they lose something else as well, and this is what happened in A&P. Sammy decides to quit his job because his boss embarrassed three girls in front of the whole store.
Regardless the constraint he feels inside the store, A&P, Sammy simply expresses his wanting to have Queenie, who symbolises freedom due the actions she does that he considers rebellious to the principles and the ordinary. The story unfolds with Sammy noticing the three girls enter A&P “in nothing but bathing suits” and shows an immediate and strong attention to them enough to make him forget whether he rang the HiHo crackers. He begins to describe the girls and states that first girl’s “belly was still pretty pale” and that the second had “black hair that hadn't quite frizzed right”. After a short explanation of the previous girls, Sammy portrays an endless detail of the last one, whom he calls Queenie of how she “walked straight on slowly”
In the short story, “A&P”, by John Updike, the central idea is that you are always being judged even when you think you aren’t. The author’s use of characterization helps reveal the central idea through the three girls. The three girls physical appearance were constantly being judged by society. Through Lengel’s actions and one of the girls be referred to as Queenie, the reader becomes aware of how judgmental society is toward females. In fact, Lengel goes on to say, “we want to decently dress when you come in here” (3).
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.
A plant that requires direct sunlight should be put in direct sunlight to grow; if the choice is not to put the plant in a well-lit area, then the plant will die. John Updike, the author of A&P, provides a well-written short story that perfectly exemplifies that every action has a consequence. He writes about a boy (Sammy) who works at a grocery store observing a group of three girls in extreme detail about how they behave throughout their time shopping and the reactions they get from others on their choice of dress. Sammy scans the girl's item and enters a lecture between the store manager and the girls. The store manager tells them that he disapproves of their choice of dress, while the girls simply do not care and walk out.
The reader is informed of Hazel’s thoughts when she had forgotten why she had tears in her eyes. Before Harrison Bergeron flashed across the t.v. screen, George was thinking about his criminal son. Therefore, the reader is clued in to the thoughts of both Hazel and George Bergeron. Third person is distinct from other points of view, because the reader can look into the minds of every character, and the story is told unbiased.
Humans in general, often times desire something that they don’t possess. For instance, in the short story “A&P”, the protagonist, Sammy, works at the A&P and notices three girls walking into the store with nothing but bikinis. Over the course of the story, Sammy observes the “main” girl, Queenie, and her friends and eventually, quits his job when the manager tells the girls to follow store policy for wearing bikini-clad clothing. In the end, Sammy is left jobless and empty handed with the girl, Queenie, and is then pondering about the future. Overall, Sammy’s desire for Queenie and him advocating for her due to her clothing led him to be somewhat of a hero.
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.
The short story “A & P“ by John Updike begins with a young cashier of a supermarket, named Sammy. It is obvious that he has his daily routine, and is used to the same day in and day out. This routine, however, is broken by the appearance of three girls, all simply clad in bathing suits. In a store such as his, far from the beach, this comes as quite a shock. Over the next few minutes of the girls perusing the isles in the store, Sammy fixates on these girls, becoming quite infatuated based on only their appearance.
In his short story "A&P" writer John Updike makes a relatable story for those of this day and age, that viably manages the theme of individualism through his depiction of the young girls and the seemingly underrated hero, Sammy. This story takes place at a more conservative time in our nation (1961), when we were on the brink of a liberation for women. Some of the descriptive words are a bit more, shall I say, colorful than others. The author does end up redeeming himself at the end and the story does not finish as I had thought it would from the first few lines. Updike portrays the girls, while rather judgmentally, as youthful, pronounced young women who don't necessarily conform to the classic standards of a town stuck in the more distant past.
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.
Point of View of John Updike’s “A&P” In the short story A&P written by John Updike is written in the 1st person naïve point of view. A&P is considered 1st person naïve because the narrator is too young to be trusted. He also is telling us the story as he feels to be the truth. The main character of this story is Sammy and the author Updike chooses 1st person to Naïve because he wants to show the readers what Sammy is thinking from his point of view aka his emotions and reactions to certain situations.
In passage 1 the author uses point of view in a way that furthers the readers understanding of the work. When he uses the first person point of view it makes it easy for him to tell the story well. The reader can understand this very simply as well as first person text is almost like the narrator is speaking directly to you. The first person point of view is also more relatable in a way since it is the way we would normally speak. First person creates an intimate perspective.
The third-person point of view is also outside the story but looks in and discloses what is observed by describing it, interpreting it, or commenting on it. This narrator is a out of the way narrator who does not engage into Lydia's or George's thought and feelings. The narrator has a limited point of view with the dialogue
