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Summary Of John Updike's Story 'A & P'

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Sammy’s First Wrong Steps into Adulthood
Young people usually make mistakes during their first steps into adulthood. Especially boys, some of them would do everything to impress a girl. A boy would even quit his job to meet a cute girl. The main reason is to catch girls’ attention. For some other fellas, being popular is a good reason too. In John Updike’s story “A&P”, Sammy was a young immature boy who used to work for a supermarket called “A & P”. He liked three girls that came to buy groceries to the supermarket. Sammy thought that there was not much difference between him and a married man with two babies, he also quit his job to impress Queenie and did not think about the consequences of quitting.

Claim 1: Sammy thought that there was …show more content…

Evidence: He realized the consequences after quitting when he said, “my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter”. Sammy probably needed the job because Lengel said, “Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your Mom and Dad”. Maybe his parents were in a difficult financial situation. In that case, Sammy’s decision had affected his family. According to Forbes.com, Career, and financial experts warn that now is a precarious time to “let go of your life boat.”
Analysis: Things are going to get rough for Sammy because of his rush decision. Nowadays, there are fewer job opportunities and they ask for more requirements. Besides that, the chances of Sammy getting a new job are few because he quit his job, and companies do not like that.

Have you ever thought about quitting your job to impress the girl that you like? If yes, do not do it. Sammy was a boy who did not have aspirations, but he joked about a coworker plans to succeed. He also gave importance to three girls that came to the store where he worked to do grocery shopping. Sammy quit his job to impress the girl that he liked and guess what? It did not work at all. Before quitting your job, think about the consequences or you may end up like Sammy with no job and a difficult world to

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